"... I believe that ... Silman’s Complete Endgame Course ... deserved strong consideration for the 2007 ECF Book of the Year award; ... With the possible exception of the near-universally praised San Luis tournament book, which I have yet to see, I am positive that I would have voted it for first place (excluding my own books from consideration, of course!). ...
... I'm convinced that Silman's book will take its place in history as one of the most popular endgame books ever. ... He writes in a clear and casual style, and time and again has shown the ability to reach those who feel intimidated by the lofty approach that a grandmaster will often take.
... he defines what he thinks is necessary to know at specific rating levels. For example, the beginner or unrated player needs to know how to checkmate with an extra queen and rook, two rooks, and finally with a lone extra rook. Second, he or she must understand the difference between checkmate and stalemate. But no more! Silman's idea is to wait until you climb in strength before you worry about more advanced material. Then, as a Class 'E' player (that's 1000-1199), one must learn with what material you can mate, and learn queen versus bishop and queen versus knight. Mates with two bishops and bishop and knight are left for later. But you are also introduced to the concept of 'opposition' and playing the most elementary king and pawn versus king ending. ... In Class D (1200-1399), one begins to use the 'opposition' to win (or draw) king and pawn endings when the king is in front of it's own pawn, and here for the first time we add more pawns and see the idea of one pawn holding up two, followed by how to win by allowing your passed pawn to be captured while winning the opponent's other pawns. The D player also learns about distant opposition, and cases of a single piece versus a lone pawn. And so forth all the way up to master.
... Silman's book emphasizes to the student that the important thing is to master the strictly limited material at hand, rather than get confused by endings that won't help your results at that level. ..." - IM John Watson (2007)`
theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-allwww.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/silmans-complete-endgame-course/