The New York Times Tough Crossword Puzzles Volume 13: 100 of the Most Challenging Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times [Paperback]

The New York Times (Author), Will Shortz (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2005 | Series: New York Times Tough Crossword Puzzles (Book 13)

Are you up to the challenge?

Dazzling Difficult Crosswords from The New York Times

· 100 tough, tricky crosswords from Friday and Saturday editions of The New York Times
· Appearing for the first time in book form
· Edited by Will Shortz

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Will Shortz] is the crossword king."
- Steve Kroft, 60 Minutes

"The prince of crossword puzzlers."
- Greenwich Magazine

"The Riddler's got nothing on Will Shortz."
- Time Out New York

"Will Shortz is [the crossword book world's] John Grisham."
- Martin Arnold

About the Author

Will Shortz has been the crossword puzzle editor of The New York Times since 1993. Mr. Shortz founded both the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, where he serves as director, and the World Puzzle Championship, where he is the captain of the U.S. team. He is the current Puzzlemaster for "Weekend Edition Sunday"on National Public Radio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (July 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312342403
• ISBN-13: 978-0312342401
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Brain teasers, October 18, 2007

By 

Starr "carnevalestarr" (St Gallen, Switzerland) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The New York Times Tough Crossword Puzzles Volume 13: 100 of the Most Challenging Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (Paperback)

When you complete one of these crosswords (without using a dictionary or cheating!) you really feel like you have accomplished something. I love it when I complete a puzzle that I didn't even start filling in until about clue #20! You can't go wrong with Will Shortz.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tough puzzles indeed, but unfortunately, without themes., October 4, 2008

By 

R. Nicholson - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The New York Times Tough Crossword Puzzles Volume 13: 100 of the Most Challenging Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (Paperback)

A selection of Crossword puzzles from the Friday/Saturday N.Y. Times Newspaper.

These are, as the title adequately suggests, hard crossword puzzles. They are puzzles that will give you a thorough cerebral workout; they require lots of thought and the occasional use of a crossword puzzle book for obscure names, references etc. However, they were do-able with some determination and perseverance.

However the main questions is...were they fun? In a word...NO! Well, at least not as much as I'd hoped. Why? Let me explain.

The puzzles in this book are set up on your basic 15x15 grid, but, unfortunately, without any particular theme connected to them. In fact, it was this volume of puzzles made me realize that my definition of a really entertaining crossword puzzle MUST have a 'theme' associated with it; that is, a set of somewhat related definitions that usually have answers involving some deceptive phrases or some tricky word-plays. These type of puzzles (with a theme) can be found in the weekend edition of the N.Y. Times puzzle as well as several other newpapers.

Conclusion:
These are, tough crossword puzzles, as the title correctly stated.
However, I love my crossword puzzles with a devious theme and there are none in this volume. But, I have no one to blame but myself as I should have read the title of this soft-covered book more carefully. Next time I'll I look a little closer at the title and the material within.

Ray Nicholson

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very,very challenging!, March 14, 2009

By 

Jack (Rifle, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The New York Times Tough Crossword Puzzles Volume 13: 100 of the Most Challenging Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (Paperback)

Possibly, I bit off a little more than I can chew. But, enjoy the challenge.