One of the greatest of chess masters, William Steinitz (he changed his name from Wilhelm when he arrived in America) is recognized as the first world champion.

More exactly (and thanks to the efforts of the editor of this book, Kurt Landsberger) he has been officially acknowledged as the first American world chess champion.

Many letters and postcards survive: After years of unflagging effort to acquire all known letters to and from Steinitz, the editor has compiled a remarkable record of Steinitz and his contemporaries.

Each letter, postcard, scrapbook item, newspaper or chess magazine article or other writing is described along with details of its location, ownership, and circumstances of discovery. It is then printed, nearly always in full, in English (many are translated from the German by Landsberger).

Kurt Landsberger, born in Prague with the name Steinitz, is the champion’s great-grandnephew. He divides his time between Verona, New Jersey, and Delray Beach, Florida.

Grandmaster Andy Soltis, eight times champion of the Marshall Chess Club, New York Post editor and Chess Life columnist, is the author of dozens of chess books. He lives in New York City.

The Washington Post:
"welcome...very useful...fascinating"

British Chess Magazine:
"a very rich collection of material"

IM John Donaldson (JeremySilman.com)
"high-quality...lively and entertaining...book deserves high praise... should be enjoyed by anyone who reads chess history"

Chess Mail:
"impressive...an outstanding work"

Chess Horizons:
"the author, Steinitz’s great-grandnephew, presents all known letters to and from Steinitz"

ChessCenter.com:
"high-quality...lively and entertaining...the book deserves high praise"

Chessville.com:
"an amazing collection of correspondences and documents that span Steinitz’s chess life...any true history buff or fan of Steinitz would love this collection and derive an immense amount of pleasure from it (..) the book is a historic gem (..)

there is simply nothing else out there that can provide the kind of detailed information that this book has. It is a phenomenal book for the serious study of the interesting World Champion"

Seagaard Chess Reviews:
"well researched and well written"

Time Travel-Journal for Chess Players:
"outstanding"