5 comments about The Riddle of Scheherazade: And Other Amazing Puzzles.

1. Seeing my frustration at being thoroughly unchallenged in logic in my math class at school, my mom bought me this book. I owe her one. There are coercive logic puzzles, easy but sneaky riddles, and math games. There are liar/truthteller problems to keep you guessing for hours. That said, this is also a great book to read on a plane. It is so complete, you will never need another brainteaser book. That is, until you memorize all the questions.



2. This is probably the best book on logic puzzles ever written (aside from other Smullyan books, that is). It is witty, challenging, and has problems of all kinds. The first half is framed as a continuation to the Arabian Nights, with ingenious and original puzzles (aside from the occasional oldy snuck in) given an Arabian touch.
   However, after those brilliant puzzles comes the greatest part of the book. The second half is a collection of puzzles, paradoxes, and even has a couple of chapters on coercive logic, invented by Raymond Smullyan himself.
   I reccomend this book to any logic buff, or indeed to anyone who's ever enjoyed a logic puzzle. And if you don't fall into either category, then you need this book all the more.



3. This book is a good source of riddles, old and new. Unfortunately, a lot of the riddles are just basic algebra problems... and that's not very fun. But if you skip (or quickly work out) the silly algebra riddles, there are still a lot of other interesting riddles. And also there's a neat way to prove Gauss's summing rule in this book.
   
   Also, I was looking for an errata for this book, but I couldn't find one, so I will just mention here that the answer to number 71 is incorrect. But, if you just remove the last sentence from the answer, then it is right.



4. This book, by a well-known poser of puzzles, sets out of the order of a thousand logic puzzles in a format loosely styled upon the presentation of Scheherazade, but in a somewhat less entrancing way. The problem with logic is that there is just so much of it about. Perhaps the axiom 'less is more' might have been applied and some judicious excision of the more mechanical or repetitious examples been performed. The jewels are lost amongst the glass beads. Obviously by its nature mathematical logic eschews value judgements, but in the present case this seems to have been taken rather too literally.



5. I bought this book because I like math and puzzles, and a friend who teaches middle school math had mentioned that she and her class were having fun going through the puzzles. I really enjoyed the puzzles in this book, most of which are math or number oriented, but some of which are more like word riddles. The answers and thought processes used are in the back of the book, although I swear a couple are wrong! I know this sounds a little odd, but doing the puzzles at night was a great help a few nights with insomnia (so I could think through a logic or math problem in my head until I fell asleep, rather than let my mind wander to more stessful life events...)

5 comments about The Official Book of Kakuro: Book 1.

1. Most of the puzzles in this book were satisfying. Three of the latter "Medium" puzzles are irritating: two lack unique solutions (for example, the answer key has "3 1" immediately above "1 3," which is impossible to logically distinguish from "1 3" directly above "3 1") and one is actually invalid (the answer key has "2 1 2" as the solution to one "word," and there's no other way to solve it, as the three cells in question must add up to 5.) The other 147 puzzles in this collection are free of such errors. My only other grumble is about the difficulty; I did not notice a significant difference between the difficulty of the medium puzzles and the first 40 hard puzzles, though the last 10 hard puzzles were a significant step up from the first 40. Even the hardest puzzles are not as difficult as those in the Virgin books. I'd recommend this to people who are looking for a first experience with Kakuro, but those with experience with other publishers might want to look elsewhere for additional challenge.



2. Book is too small and bulky. Hard to keep open while solving puzzles. Gridwise, all of the puzzles were very small throughout the entire book. Should be geared toward kids, not adults. Not challenging at all.



3. This was my first Kakuro book. It got me up and running quickly.



4. There are an equal number of Easy, Medium and Hard puzzles. There are also instructions and tips if you have never played before. If you are like me and have been doing Cross Sums for years, you will enjoy the medium and hard puzzles. Now I'm waiting for Extreme Kakuro!!



5. I hate Kakuro books where you are suppose to guess "wildly" and cannot be solved through pure logic. This is NOT one of those.
   
   So puzzles might seem less challenging to people who like to use "trial and error" but, for the rest of us, it has plenty of challenging situations that can be solved logically.
   
   It does include some puzzles with more than one answer. So I can't give it 5 stars. But, on the other hand, I haven't found one that doesn't.

1 comments about Lewis Carroll's Games and Puzzles.

1. Lewis Carroll was of course one of the greatest and most influential children's writers who ever lived. He was also a mathematics lecturer at Oxford who wrote excellent books on logic. It has been said that these were two halves of a split personality, but this book is proof that they were not. Here are some wonderful puzzles that unite the children's writer and the mathematician, and will appeal to everyone who has the slightest trace of mathematical ability. Edward Wakeling, a noted authority on Lewis Carroll and himself a mathematician, has done a good job assembling this book.

3 comments about Mathematical Footprints: Discovering Mathematics Everywhere.

1. What role has math played since prehistoric times? This considers math's many uses in medicine and art, its role in the development of computers and information systems, and its systematic importance to daily living. From the math involved in weather forecasting to math in art, this is packed with important details presented in a lively manner.



2. Thumbed through this book in the store... Loved the idea, and the selection of topics - architecture, natural phenomena, etc. - really wanted to buy it. Ran across some typos... some missing information... and ultimately just plain bogus "mathematics": sin^2 + cos^2 =1. Well, sin and cos of what? As written, it's nonsense... there's nonsense all around us too, but I wouldn't want to read a book about it. Wondered why the publisher did not employ an editor... put it back on the shelf.



3. Dear Amazon Staff.

   A recent review for this book was obviously written by someone who is unfamiliar with geometry and trigonometry. The pythagorian theoren states that the relationship between the two sides and the hypotenuse of a right triangle is A^2 = B^2 + C^2 since sin and cosine are defined to be the two sides of a right triangle whose hypotenuse is 1, the theorem which you reviewer claims to be false is in fact true. It is always the case that 1 = sin^2 w + cos^2 w regardless of the value of w. I am writing to you because the majority of people rating your more recent customer review of this book are rating his review as being useful. This is really unfortunate.

   I am considering using this book for a course. I will write a
   review for it if we use it.

   Barbara Nostrand, Ph.D. (Mathematics - Northeastern University)
   Assistant Professor of Computer Science
   SUNY College at Potsdam
   Potsdam, New York 13676

No comments about Probability Models in Engineering and Science (Mechanical Engineering (Marcell Dekker)).

5 comments about The Official Book of Hanjie.

1. I am not sure the author of this book understands the nature of the puzzles. Some puzzles listed as easy were not doable, some were very boring with no logic involved in solving, some had no starting point and some were good.



2. This is the WORST book on Hanjie I've ever seen. The author has tried to construct on the regular 5 block grids, but he can't seem to get the hang of it, so on almost every puzzle, you have rows and columns, sometimes up to three or four on each side, that you have to black out. This makes the 5 block grid almost useless for counting and placement. The easy puzzles are too easy and the hard puzzles have too many puzzles that you have to guess where to start. I am really, really sorry I wasted my money on this book, and I recommend that nobody else do it.
   
   The only reason I gave this book even ONE star is because Amazon won't let me do this review without a star rating. In reality I would rate it as a -3 stars!



3. The puzzles are not well thought out and must have been done in a hurry. Every other Hanjie book I have done is far better than this one. It's not even fun.



4. I'll keep this short. Buy this book only if you've gone through every other hanjie puzzle available to you. As other reviewers mentioned, some of the grids are way to big for the puzzle (lots of padding). But my biggest complaint by far is the fact that some of the puzzles are indeterminate. In fact, the very first puzzle I did in the book forced me to guess. I'm guessing this book was a quick cash-in by the author. Obviously, he didn't do his homework on this one.



5. I wish I had read the reviews from others earlier. But I do feel a lot better now.
   I had always been confident about my puzzle solving skills until I spent time on this book --- I couldn't believe that so many of them did require you to guess,(what's the point?!), or they left you clueless. I got so frustrated everytime I had to leave an unsolved puzzle behind and move on to the next one. I really started wondering if I was too dumb for this. Now I know they do require you to cheat...
   I'll just leave this book alone as soon as I get other puzzle books.

5 comments about A Mathematical Mosaic: Patterns & Problem Solving (Revised Edition).

1. The author himself is renowned in math circles for his various achievements like gold medals at IMO ! and 4 times Putnam fellow ! No wonder this book is such beautiful rarety. I was totally impressed by the handling of the topics and the problem-solving approaches the author has chosen to explain. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in accelerating his knowledge in maths for a competitive exam like ARML, USMO. IMO etc. Definitely not for fire-side reading so it aint worth your time if you have only casual interest in maths. This book is intended for serious kids.I'd given it 10 stars for such marvelous insight.



2. Ravi Vakil gives a delightful introduction of some of the more interesting yet enigmatic areas of mathematics. Most of us are not too familiar with the cardinality of numbers or Galois Theory. However, the author presents these fascinating topics in such a lucid and insightful manner, that one becomes easily engrossed. Also, I particularly enjoyed reading the profiles of the young mathematicians - it was quite inspiring! Furthermore, the problems at the end of each section are thought provoking; many do not have complete solutions, and thus encourage the reader to think hard about them. As the title implies, it is NOT a textbook, but rather a compilation of scattered "lectures." It is a great book for the talented math reader, and students who want to explore some mathematics outside the general curriculum.



3. I understand that Ravi Vakil has a great record in the IMO and Putnam competitions. When I read the reviews and the back cover on a web site which explicitly stated: "Reveals some of [Vakil's] most powerful problem solving strategies," -- Well, of course I bought it immediately. Unfortunately most of the things in the book are quite elementary as far as problem solving goes. It is meant as an exposure for people who haven't seen these things so far(particularly talented jr high /middle school and early high school). Of course you will find some very interesting facts in here (and the rare mistakes-- Euler's Formula being called DeMoivre's Theorem) and will leave many young students in awe as Mr. Vakil shows off some beautiful mathematics. It is a good book, but I gave it only 3 stars because I expected much more( much more "powerful" stuff as the backcover said). If your a very experienced problem solver you will find many of the things in this book trivial(you will find some gems though), but if your a beginner with some talent, then you will love this book.



4. [...]

   This book does an incredibly admirable job of providing explanation of, and various methods of solving problems including, but not limited to, the irrationality of sqrt(2), the Fibbonacci Sequence and its relation to the Golden Ratio, Imaginary and Surreal numbers, and so on.

   Vakil is an engaging and sensitive writer who engages the reader who has no knowledge of thse problems, to the reader who has a fundamental understanding of the topics. Ravi Vakil was my professor of multivariate calculus, and I think his marvelous personality comes through in this superb introduction to some of mathematics' finest puzzles.




5. Excellent, most wonderful book which makes mathematical exploration of the universe a pure joy! ... If you used to know all this stuff and just need a quick refresher ... or if you've never known this stuff and just want a quick intro ... this book is for you ... Illustrations coupled with text are fantastic!

1 comments about Mega-Fun Math Games: 70 Quick-and-Easy Games to Build Math Skills (Grades 2-5).

1. I run a math club at my children's school. I am always in search of activities to use. This book has great activities, especially for first through fourth grades. It would be a wonderful book to use at home, especially if your child doesn't like math. This would be a great way to show them that math is fun!

2 comments about Mathematical Sorcery: Revealing the Secrets of Numbers.

1. I bougth the spanish version of this book, And now I can say that this is one on the greatest bokks I ever read. The author explains the origins of Mathematics and some of the great matehmatical thems such Series, Calculus, Fibonacci Numbers, Cryptography and so on... If you want to know new mathematical terms and you enjoy this science, this is your best chance.



2. What a wonderful way to learn about the wonder of numbers. I found this book intensely interesting and thoroughly entertaining.

5 comments about Martin Gardner's Mathematical Games.

1. Martin Gardner's 30 years of Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American magazine are some of the most fun and interesting reading I've enjoyed. I searched out back issues in the high school library, had my own subscription, and collected as many of the books as I could find. When I was looking for one of the books I didn't have and found this complete collection, I immediately ordered it. There are very few authors in any field who are as clear in their writing and as enthusiastic in their delivery as he is. The content is easily worth the full 5 stars.
   
   But the reason I dropped the rating to 4 for this particular edition is its sometimes haphazard quality of image scans. In the worst cases, the color or shading in the original figures is now black-and-white and of such high contrast that important distinctions are mostly or completely lost. For example, the reversi piece colors in figure 29 of "New Mathematical Diversions" are indistinguishable as are the four-color map areas (of all things!) in figure 43. Many figures show moire patterns from rescanning the original halftones. Yet other figures have been reproduced with much greater care, even in color. Some pages with landscape layout have been rotated for easier reading but others have not. In a few cases, the black-and-white photographs in my books have been replaced with much better color photos. Some books are missing a back cover scan.
   
   The oddest example though, and somehow in keeping with the topic, is figure 109 in "Fractal Music". In my copy of the book, this is a reproduction of Magritte's "The Two Mysteries" and the caption says so. In this edition, it is a redrawn version and the caption now says it is "a caricature" of the Magritte work. At least 4 of the books appear to be affected by poor images and at least 6 of them appear to be fine.
   
   Despite these problems, it's very handy to have the complete set of books in one place. But I'll be keeping the 4 books with the bad scans until a new edition fixes them.



2. Those of us old enough to remember Martin Gardner's columns in Scientific American should buy this CD at least for old times sake. All the favourite characters like Dr Matrix and his daughter are there and it brings back many happy memories of trying to work out some of the problems Martin posed



3. It's always a pleasure to read anything by Martin Gardner. By getting his works on disk, I can have them on my laptop - much easier than books. The only reason I give this collection 4 instead of 5 stars is that I would have liked the books to be in a more searchable format than PDFs - a minor complaint.



4. Millions of people around the world have had their interest in mathematics lit, kindled or fed by the writings of Martin Gardner. His regular column "Mathematical Recreations" appeared in "Scientific American" for over a quarter of a century and those articles were readable, entertaining and highly educational.
   This CD-ROM is a collection of all his articles organized according to the book in which they appeared. The books are:
   
   *) Hexaflexagons and Other Mathematical Diversions
   *) The Second Scientific American Book of Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions
   *) New Mathematical Diversions
   *) The Unexpected Hanging and Other Mathematical Diversions
   *) Martin Gardner's 6th Book of Mathematical Diversions from Scientific American
   *) Mathematical Carnival
   *) Mathematical Magic Show
   *) Mathematical Circus
   *) The Magic Numbers of Dr. Matrix
   *) Wheels, Life and Other Mathematical Amusements
   *) Knotted Doughnuts and Other Mathematical Bewilderments
   *) Penrose Tiles to Trapdoor Ciphers . . . And the Return of Dr. Matrix
   *) Fractal Music, Hypercards and More . . .
   *) The Last Recreations: Hydras, Eggs, and Other Mathematical Mystifications
   
   The opening page displays icons of all of the books and clicking on any icon switches the display to a split screen where the left section contains the table of contents and the right contains the text of the book. Clicking on any entry in the TOC takes you to that article. The collection is searchable, so if you have only a dim recollection of an article you read years ago, you will still be able to find it.
   Martin Gardner is a very humble man, arguing that his skill in mathematical exposition is due to the fact that he does not know very much mathematics. He claims that this forced him to research his subject thoroughly before he began writing the article. I find this the only questionable position that he has ever taken; in my opinion the man is a mathematical genius.



5. 
   Martin Gardner has written very entertaining and engaging books about an incredibly wide variety of mathematical worlds and puzzles, and in the process made complex mathematical ideas come to life. This CD features 15 of his books in pdf form. The pdf files consist of page scans, which makes the pdf scroll a little slowly, but that isn't much of a problem.
   
   I highly recommend this to anybody interested in recreational mathematics.