Larry Parr wrote (2 May 2006 19:39:27 -0700):

Ray's Illustrated History of Chess, a brilliant and
beautiful work, ...

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"Do we have anything other than the word
of Larry Parr to indicate that the illustrated
history was 'wonderful'?" - Louis Blair
(13 Apr 2006 16:40:05 -0700)
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It is, perhaps, instructive to look at a small part
of a previous discussion where Larry Parr was
posting note after note listing and praising
GM Keene books. In one of those lists, we
saw:
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"I have alluded to Ray Keene's detailed
and fascinating books on several
Olympiads; to his histories such as
the Illustrated History and the award
-winning Staunton's London; to his ..."
- Larry Parr (15 Apr 2006 06:17:12 -0700)
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I asked:
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"What award? Who chose the winner of
this award?" - Louis Blair (15 Apr 2006
18:47:15 -0700)
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In a subsequent Larry Parr list, we saw:
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"First, you have the histories. I found his
Illustrated History (Simon &Schuster) to be
not only the most visually stunning chess
book ever printed but also the most elegantly
written book of its kind, nipping even the
shimmering Saidy-Lessing work. Another
celebrated Keene history is his Staunton's
London, though not having read it, I cannot
praise it beyond quoting others." - Larry
Parr (16 Apr 2006 20:03:45 -0700)
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I noted:
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"Now Larry Parr avoids mentioning any award."
- Louis Blair (16 Apr 2006 21:21:29 -0700)
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I also asked:
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"Where are these quotes of others?" - Louis
Blair (16 Apr 2006 21:21:29 -0700)
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The next time Larry Parr started listing, he decided
not to mention "Staunton's London":
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"Those books on the Olympiads are fine; at
least one of GM Keene's histories is stunningly
done; his instant-books on title matches have
been decent at the low end to extraordinarily
ambitious in the case of Manoeuvres ..."
- Larry Parr (17 Apr 2006 14:49:54 -0700)