The colossal book of short puzzles and problems

For more than twenty-five years, Martin Gardner was Scientific American's renowned provocateur of popular mathematics.

His yearly gatherings of short and inventive problems were easily his most anticipated maths columns.

Loyal readers would savour the wit and elegance of his explorations in physics, probability, topology and chess, among others.

Grouped by subject and arranged from easiest to hardest, the puzzles gathered here have been selected by Gardner for their illuminating - and often bewildering - solutions.

Filled with over 300 illustrations, this new volume contains nine new mathematical gems that Gardner, now ninety, has been gathering for the last decade.

No amateur or expert mathematics lover should be without this indispensable volume.