Curious and Interesting Puzzles, The Penguin Book of (Penguin Science) [Paperback]

David Wells (Author)

Book Description

Series: Penguin Science | Publication Date: April 6, 1993

A companion to the same author's "Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers" and "Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Geometry", this book covers mathematical and logical puzzles from the Ancient Greeks to the present day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 6, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140148752
• ISBN-13: 978-0140148756
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,237,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine puzzle book; delivers what title promises, November 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Curious and Interesting Puzzles, The Penguin Book of (Penguin Science) (Paperback)

For a collection of the best puzzles from around the world throughout history, nothing beats this book. David Wells draws on sources such the medieval monk Alcuin, the 18th-century Ladies' Diary, the Bhakshali Hindu manuscript as well more familiar 19th-century authors like Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland). These puzzles in logic and math range from the pretty easy to the quite challenging, from divided fields and magic squares to riddles and rhymes. But all you need is pencil and paper; no specialized knowledge in math or logic (or advanced degree) is required.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Collection of Puzzles, December 8, 2001

By 

Old and Feeble "naknik" (Tel Aviv, Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curious and Interesting Puzzles, The Penguin Book of (Penguin Science) (Paperback)

This is an excellent and comprehensive collection of puzzles. It contains most of the classic and well-known puzzles of this type that I know. Also, every puzzle is unique and it does not contain redundant puzzles like "What is the next figure?" or number series.

Most of the puzzles require at most K12 math knowledge, making it suitable for teenagers. The only flaw I found in it was that the puzzle index is not very robust regarding variations on the same puzzle.

All in all, a very good book for hours of pondering.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good puzzle survey..., February 13, 2000

By 

Eduardo Yoshikawa (Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Curious and Interesting Puzzles, The Penguin Book of (Penguin Science) (Paperback)

Although it is a Q&A style book it is a good puzzle survey