Math Games Books - Page 2

The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures

Malba Tahan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Solving mathematical problems with imagination 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

A very entertaining novel, with a collection of mathematical problems embedded, that are solved with ingenuity rather than elaborate mathematical equations. A must read for all ages.

Math is fun! 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is one of the quirkiest books I've read. If you are one to hit the papers first thing in the morning to solve Sudoku, Kakuro, Mind bender, then go ahead and read this book. This is definitely your kind of book.

The Man Who Counted is about a mathematician Beremiz Samir and how he solves different problems with his knowledge of mathematics. Sort of like your Arabian Sherlock Holmes, just that the problems may not be that gory in nature. More like fights over camel distribution and such. He is not your regular human calculator, rather someone who sees romance in mathematics just as he sees it in nature, poetry. It is a collection of logical puzzles, stories, observations, anecdotes. The stories are written by Malba Tahan in the manner of storytellers of old.

The quirkiness doesn't end there. Malba Tahan is a fictitious person. The book is really written by a Brazilian mathematics professor, Júlio César de Mello e Souza's. This isn't just your regular pseudonym, Julio Cesar created a complete persona of an Arabic traveler Malba Tahan and wrote the books completely from his perspective.

The book uses interesting fables like dividing inheritance of camels amongst brothers to show how seemingly complex mathematics can be so simple and used in ordinary things. I think it can be a good tool for teachers, when mathematics becomes a chore for kids, to them the "cool" aspect of mathematics.

For those who enjoy solving logic puzzles, or even those wondering the point of Microsoft interview questions, this will be a good read. The problems may not seem like much, but the combination of storytelling with mathematics is an amusing read.

[...]

Editorial Review:

A collection of famous mathematical puzzles, taken from a popular newspaper column, features the ""writings"" of the fictional author, Malba Tahan, who describes different mathematical puzzles and solutions applied to real situations.

Math for Smarty Pants (Brown Paper School Book)

Marilyn Burns

List Price: $17.95 By: Little Brown & Co (Juv) Amazon Marketplace: 19 new & used starting at $3.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Great book, bad reading level rating 4 out of 5 stars.
16 of 21 people found this review helpful.

The book is great but it should be rated for 12+ instead of 9-12. The book goes into abstract concepts very hard to understand for a 10 year old. I bought it for my daughter which is the best of her class in math and she was very frustrated with the book. To really appreciate the book you need a very good grasping and confidence with the basic operations, fractions, powers and geometry, that means well beyond the years where your kid is learning those topics.

This book ROCKS! 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I don't care what anyone else says. This book is great. I'm 10 and I didn't think it was too hard or anything. I think younger kids might be confused, but I LOVE it!

Great Content BUT 3 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book contains a number of engaging math and logic problems, something that we do a lot of. Unfortunately, the print is small, the pages are quite crowded and answers are often extremely hard to find, all of which really limits the book's usefulness both in our math program and as a "just for fun" book.

Editorial Review:

Text, illustrations, and suggested activities offer a common-sense approach to mathematic fundamentals for those who are slightly terrified of numbers.

Brown Belt Kakuro: 150 Puzzles (Martial Arts Kakuro)

Conceptis Puzzles

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Light challenge for an advanced puzzler 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This is an excellent book for those of you who have mastered Kakuro and want a little challenge, without having to think too hard. These puzzles can be solved without guessing or very much notes. If you want a really good challenge, go for the Black Belt Kakuro puzzles.

Love It! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I love this series. The last two books, Brown and Black Belt are more challenging.

Editorial Review:

Kakuro is the next hot puzzle craze, and everyone can give it a try with this new, multilevel series. These language-free number puzzles use pure logic and require just simple arithmetic to solve. So, in addition to being fun, they help develop your powers of deduction and reasoning. Beginners can get started - and more experienced solvers hone their skills - with these perfectly tiered "belt" books, each containing 150 kakuros. They take their cue from the belt colors in martial arts: white is for novices, green for intermediates, brown for very accomplished players, and black for those consummate experts who crave a challenge.

Nonplussed!: Mathematical Proof of Implausible Ideas

Julian Havil

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Math--the application of reasonable logic to reasonable assumptions--usually produces reasonable results. But sometimes math generates astonishing paradoxes--conclusions that seem completely unreasonable or just plain impossible but that are nevertheless demonstrably true: Conclusions that, for example, tell us that a losing sports team can become a winning one by adding worse players than its opponents. Or that the thirteenth of the month is more likely to be a Friday than any other day. Or that cones can roll unaided uphill. In Nonplussed!--a delightfully eclectic collection of paradoxes from many different areas of math--popular-math writer Julian Havil reveals the math that shows the truth of these and many other unbelievable ideas.

Nonplussed! pays special attention to problems from probability and statistics, areas where intuition can easily be wrong. These problems include the vagaries of tennis scoring, what can be deduced from tossing a needle, and disadvantageous games that form winning combinations. Other chapters address everything from the historically important Torricelli's Trumpet to the mind-warping implications of objects that live on high dimensions. Readers learn about the colorful history and people associated with many of these problems in addition to their mathematical proofs.

Nonplussed! will appeal to anyone with a calculus background who enjoys popular math books or puzzles.

First Steps for Math Olympians: Using the American Mathematics Competitions (Problem Books) (MAA Problem Book Series)

J. Douglas Faires

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Any high school student preparing for the American Mathematics Competitions should get their hands on a copy of this book! A major aspect of mathematical training and its benefit to society is the ability to use logic to solve problems. The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) have been given for more than fifty years to millions of high school students. This book considers the basic ideas behind the solutions to the majority of these problems, and presents examples and exercises from past exams to illustrate the concepts. Anyone taking the AMC exams or helping students prepare for them will find many useful ideas here. But people generally interested in logical problem solving should also find the problems and their solutions interesting. This book will promote interest in mathematics by providing students with the tools to attack problems that occur on mathematical problem-solving exams, and specifically to level the playing field for those who do not have access to the enrichment programs that are common at the top academic high schools. The book can be used either for self-study or to give people who want to help students prepare for mathematics exams easy access to topic-oriented material and samples of problems based on that material. This is useful for teachers who want to hold special sessions for students, but it is equally valuable for parents who have children with mathematical interest and ability. As students' problem solving abilities improve, they will be able to comprehend more difficult concepts requiring greater mathematical ingenuity. They will be taking their first steps towards becoming math Olympians!

More Sideways Arithmetic from Wayside School

Louis Sachar

By: Demco Media Amazon Marketplace: 1 new & used starting at $4.00

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Lots of fun! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

I love incorporating words with math! It makes it fun and interesting. I am not big on math (nor am I very good at it), but when you incorporate language, it makes it fun. I really found this enjoyable! You do neet time, paper, and a darn good eraser, but this was a blast! It has the same kind of stories as the other Wayside books, but it incorporates math problems to go with it. (BOYS + GIRLS = SILLY) And it's your job to figure out number substitutes for the letters. It's a lot of fun to do, and improves math skills and language skills. It's a blast!
It's harder than the first one, be warned! But it's also more fun and entertaining. I always used it as like a rainy day project, and I plan to do the same with my daughter.

Great Book for a Math/Logic Wiz 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I had this book when I was in fifth grade, and I absolutely loved it. I was already a big fan of the Wayside books, and I also liked math so these books were the perfect combination for me. I even remember working through the entire book multiple times. I especially loved the early problems wtih the convertion of basic math equations with letters to numbers like BOYS + BOYS = GIRLS and stuff like that. Now I am a physics major in college so I guess I came out pretty well. This book (and the first as well) is highly recommended for any kid who likes the Wayside books and also enjoys math/logic puzzles. Who knows, maybe this kid will be working with Schrodinger's equation in several years.

The Colossal Book of Short Puzzles and Problems

Martin Gardner

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Finally collected in one volume, Martin Gardner's immensely popular short puzzles—along with a few new ones from the master.

For more than twenty-five years, Martin Gardner was Scientific American's renowned provocateur of popular math. His yearly gatherings of short and inventive problems were easily his most anticipated math columns. Loyal readers would savor the wit and elegance of his explorations in physics, probability, topology, and chess, among others. Grouped by subject and arrayed from easiest to hardest, the puzzles gathered here, which complement the lengthier, more involved problems in The Colossal Book of Mathematics, have been selected by Gardner for their illuminating—and often bewildering—solutions. Filled with over 300 illustrations, this new volume even contains nine new mathematical gems that Gardner, now ninety, has been gathering for the last decade. No amateur or expert math lover should be without this indispensable volume—a capstone to Gardner's seventy-year career. 308 illustrations.

World's Best Logic Puzzles

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

great puzzles! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

If you love different kinds of logic puzzles then this is the book for you. The book is divided into different categories - for example, regular logic puzzles, puzzles that are more mathematical, and puzzles which are great for groups (parties, family gatherings, etc.), among others. My kids love them! We've had great fun around the dining room table with this book.

Editorial Review:

It's time to give your brain a healthy workout, and logic puzzles are an enjoyable way to do it! You'll find a variety of puzzles in this collection. We've grouped the puzzles into six categories: Discrete Reasoning Puzzles, requiring sharp, logical thinking; Mathematical Reasoning Puzzles, where math and logic come together; Practical Reasoning Puzzles, which present real life situations (although for fun we'll stretch that definition a bit!); Logic Riddles; and finally, two superb varieties of Lateral Thinking Puzzles; Realistic and Tricky. (Lateral Thinking Puzzles, in either variety are classic party puzzles, sure to add fun to any gathering.)

Brain Busters! Mind-Stretching Puzzles in Math and Logic

Barry R. Clarke

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

The Mathematical Poetry of a Puzzle Artist: Barry R. Clarke 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

In this most recent adventure into the Puzzling World of Barry R. Clarke, I found my mind quite well entertained. What I enjoy most about logic puzzles is their requirement for little if any prior knowledge, and each of Barry's "puzzlers" is no different. However, what is missing in most logic and mathematical puzzle books is a touch of true creativity and humor. In Brain Busters! I found that while my mathematical mind was challenged to the limit, I was also encouraged to think in new and original ways, moving from basic logic to the simple yet complex world of recreational mathematics. Barry Clarke pushes your mind to the edge with this most recent creation, and holds you there.

As Mr. Clarke notes in the introduction, his reasons for this puzzle compilation included the pure enjoyment of creating logical and mathematical art. Fortunately for us, Barry's creations serve not only the role of entertainment, but also more importantly the role of instruction, as he leads us down different paths of twisting logic, with excellent scenery along the way. If you view mathematics as a form of poetry, you will certainly enjoy this opportunity to learn from a mathematical wizard. Brain Busters! is indeed a "mind-stretching" experience, one that allows you to see the way Barry's imagination is captured in a distinctly unique manner in each of his puzzles. His mathematical imagination is the communality that runs through each puzzle, but at the same time it is his creative touch that serves as the specificity, giving great variation to this excellent and enjoyable work.

Making Mathematics with Needlework: Ten Papers and Ten Projects

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A very special attraction for math students and fiber art enthusiasts alike. 5 out of 5 stars.
32 of 32 people found this review helpful.

Knowledgeably compiled and deftly co-edited by Sarah-Marie Belcastro (Co-Director, Hamshire College Summer Studies in mathematics and Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Smith College) and Carolyn Yackel (Mathematics Instructor, Mercer University), "Making Mathematics With Needlework: Ten Papers And Ten Projects" is unique in that it combines mathematics papers with fiber arts project instructions. Each chapter showcases a particular project and that project features sections on mathematics and mathematics education along with detailed instructions for completing the needlecraft project. The featured projects include a Quilted Mobius Band (making a mobius quilt); Diphantine Equations (making a bi-directional hat); Sierpinski Variatins (making a Sierpinski shawl); a Two Knit Stiches Tours; Symmetry Patterns in Cross-Stitch; Algebraic Structure (making algebraic socks); Fortunatus's Purse; (K)Not Cables and Braids (making a pillow of Braid Equivalence); The Graph Theory of Blackwork Embroidery (embroidering a Holbeinian Graph); and making Hyperbolic Pants. Profusely illustrated, the text is fully accessible to non-specialist general readers with an interest in needlecraft, in the mathematics underlying needlecraft, as well as having a very special attraction for math students and fiber art enthusiasts alike.

Editorial Review:

Beautifully illustrated, and with complete patterns and the mathematics behind each project, this book successfully connects the worlds of mathematics and the fiber arts. Each chapter covers a different mathematical paper and corresponding needlework project and includes mathematical explanations, needlework instructions, educational material, and specific projects to demonstrate the principles discussed.