Famous Puzzles of Great Mathematicians

Famous Puzzles of Great Mathematicians reminds us that puzzles are a big part of the history of mathematics. I daresay many mathematicians were sucked into the field by puzzles, such as those disseminated by the late Martin Gardner in his “Mathematical Games” column in Scientific American, 1956-1986. … What is a puzzle, anyway — in particular, a mathematical puzzle? To me it is an engaging, self-contained mathematical question. … [This book] … contains (by my debatable count) 180 puzzles of which 30% are tasks, 25% historical, 20% natural, 10% examplars, 10% riddles, 4% obstacles, and 1% paradoxes. To these the book adds some entertaining and enlightening information about great mathematicians from Archimedes to Knuth. The puzzles themselves are (mostly) solved with undergraduate-level mathematics, making the book ideal for leaving within easy reach of current or potential mathematics majors. –Peter Winkler, American Mathematical Monthly

Famous Puzzles of Great Mathematicians contains a nice collection of recreational mathematics problems and puzzles, problems whose solutions do not rely on knowledge of advanced mathematics. … Despite its recreational nature, this book does not give up on being rigorous in its arguments, nor does it shy away from presenting some difficult problems, albeit solvable by elementary methods. … What makes this book especially compelling is Petkovi ‘s efforts in putting the problems into context. He makes it clear that math is a human subject, with its own stories and history. … [I] wholeheartedly recommend it to a wide variety of audiences. … Petkovi aims to bring his readers closer to the ideas of brilliant mathematicians, and I believe he succeeds. This book would be especially appropriate for undergraduates or even high school students with aptitude in mathematics. They should find Famous Puzzles of Great Mathematicians both very informative and fun, and might even become inspired to explore a career in math. –Lev Reyzin, ACM SIGACT News