The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations [Paperback]

B. A. KordemskiI (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1977

Most popular Russian puzzle book ever published. Marvelously varied puzzles ranging from simple "catch" riddles to difficult problems. Lavishly illustrated with clear diagrams and amusing sketches. Edited for English-readers, while retaining warmth and charm of original. Inexpensive edition of first English translation. Introduction by Martin Gardner. 425 line illustrations. Solutions.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book has been a classic in the former Soviet Union since it was first published in 1956, and it remains just as entertaining today. A master at making math fun for his high school students, Boris Kordemsky loaded this clever collection with a wide variety of math and logic related games and puzzles dealing with magic squares, tricky weights and measures, properties of numbers, mathematical tricks, and more. Number and math game fans are bound to find several new amusements here. Even many of the well-known classics from generations past take on new life with the fresh twists Kordemsky provides. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Scribner (April 1977)
• ISBN-10: 0684148706
• ISBN-13: 978-0684148700
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,558,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons in Becoming More Creative, March 9, 2000

By 

James F. Kowalick (Oregon House, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations (Dover Recreational Math) (Paperback)

"The Moscow Puzzles" is unique among problem-solving and brainteaser books because of the wide range of types of problems that it addresses. As a lecturer at Cal Tech's Executive Training Center, I teach "Creating Breakthrough Products" to technical executives. This book has been very helpful for those participating, because the problems it contains represent various types of psychological barriers that prevent problem-solvers and designers from achieving high-level solutions. I refer to examples from this book during the Cal Tech training session; we employ the revolutionary Russian problem-solving tool whose acronym is "TRIZ."

Other fine attributes of this book are its sense of humor and its practicality. The author has chosen everyday events and situations for his problem "plots," and in doing so, maintains the interest level of the average reader.

Readers of this book will learn to overcome personal barriers to creativity (the chief personal barrier is called "psychological inertia"), and will increase their creativity quotients by an order of magnitude, or more.

I strongly recommend this book for use in all classes from grades 4 through college senior. For the rest of us who simply like ("love") to work on challenging problems, this is the book for you. Good luck!

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, charming puzzles teach problem solving., January 11, 2006

By 

hdbooth (Knoxville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations (Dover Recreational Math) (Paperback)

I was thrilled and surprised to see that this book is still in print. I loved puzzles as a child and spent many hours for fun working the problems in this book (which may have paved the way for my PhD in Computer Science). I fished out my old copy recently to show my 11 year old daughter how I spent my spare hours as a child - *not* playing computer games of dubious educational value. I am sure that working the problems in this book helped increase my problem solving skills - in a different and more general way than I was learning in school.

Of all the puzzle books and puzzles I ever owned, this is the only one I saved. The book has a wide variety of types of puzzles (not all involve numbers). While some are easy, most were challenging. The descriptions were charming, with Russian names of children and towns and quaint puzzle descriptions involving wells, or steam engines or household objects. All in all, a delightful, very educational puzzle collection.

40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive set of math puzzles for various levels, November 13, 2001

By 

Peter Soucy (Plymouth, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations (Dover Recreational Math) (Paperback)

Nice collection of problems which demand some creativity as well as varying degrees of mathematical prowess. Also populated with interesting anedotes regarding mathematicians throughout history.

Although no mathematics beyond the high school level is required, the challenge lies in the ingenious application of even the most rudimentary math and logic necessary to successfully tackle these exercises. The problems range from rather simple to difficult. Some amount to raw logic riddles requiring little or no math while others offer the opportunity to fine tune one's skills in geometry and algebra. In addition to offering a rich variety of problems which will satisfy the needs of puzzlists at many levels, the editors have made a good point of dividing the problems into categories emphasizing different sets of skills including geometry, algebra, arithmetic operations, spatial visualization and logic. Such a delineation makes it easy evaluate strengths and weaknesses so you can focus on areas of improvement.

Given the long history of this publication, several problems will be familiar to some seasoned puzzle enthusiasts but most will still provide a fresh challenge.