“Waitzkin brings laser clarity and penetrating insights into the delicate mind, body, spirit interactions fundamental to extraordinary achievement in most any area of life.” —Jim Loehr, Chairman and CEO, The Human Performance Institute, and coauthor, The Power of Full Engagement
“This is a really superb book, one I wish someone had given to me long ago . . . It will take a ferocious interruption to make you set this book down.” —ROBERT PIRSIG, author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
“Waitzkin's in-depth look into the mental side of his success in both chess and martial arts is an inspiring and absorbing read. I strongly recommend it for anyone who lives in a world of competition, whether it’s sports or business or anywhere else.” —MARK MESSIER, 16-time National Hockey League All-Star
“Josh Waitzkin’s The Art of Learning is a testimonial to the timeless principle of ‘do less and accomplish more.’ Highly recommended for those who want to understand the power of consciousness.” —DEEPAK CHOPRA
Josh Waitzkin knows the road to excellence. Catapulted into a media whirlwind as a child, the subject of the book and movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, he has mastered both the rigorous mental game of chess—winning his first National Championship at the age of nine—and the strenuous physical challenge of martial arts, becoming a master of Tai Chi Chuan and earning the title of World Champion. His phenomenal success is due to the learning techniques he developed to bring both his mind and body to peak performance. In a riveting narrative that takes readers on his journey of discovery, conquering the high-pressure challenges of intensely competitive chess face-offs and heart-stopping martial arts wars, he reveals the inner workings of his methods, from systematically triggering intuitive breakthroughs, to building resilience, to mastering the art of performance psychology. The Art of Learning is essential reading for those who want to reach the highest levels of achievement.
JOSH WAITZKIN, an eight-time National Chess Champion in his youth, was the subject of the book and movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. At eighteen, he published his first book, Josh Waitzkin’s Attacking Chess. Since the age of twenty, he has developed and been spokesperson for Chessmaster, the largest computer chess program in the world, currently in its eleventh edition. Now a martial arts champion, he holds a combined twenty-one National Championship titles in addition to several World Championship titles. He regularly gives seminars and keynote presentations and is the president of the JW Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to maximizing each student's unique potential through an enriched educational process.
