Team Liquid - Shop now
Buy used:
$6.31
FREE delivery December 9 - 12. Details
Or fastest delivery December 6 - 10. Details
Used: Good | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Henry Ernest Dudeney
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Amusements in Mathematics (Dover Recreational Math) Paperback – June 1, 1958

by Henry E. Dudeney (Author)
See all formats and editions
The legion of H. E. Dudeney fans needs no introduction to the first American edition of this endlessly entertaining and instructive volume of mathematical amusements. New readers will be delighted with the 430 puzzles, problems, paradoxes, and brain-teasers presented by a master of mathematical ingenuity.
Virtually every sort of mathematical or logical poser is included in this extraordinary collection — problems concerning the manipulation of numbers; unicursal and route problems; moving counter puzzles; locomotion and speed problems; measuring, weighing, and packing problems; clock puzzles; combination and group problems. Greek Cross puzzles, problems involving the dissection or superimposition of plane figures, points and lines problems, joiner's problems, and crossing river problems severely test the geometrical and topological imagination. Chessboard problems, involving the dissection of the board or the placement or movement of pieces, age and kinship problems, algebraical and numerical problems, magic squares and strips, mazes, puzzle games, and problems concerning games will give you an unparalled opportunity to exercise your logical, as well as your mathematical agility.
Each problem is presented with Dudeney's unique urbane wit and sense of paradox, and each is provided with a clearly-written solution — and often with an amusing and instructive discussion of how others tried to attack it and failed. Most of the problems are original creations — but Dudeney has also included many age-old puzzlers for which he has discovered new, surprising, and usually simpler, solutions.
"Not only an amusement but a revelation … "— THE SPECTATOR.
"The best miscellaneous collection of the kind …"— NATURE.
Previous slide of product details
  1. Reading age
    12 years and up
  2. Print length
    288 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.75 x 8 inches
  5. Publisher
    Dover Publications
  6. Publication date
    June 1, 1958
  7. ISBN-10
    0486204731
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0486204734
  9. See all details
Next slide of product details
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications; reprint edition (June 1, 1958)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486204731
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486204734
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8 inches

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Henry Ernest Dudeney

Henry Ernest Dudeney

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
582 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book fun, engaging, and good for reading. However, some customers report that the illustrations are missing from the Kindle edition. Opinions are mixed on the difficulty level and value for money. Some say it presents puzzles in a practical way using day-to-day events, while others say some problems are nearly impossible to solve.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
EnjoymentFunctionalityDifficulty levelValue for moneyIllustrations
9 customers mention "Enjoyment"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fun, challenging, and engaging. They say it activates their minds as they read. Readers also mention the book is good for reading and has good brain teasers.

"...They're good brain teasers.The book doesn't have the greatest formatting for the Kindle...." Read more

"The content is relevant, applicable , engaging and activates my mind as I find the solutions. I will be recommending this book to my friends." Read more

"It's fun, but the problems date from the late 1800s or early 1900s and the problems dealing with money are in the British system of pounds, shillings..." Read more

"...I am really enjoying the challenge. A great buy for anyone interested in math puzzles." Read more

3 customers mention "Functionality"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book useful, applicable, and enjoyable. They also say the content is relevant.

"...errors and it lacks a table of contents and proper markup, but it still works well...." Read more

"The content is relevant, applicable , engaging and activates my mind as I find the solutions. I will be recommending this book to my friends." Read more

"good book for reading, my son loves this book and says its useful. he recently get many interesting in the math book" Read more

10 customers mention "Difficulty level"6 positive4 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the difficulty level of the book. Some mention it presents puzzles in a more practical way using day-to-day events. They say the stories require considerable effort to solve, while others say half the puzzles cannot even be comprehended and are nearly impossible to solve.

"...The age puzzles are somewhat easier and probably a better place to begin." Read more

"...The only "downside" I have is that some of the math puzzles are a bit difficult when older British money was used, when the problem is compounded by..." Read more

"...Dudeney writes interesting puzzles stories that require considerable effort to solve. I am really enjoying the challenge...." Read more

"A great resource for mathematics curiosity. I will use it for a classroom reading choice for students who ask for more." Read more

6 customers mention "Value for money"3 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the value of the book. Some mention it's worth every penny, while others say it's a truly worthless edition.

"...It is in great condition at the right price and delivered in reasonable time." Read more

"This is a truly worthless edition of a great book of mathematical puzzles and diversions, an edition from which every diagram has been omitted...." Read more

"A great free puzzle book..." Read more

"...Books (July 12, 2010) version and found that this version is almost completely useless - similar to the Kindle version - as there are NO..." Read more

4 customers mention "Illustrations"0 positive4 negative

Customers find the illustrations in the book lacking. They say the diagrams are missing from the Kindle edition, making many of the problems incomprehensible.

"...mathematical puzzles and diversions, an edition from which every diagram has been omitted...." Read more

"...useless - similar to the Kindle version - as there are NO illustrations which are relevant to many of the problems and answers...." Read more

"...TOC, but had illustrations, my copy had a functional TOC and NO illustrations...." Read more

"The diagrams are missing from the Kindle edition, which makes many of the problems incomprehensible...." Read more

Omits all illustrations
1 out of 5 stars
Omits all illustrations
This is a truly worthless edition of a great book of mathematical puzzles and diversions, an edition from which every diagram has been omitted.Take, for example, Puzzle 429, which asks you to place 13 coins in a circle so that certain conditions are met. The entirety of the solution is, “Thirteen coins may be placed as shown”. But nothing is shown because all the illustrations have been omitted.Half the puzzles cannot even be comprehended because the illustrations that should accompany the text are missing.
Hide
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

Nick
5.0 out of 5 stars A great free puzzle book
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2010
Verified Purchase
If I were a math teacher or had kids, this book would be worth good money despite its age. There's a collection of a few hundred math problems, involving money, time, families and other situations. They're good brain teasers.

The book doesn't have the greatest formatting for the Kindle. There are a few errors and it lacks a table of contents and proper markup, but it still works well. The only "downside" I have is that some of the math puzzles are a bit difficult when older British money was used, when the problem is compounded by the fact that you had to use shillings and pence were used, and you mention that you have a half crown and threepence in order to buy something. It's a little confusing but there's a table of conversions in the beginning.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Relevant and enjoyable
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2023
Verified Purchase
The content is relevant, applicable , engaging and activates my mind as I find the solutions. I will be recommending this book to my friends.
Helpful
 Report
A. Ball
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, but from a different era.
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
It's fun, but the problems date from the late 1800s or early 1900s and the problems dealing with money are in the British system of pounds, shillings, and pence. There is a glossary of necessary terminology, but I found some of the problems nearly impossible to solve, not because of the mathematics, but because I was unsure what coin denominations were in circulation back then. Modern citizens of Great Britain may have the same problem because they have since gone to the decimal system for their coinage.

A few of the problems are also definitely non-politically correct, including one that nominally dealt with Chinese coinage in which three different kinds of coins are specified in terms of a standard amount called a "ching-chang" in the text. There aren't very many such problems, but a few may be offensive to some people.
Helpful
 Report
Razor
3.0 out of 5 stars It's okay. . .
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book would have been exactly what I was looking for but the currency is all in old British currency! I know that not everyone is going to use the American system (and I'm not being ethnocentric), it's just that I had to look up all of the values of British currency to be able to do most of the riddles. Furthermore, some of them actually require you to physically have experienced the coins in order to do the riddle (as they are about recalling size).

It's probably not a fault of the book, but my point is that being in contemporary society is going put you at a disadvantage to solving a lot of the riddles.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
stargazing fisherman
5.0 out of 5 stars delightful puzzles
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2010
Verified Purchase
I have no expectations regarding formatting of free kindle books, and this one did not disappoint. That said, I totally love these puzzles, particularly the ones involving Brittish currency--they add a degree of difficulty that stretches me to the max--and yet you can always move on to the next one and try again. The age puzzles are somewhat easier and probably a better place to begin.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Omits all illustrations
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is a truly worthless edition of a great book of mathematical puzzles and diversions, an edition from which every diagram has been omitted.

Take, for example, Puzzle 429, which asks you to place 13 coins in a circle so that certain conditions are met. The entirety of the solution is, “Thirteen coins may be placed as shown”. But nothing is shown because all the illustrations have been omitted.

Half the puzzles cannot even be comprehended because the illustrations that should accompany the text are missing.
Customer image
Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Omits all illustrations
Reviewed in the United States on October 21, 2024
This is a truly worthless edition of a great book of mathematical puzzles and diversions, an edition from which every diagram has been omitted.

Take, for example, Puzzle 429, which asks you to place 13 coins in a circle so that certain conditions are met. The entirety of the solution is, “Thirteen coins may be placed as shown”. But nothing is shown because all the illustrations have been omitted.

Half the puzzles cannot even be comprehended because the illustrations that should accompany the text are missing.
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer imageCustomer image
Helpful
 Report
Philip S. Auchincloss
5.0 out of 5 stars A mind stretcher
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2013
Verified Purchase
Love the puzzles in this book. The language and the views of British culture are wonderful. Dudeney writes interesting puzzles stories that require considerable effort to solve. I am really enjoying the challenge. A great buy for anyone interested in math puzzles.
Helpful
 Report
M. L. Graham
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting small puzzle book
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2018
Verified Purchase
I do puzzles to stay sharp. The ones in ths book ar challenging AND he gives the answers in case they are TOO challenging.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Lucimar
3.0 out of 5 stars Amusements in Mathematics
Reviewed in Brazil on September 14, 2018
Verified Purchase
Livro com ótima impressão. Encadernação sujeita a soltar folhas. As folhas foram apenas coladas e não amarradas (não costuradas). Caso venha a se soltarem, a solução seria colocar espiral. É o que pude perceber no acabamento. Me corrigem se estiver enganado. Versão digital seria mais em conta nesse caso.
Customer image
Lucimar
3.0 out of 5 stars Amusements in Mathematics
Reviewed in Brazil on September 14, 2018
Livro com ótima impressão. Encadernação sujeita a soltar folhas. As folhas foram apenas coladas e não amarradas (não costuradas). Caso venha a se soltarem, a solução seria colocar espiral. É o que pude perceber no acabamento. Me corrigem se estiver enganado. Versão digital seria mais em conta nesse caso.
Images in this review
Customer image
Customer imageCustomer image
Report
Susie Jameson
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic puzzle book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
Many of today’s puzzle stem from these, others have taken these ideas and developed them into new puzzles. Studying these puzzles helps you tackle other ones. You do need to adapt to older money and measuring system, which adds another dimension to the challenge. Highly recommended for puzzle enthusiasts.
Report
Jacob Lalthazuala
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on January 8, 2018
Verified Purchase
Nice read. Extremely useful
Report
John Nicholson
3.0 out of 5 stars Problems
Reviewed in Australia on May 7, 2017
Verified Purchase
Amusements in Mathematics in the e-book format lacks the illustrations in the solutions where there is supposed to be some. Otherwise the problems are complex and intriguing.
Report
Chesley Mesher
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on March 29, 2015
Verified Purchase
OK
Report