What a bargain! At more than 700 puzzle-packed pages, this huge, value-priced collection should keep any solver happy...and busy for a very long time. It contains brain-busting challenges of almost every type: math logic problems for the numerically inclined; absolutely amazing lateral thinking conundrums; really great critical thinking bafflers; and mind-boggling word puzzles. Here's just a small sample of what's inside: The 22nd and 24th presidents of the United States had the same mother and the same father, but were not brothers. How could this be so? Stumped? That's because it's one man--Grover Cleveland--who was reelected after skipping a term. And that's just an easy warm-up!

"There is mental entertainment, magic, math, and more in this collection of classic tricks and problems."-Student Library Journal. Although referring to Townsend's 'The World's Most Challenging Puzzles,' this quote is applicable to his entire puzzle cannon. If you enjoy pitting yourself against the most challenging puzzles in existence and are a glutton for punishment, then one or all of these books are for you. Take your pick among 'The World's Trickiest,' 'Most Perplexing,' 'Most Incredible,' 'Greatest,' 'Most Amazing,' 'Most Baffling,' 'Most Challenging,' and 'Best.' Choose from any of the eight, or all eight, and see how you stand up against Charles Barry Townsend-'the Professor of Perplexing Puzzles." 128 pages, 125 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

The Greatest Dot-to-Dot Book in the World is an incredible collection of connect-the-dot surprises that will challenge and entertain the big kids. In addition to extremely detailed traditional dot-to-dots, there are unique innovations and variations that have never before been seen: Key and Star puzzles have more than one line to connect; Field of Dots puzzles have evenly spaced dots with a key indicating which to connect; also included are No-Dot and Odd/Even puzzles. The final images cover a broad subject range, adding to the surprise element. Older kids and adults who love puzzles will be delighted to find an entire pages of dots that won't reveal themselves until you get started. Prepare to be challenged.

"There is mental entertainment, magic, math, and more in this collection of classic tricks and problems."-Student Library Journal. Although referring to Townsend's 'The World's Most Challenging Puzzles,' this quote is applicable to his entire puzzle cannon. If you enjoy pitting yourself against the most challenging puzzles in existence and are a glutton for punishment, then one or all of these books are for you. Take your pick among 'The World's Trickiest,' 'Most Perplexing,' 'Most Incredible,' 'Greatest,' 'Most Amazing,' 'Most Baffling,' 'Most Challenging,' and 'Best.' Choose from any of the eight, or all eight, and see how you stand up against Charles Barry Townsend-'the Professor of Perplexing Puzzles." 128 pages, 100 b/w illus., 5 3/8 x 8 1/4.

Match your mind with the world's greatest brains! If you can match minds with the greatest brains, then you have a chance of solving these puzzles. Try this one right now: A word I know, six letters it contains, subtract just one and twelve, you'll find, remains. If you can prove that six minus one equals twelve, you win the prize for smart thinking! If you miss it, or any others in this book, all the answers are at the back. Great cartoons and illustrations will help and entertain you, while your brain gets to work on these topnotch, trick challenges. More than 90 of the world's hardest puzzles start with super-hard puzzles and move up to out of this world hard. You'll love each and everyone!

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. “Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before Look for the author’s new podcast, The Puzzler, based on this book! What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost. In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—The Puzzler will open readers’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.