Polyominoes: Puzzles, Patterns, Problems, and Packings (Paperback)

by Solomon W. Golomb (Author), Warren Lushbaugh (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Truly a jewel in the crown of mathematical royalty, this book deserves to be a runaway bestseller. -- Review

Review
The book covers all areas, both beginner and expert, thoroughly. Hundreds of diagrams illustrate the detailed, clearly written texts.... A classic. From a simple idea, Golomb has created a ... science.
(Colin Singleton New Scientist )

One of the most eagerly anticipated second editions in the history of mathematics, [Polyominoes] was worth it.... Truly a jewel in the crown of mathematical royalty, this book deserves to be a runaway bestseller.
(Charles Ashbacher Journal of Recreational Mathematics )

Truly a jewel in the crown of mathematical royalty, this book deserves to be a runaway bestseller.
(Journal of Recreational Mathematics )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press; 2nd edition (March 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691024448
• ISBN-13: 978-0691024448
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,056,813 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better the second time through, June 29, 2000

By	Charles Ashbacher "([e-mail])" (Marion, Iowa United States([e-mail])) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

One of the most eagerly anticipated second editions in the history of mathematics, the wait was worth it. Literally defining a whole new area of recreational mathematics, the problems and proof techniques introduced in the first edition have kept an entire generation of mathematical thinkers busy. Although easily understood, some of the problems have defied solution for decades after the publication of the first edition in 1965. It now appears that all of the problems listed as unsolved in the first edition have been resolved, the last succumbing in 1993. As befits the enormous interest in these problems, three people announced solutions simultaneously, this reviewer being one of them.
While there is not a lot of material that was not part of the first book, it still stirs the mathematical heart. For these problems and proofs are timeless things of beauty. Even a child can understand how to put polyominoes together - my two-year-old daughter is an existence proof of that. And the proofs are sometimes so clever in their simplicity that one is tempted to use the phrase attributed to Paul Erdos, "That one is from God's little book." Who among us fails to appreciate some of the proofs of placing pentominoes on a checkerboard that relies on nothing more than the number of spaces colored black versus red. Even the proofs of the problems that took decades to resolve can be understood by those with only a rudimentary knowledge of mathematics. Sometimes, if you can count to 60, you can understand the proof.
Truly a jewel in the crown of mathematical royalty, this book deserves to be a runaway bestseller.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ultimate book on polyominoes by the inventor., February 16, 2002

By	anon2001 "anon2001" (Kinross, Western Australia AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews

Polyominoes is an entire sub-domain of geometrical puzzles and
this book is the epitomie of the subject. Packed full of
results and puzzles old and new. An extensive bibliography
is provided. Another one for the bookshelf of all mathematical puzzlers.