Solve...or get burned! These 45 brilliantly executed puzzles are for solvers who like their crosswords tough, with devilishly difficult clues. It's just right for fans of the Friday and Saturday offerings from places like the New York Times. Each puzzle has a wickedly tricky theme; in fact, there are even explanations in the back for the hardest clues! So if you can't stand the heat...get out while you can!

DIV2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the crossword puzzle. Journalist Arthur Wynne had wanted to devise a new game for the back of the newspaper back in 1913, so he created a diamond grid and called it a “Word-Cross,� and thus the first crossword puzzle was born./divDIV Editor and crossword constructor Ben Tausig examines the curious history of the world’s most addictive game and its unusual upbringing. Accompanied by 100 unique and challenging puzzles from the past 100 years, he examines the evolution of grid shape, how basic expected knowledge of the reader has changed, the puzzles that break the “breakfast table rule� and more. Featuring puzzles from top constructors like Will Shortz, Brendan Emmett Quigley, Matt Jones, Cathy Millhauser, Maura Jacobson, and more. Try your pen or pencil on the crosswords your parents, grandparents, or great grandparents did decades ago!/div

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 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.

Beware--these 45 super-tough puzzles can burn you! But if you enjoy the heat, and regularly tackle weekend-length crosswords in the top newspapers, then you'll love these brilliantly executed puzzles. They're tricky because of their devilishly clever clues, NOT obscure answers, and each one has a wickedly hard theme. There are even explanations for the most difficult clues in the back!

This collection of 45 crosswords is made for puzzle masochists! Solvers who love the weekend offerings from places like The New York Times can test their skills on cunning clues--not obscure answers. Some puzzles have wickedly tricky themes, and there are fun facts, explanations for the toughest clues, and complete answer grids. Only the daring will use a pen!

Crossword masochists: these 45 super-tough puzzles are for you. But beware--theyre so hard, your brain may go up in flames! Every brilliantly executed crossword will test your skills with devilishly difficult clues and wickedly tricky themes. If you enjoy the Friday and Saturday offerings from places like the New York Times, youll love these!

Fifty years after Where the Wild Things Are was published comes the last book Maurice Sendak completed before his death in May 2012, My Brother's Book. With influences from Shakespeare and William Blake, Sendak pays homage to his late brother, Jack, whom he credited for his passion for writing and drawing. Pairing Sendak's poignant poetry with his exquisite and dramatic artwork, this book redefines what mature readers expect from Maurice Sendak while continuing the lasting legacy he created over his long, illustrious career. Sendak's tribute to his brother is an expression of both grief and love and will resonate with his lifelong fans who may have read his children's books and will be ecstatic to discover something for them now. Pulitzer Prize–winning literary critic and Shakespearean scholar Stephen Greenblatt contributes a moving introduction.