The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler: A Collection in Tribute to Martin Gardner [Hardcover]

Elwyn R. Berlekamp (Author), Tom Rodgers (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 156881075X | ISBN-13: 978-1568810751 | Publication Date: March 15, 1999

This volume comprises an imaginative collection of pieces created in tribute to Martin Gardner. Perhaps best known for writing Scientific American's "Mathematical Games" column for years, Gardner used his personal exuberance and fascination with puzzles and magic to entice a wide range of readers into a world of mathematical discovery. This tribute therefore contains pieces as widely varied as Gardner's own interests, ranging from limericks to lengthy treatises, from mathematical journal articles to personal stories. This book makes a charming and unusual addition to any personal library. Selected papers: - The Odyssey of the Figure Eight Puzzle by Stewart Coffin - Block-Packing Jambalaya by Bill Cutler - O'Beirne's Hexiamond by Richard K. Guy - Biblical Ladders by Donald E. Knuth - Three Limericks: On Space, Time and Speed by Tim Rowett.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Even well-known puzzles retain their power, as was made clear again and again last month at the seventh "Gathering for Gardner." These conferences of mathematicians, puzzlers, game-players and magicians at the Ritz-Carlton here began as personal tributes to Martin Gardner, Scientific American's legendary Mathematical Games columnist, and now take place without the master's presence (he is 91). During four days of talks and tricks, the oldest puzzles mixed freely with the newest.
       -- Edward Rothstein, TheNew York Times , April 2006

Product Details

• Hardcover: 266 pages
• Publisher: A K Peters/CRC Press (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156881075X
• ISBN-13: 978-1568810751
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,183,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A collection of papers that honor the work of Martin Gardner, October 11, 2002

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler: A Collection in Tribute to Martin Gardner (Hardcover)

The late Paul Erdos was widely known as a disseminator of mathematics, and yet his impact on the progress of mathematics may not match that of Martin Gardner. For twenty-five years, he wrote a regular column on "Mathematical Games" for Scientific American and other articles have appeared in many other venues since his "retirement" from SA in 1982. Personally, it is a very rare occasion when I encounter an American mathematician who was not strongly influenced by reading something by Gardner. Many, like myself, read it religiously, considering it the high point of each issue. It is hard to underestimate the number of people who were steered towards a career in mathematics by Gardner or had their interest increased by reading one or more of his papers.
In 1993, the first gathering for Gardner (G4G1) was held in Atlanta, where he was honored for all of his work in making mathematics interesting and entertaining. As befits a gathering of this type, many people wrote papers in the areas of magic, puzzles and mathematics to be presented at the conference. Those papers, plus a few that didn't make it into the official list, have been gathered together to make this book.
The papers are split into three categories: Personal Magic, Puzzlers and Mathemagics. While none were authored by the master, they all clearly bear his stylistic signature. The presentation is clear, entertaining and all reach the point quickly and effectively. I was so intrigued by them that it was the only thing that I read once I obtained a copy, to the detriment of the quality of a lecture on the programming language Java.
This is the highest tribute that any professional writer can achieve, when others are motivated to write material similar to yours to be collected and presented at a conference in your honor. Gardner deserves that and more and every paper in this collection is comparable to his work in quality.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everybody Should Give This To Their Favoritre Kid-Friend, September 16, 2007

By 

Cliff Walker "CliffWalker" (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler: A Collection in Tribute to Martin Gardner (Hardcover)

The puzzles of Gardiner (and others) took the edge off the pain of loneliness that is the inevitable result of being an extremely literate but physically uncoordinated kid. As I began to integrate with the "normal" kids, I discovered that my love for these puzzles was not unique; what was different about me was merely the respective age at which we became able to appreciate them (read: "to actually solve a few of them").

Here is my puzzle for you: This book is (at this writing) available as a PDF download from the publisher. And it's free! You should be able to find it without much difficulty (if the offer is still good when you read this). The only clue I will give you is "the numeral one followed by a hundred zeros, misspelled."

4.0 out of 5 stars Gubertini review, November 10, 2006

By 

Gubertini Giampaolo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mathemagician and Pied Puzzler: A Collection in Tribute to Martin Gardner (Hardcover)

A interesting book: I appreciated above all the classification of puzzles of J.Dagelty & E.Hordern. I should like better that more contributions would have had a bibliography like the Diophantine Recreations of David Singmaster.