Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers

Amazon Price: $10.40

Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

Prices subject to change.

Buy this item from AMAZON.COM

This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.

Label:Penguin (Non-Classics)
Languages:
English,English,English,
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Scrabble may be truly called America's game. But for every group of "living-room players" there is someone who is "at one with the board." In Word Freak, Stefan Fatsis introduces readers to those few, exploring the underground world of colorful characters for which the Scrabble game is life-playing competitively in tournaments across the country. It is also the story of how the Scrabble game was invented by an unemployed architect during the Great Depression and how it has grown into the hugely successful, challenging, and beloved game it is today. Along the way, Fatsis chronicles his own obsession with the game and his development as a player from novice to expert. More than a book about hardcore Scrabble players, Word Freak is also an examination of notions of brilliance, memory, language, competition, and the mind that celebrates the uncanny creative powers in us all.

"Fatsis . . . writes with affectionate zeal about the game and the fraternity of brilliant, lonely, and otherwise dysfunctional oddballs it attracts." (The New York Times)

"Word Freak has an impassioned subtitle, and it lives up to every word." (People)

Amazon.com Review:
Like a cross between a linguistic spy and a lexicographic Olympic athlete, journalist Stefan Fatsis gave himself a year to penetrate the highest echelons of international Scrabble competition. Word Freak is the account of his journey. It's a wacky grab bag of travelogue, history, party journal, and psychological study of the misfits and goofballs whose lives are measured out in Scrabble tiles.

Fatsis gives us all the facts about Scrabble--from the story of the down-on-his-luck architect who invented the game in the 1930s to the intricacies of individual international competitions and the corporate wars to control the world's favorite word game. He keeps the reader turning the pages as we get involved in the lives of the Scrabble obsessives: men and women who have a point to prove against the world and have chosen Scrabble as their playground and their pulpit. As Fatsis goes on his own quest to attain the coveted 1600 rating, we actually get obsessed with him as he lies awake at night pondering moves and memorizing lists of words. For anybody who is interested in words, Word Freak provides an entertaining and absorbing read. --Dwight Longenecker, Amazon.co.uk

+ Read more....

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers

Amazon Price: $10.40

Buy this item from AMAZON.COM

This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.


	Customer Reviews: Average Rating: Rating : - The greatest book ever for the ultra-serious Scrabble player: The rest of us? Not so much. I enjoyed this book on the whole, but can recommend it only to those with a serious interest in Scrabble. A lot of the book gets bogged down in the intricacies of competitive Scrabble tournaments, which is interesting only for a short time. I play living room Scrabble, but did not understand how complex and complete the knowledge required to become a true skilled player is. The parts of the book describing the game's genesis and history were interesting. But the 366 pages could have been cut by a third to make for a better book for the masses, in my opinion. Three stars out of five. But a nice effort nonetheless. + See Full Customer Review

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... (4 out of 5) A surprising read. Word Freak surprised me ...

A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-Foot-8, 170-Pound, 43-Year ... Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ...

... .com: Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble: ... Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ...

Yahoo! Shopping is the best place to comparison shop for Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession - Book. Compare products, compare prices, read ...

... on 'Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers' ... About The Site. This page took 9 milliseconds ...

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... Join the Many — 1 year ago ...

The Hedgehog's Dilemma: A Tale of Obsession, Nostalgia, ... Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ...

Title: Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and ...

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other ...

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession ...

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... Do It: The Nike Spirit in the Corporate World. by Donald ...

Shop for Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers at Target. Choose from a wide range of Books. Expect More, Pay

Amazon.com: Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers: Stefan Fatsis: Books

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... In Word Freak, Stefan Fatsis introduces readers to those ...

Shop for N.Y.H.C. (Documentary) at Target. Choose from a wide range of DVDs. Expect More, Pay Less at Target.com

BookSwim is the first online book rental library club ... Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ...

Word Books, Find the lowest price on new, used books, textbooks ... Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ...

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... "Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book ...

Word Freak : Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers ... Keep in mind that the store holds many times the number ...

Purchasing Malls

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers

Editor Reviews:

Related Products:

Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive ScrabblePlayers