Improve Your Lateral Thinking: Puzzles To Challenge Your Mind [Paperback]

Paul Sloane (Author), Des MacHale (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 1995

Develop lateral thinking skills and improve brain power. The goal is to find a logical explanation for what appears to be an illogical situation. Do the puzzles with a friend, taking turns being puzzle setter and solver. By asking yes-or-no questions the solver attempts to find the solution within 20 minutes. One of "The Year's best puzzle books."--Games World of Puzzles. 96 pages, 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (June 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806913746
• ISBN-13: 978-0806913742
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,330,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of over 20 books including The Leader's Guide to Lateral Thinking Skills and The Innovative Leader published by Kogan Page. I have also collaborated with Des MacHale to produce a series of Lateral Thinking Puzzle books published by Sterling Publishing. I help organisations think differently and improve innovation. I speak, write, give courses and run company audits on innovation. My talks and courses are fun and stimulating but with strong business content. I play chess, tennis, golf and keyboards in a rock band. I have met Mick Jagger, Jonathan Ross and Douglas Adams. I blog and tweet. Why not book me to speak at your meeting?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very challenging and fun!, October 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Improve Your Lateral Thinking: Puzzles To Challenge Your Mind (Paperback)

I loved this book! It was challenging yet fun. It really makes you think. The questions sound difficult, then when you read the answer, you hit yourself for not thinking of it. I would recommend this book to anyone who has the patience to really sit down and think. It's fun for all ages for any time. From 7 to 70, or from sitting in your living room to in the car during a trip. You'll love this book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Challenging students to think differently, May 20, 2001

By 

Leslie (South Kingstown, Rhode Island United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Improve Your Lateral Thinking: Puzzles To Challenge Your Mind (Paperback)

I purchased this book to use as one of my classroom resources for a weekly puzzle with 8th grade language arts students. I write one of the puzzles (generally a condensed version) on the board on Monday, and then give the students all week to ponder the puzzle. On Friday, I draw a winner from the bowl of entries. The winner gets a candy bar of his or her choice.

Besides adding excitement to my classroom, the puzzle presents the students with a mental challenge unlike most of their other intellectual endeavors. So much of what is taught at school is initially unknown to the student; however, the best feature of these puzzles is that the intent of many of them isn't to teach something new, but to make the reader think differently about something that is obvious. Week after week many of my students slap their foreheads on Fridays and proclaim, "Of course!" But, as the year has gone by, I have seen a marked increase in the number of correct responses!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Awful book! Puzzles are retarded and absurd., July 25, 2005

By 

S. Goswami (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Improve Your Lateral Thinking: Puzzles To Challenge Your Mind (Paperback)

I truly wish I spent a few more minutes looking into the puzzles contained in the book before making my purchase. The puzzles posed are not puzzles at all, but rather the end result of what you would get if you hired 30 first graders to come up with "brain teasers."

Here's an example of what I'm talking about straight from the book:

During a flight from Brazil to London, the pilot told all the passengers to get out of their seats and to stand at the back of the plane. Why did he do this?

The answer is: A passenger sitting near the front had smuggled a poisonous snake onto the plane and it had escaped.


If you think that "puzzle" is bad, all I can say is that they get worse, much worse.

This would only be mildly amusing if I were back in college and wanted to entertain those who were drunk. Even then, probably not.

Save your money for something that involves actually using your "brain". Purchase this only if you need something to reach the temperature of 451.