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The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems [Hardcover]

Martin Gardner (Author), Dana Richards (Editor)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

A remarkable retrospective of [Gardner's] astonishingly influential career as an expositor extraordinaire. -- John Allen Paulos, author of Innumeracy

Product Description

Finally collected in one volume, Martin Gardner's immensely popular short puzzles; along with a few new ones from the master. For more than twenty-five years, Martin Gardner was Scientific American's renowned provocateur of popular math. His yearly gatherings of short and inventive problems were easily his most anticipated math columns. Loyal readers would savor the wit and elegance of his explorations in physics, probability, topology, and chess, among others. Grouped by subject and arrayed from easiest to hardest, the puzzles gathered here, which complement the lengthier, more involved problems in The Colossal Book of Mathematics, have been selected by Gardner for their illuminating; and often bewildering; solutions. Filled with over 300 illustrations, this new volume even contains nine new mathematical gems that Gardner, now ninety, has been gathering for the last decade. No amateur or expert math lover should be without this indispensable volume; a capstone to Gardner's seventy-year career. 308 illustrations
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 512 pages
  • Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; (Edited by Dana Richards) edition (November 28, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0393061140
  • ISBN-13: 978-0393061147
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #133,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
    #31 in  Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Math Games
    #87 in  Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Logic & Brain Teasers

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Martin Gardner
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
algorithmic puzzles, additive persistence, incomparable rectangles, first black ace, reentrant tour, nim sum, digital root, dragon curve, whim move, gray cube, acute isosceles, geometric puzzles, counting rotations, spin the table, acute triangles
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Scientific American, Plane Geometry, American Mathematical Monthly, Journal of Recreational Mathematics, Solid Geometry, Mathematics Magazine, Word Ways, Raymond Smullyan, Physical Objects, The Mathematical Gazette, Henry Ernest Dudeney, Lewis Carroll, North Pole, Journal of Combinatorial Theory, Washington High, John Harris, Scripta Mathematica, Fitch Cheney, Dmitri Borgmann, New Jersey, Oxford University Press, John Horton Conway, Sam Loyd, Robert Abbott
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I predict this book will be a Mathematical Recreations classic., March 13, 2006
By J. Guild (Toronto,Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems (Hardcover)
Martin Gardner is the name that always comes to mind when one thinks of Mathematical Recreations. Anyone who ever read Scientific American magazine will remember his column in every issue. He wrote the column for 25 years;and made puzzle lovers of millions of readers. His fans ran the gamut from those with a very elementary background in mathematics to those with a high degree of knowledge. What he did was to make mathematics something to enjoy and use as a recreational pursuit. Over the years, he wrote about 70 books,many that have been popular for a long time.
In this book, he has chosen 340 puzzles from his columns of over 25 years. He has selected simple problems as well as medium and difficult. Each problem is supplied with an answer or solution . Often, answers in puzzle books are sketchy;but here we not only get an answer but also a good idea and explanation on arriving at the solution.
The most interesting thing about this book is that it is geared to all levels of puzzle solvers (OMNIHEURISTS). I am sure that someone who has worked only a few puzzles,and who hasn't,will find many quite easy and in a short time will progress to those with more challenge; due particularly to the answer explanations.At the same time ,those with a lot of experience will find plenty to amuse themselves.
Along with a pick of some of the best of the columns over the years,Gardner has included 12 of the best brainteasers to have come his way since he stopped writing the column in 1986.
Also, we are given a list of all the other books that Martin Gardner wrote over the years. Along with that, there is a list of selected titles for those interested in more in the world of Recreational Mathematics.
If you like Mathematical Recreations or puzzles of any kind ;take a look at this book and you'll surely want to own it.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Gardner's collection of puzzles over the years (from Scientific American), January 2, 2006
By Manoj Bhargaw (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems (Hardcover)
What a great collection of puzzles. Anyone who likes puzzles SHOULD own this.
I initially bought this for myself. But my brother-in-law loved it so much (when it arrived) that I gave it to him as a present. Just ordered it for myself again!
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The home trainer for the brain, March 5, 2007
This review is from: The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems (Hardcover)
Great collection of thought puzzles, some well known, some highly original.

What I like most is that every problem, from the simplest up to the really difficult, has a twist to it: You may think you immediately see the answer, but there is always something you didn't think of. For example Problem 1.1 (to be seen in the Excerpt when you click on the image of the book): How many dates in a year can be confusing if you don't know whether they are in European notation (28/2/2007) or US (2/28/2007)? Your first thought is "That's easy, just 12x12", until you think a second time.

If you want to train your brain, solve a few of Martin Gardner's puzzles every day. Or just do it to have fun.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent in content and scope
This is a delightful collection that, while scarcely new (and it admits to being, with scant exception, a rehash of previous material), presents the puzzles in a delightful... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Bruce D. Wilner

5.0 out of 5 stars A big enjoyment
This is a superb collection of puzzles of all kinds. Anyone experienced or not in the puzzle field should own this book. Read more
Published on October 1, 2007 by Michail Chourdakis

5.0 out of 5 stars THE gift
The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems is going to be THE gift to send to your puzzle-loving friends and family. Gardener is a master and a national treasure. Read more
Published on December 12, 2005 by Deborah Bennett

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