Customer Reviews

The Wall Street Journal Crossword Puzzle Omnibus

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you like WSJ crosswords, this book is a 9.9 out of 10. Only suggestion I have is to use spriral binding (like the smaller WSJ volumes) to make it easier to fold the book while working on the puzzles.

This strongly recommended `omnibus' volume collects 250 Sunday-sized crosswords originally published in Friday issues of the Wall Street Journal between 2000 and 2006. These puzzles were originally reprinted in the first five spiral-bound, fifty-puzzle volumes of the WSJ series. I have been a fan of Editor Mike Shenk's puzzles since his 1980s work in Games Magazine. Top cruciverbalists like Brendan Emmett Quigley, Harvey Estes, Rich Norris, Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon feature prominently herein. Random House rates these puzzles as 'medium to hard'
One puzzle appears on each page and all answers are in the back. Grids measure about 5" x 5". This is slim enough for most travelers yet still offers good value, costing less than a nickel per puzzle. Any financial references are basic and should not dissuade non-economists (for example one theme uses BULL and BEAR in several answers). I'm aware of the right-leaning politics of the WSJ newspaper editorial board but do not notice any traces of that in the WSJ puzzle. I look forward to a new puzzle online each Friday and consider it on par with the more famous Sunday one from the New York Times.

These are my favorite crossword puzzles---glad to find an omnibus of them finally.

I LOVE the puzzles, but found the book unwieldy. Solving would be a more pleasant experience if it had a spiral binding.

Our family name is Shenk - gave to my brother for Christmas and he said it was really good.

Great price for 250 WSJ puzzles. They are not as difficult as New York Times puzzles, but lots of fun, due to the themes for each puzzle.

For those of us who despise crossword anthologies with a limited, stereotyped vocabulary, or with extensive reliance on identifying contemporary sports and entertainment figures, the WSJ crosswords are the answer! The vocabulary is typical of WSJ news articles, and therefore gratifying to regular readers of the Journal. While there is more reliance on naming sports and entertainment figures than I would prefer, it's still kept within limits.

I've done about 70 of these now and it's one of my favorite crossword books. I agree it would have been better spiral bound, but I just cut the back off with a utility knife giving me loose sheets. The difficulty of these puzzles is quite consistent (similar to, but perhaps slightly easier, than NYTimes Thursday or Sunday). The WSJ puzzles are free online, so you can do a few of the current set to get a feel for them before you buy. All the puzzles are 21x21 grids.