While I have heard of this seminal work for many years, I finally have a copy to look at via the library at the college where I teach as an adjunct. It’s a 1969 reprint of the original. I have rarely been so impressed by the depth of a scholarly work. Considering when this was written - dare I say before the computer age?- it is amazing that he was able to pull together so much historical information. The chess libraries he used in Cleveland and in the UK were the basic source sites.
I’m wondering if anyone knows whether he traveled in the Middle-East and or India conducting research. Thanks in advance for any further insight you may be able to provide.