Wow. What a thrilling and insightful read. Waitzkin recounts his journey in Chess and in Tai Chi Chuan. He overthinks to an insane degree (in a good way) about how he was able to ascend the ranks of the Chess and Tai Chi Chuan, two seemingly opposite disciplines.

Each juncture in his Chess and Tai Chi career is a lesson learned or a principle gleaned in this theory of mastery he builds over the book. While I have never approached being world-class in anything, I find the conclusions about mastery compelling. It reads much like a memoir, and so the lessons are tied into the narrative which reading it a joy.

The lens with which he examines and rationalises his progress is exceedingly small. It hindsight, it makes a lot of sense given how determined he is. It's actually quite refreshing, I haven't read anything that comes close to the precision of his analysis. It is a fascinating read for anyone in pursuit of mastery.