The Canterbury Puzzles

By Henry Ernest Dudeney and Dudeney H E

Book Overview

"There is really a practical utility in puzzle-solving," remarked English mathematician and puzzle creator Henry Dudeney. "Regular exercise is supposed to be as necessary for the brain as for the body. Many of us are very apt to suffer from mental cobwebs, and there is nothing equal to the solving of puzzles and problems for sweeping them away. They keep the brain alert, stimulate the imagination and develop the reasoning faculties."
One of England's greatest composers of mathematical puzzles, Henry Dudeney (1847-1930) had a talent for finding solutions to problems that seemed unsolvable. With only a basic education as background, he began creating puzzles for a local paper when he was only nine years of age; later in life, he developed sophisticated mathematical problems requiring subtle skills.
This unique book for challenge-loving teenagers and veteran puzzle solvers of all ages presents more than 110 of Dudeney's puzzles -- not as individual problems but as incidents in connected stories. The first 31 problems are posed by the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: additional puzzles are presented using different characters in other venues. Many require only the ability to exercise logical or visual skills; others, like the Ribbon Problem or The Riddle of St. Edmonsbury, offer a stimulating challenge to the mathematically advanced. In all cases, solutions are provided at the end.
"An extremely ingenious book which abounds in problems that will keep the reader busy for hours." -- Manchester Guardian

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486425584
• ISBN13: 9780486425580
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A hard book but it repays one's efforts

I have owned this classic for a long time and often return to it for amusement. The degree of difficulty of the puzzles ranges from the trivial to mathematics degree standard and it's not always easy to tell in advance how hard each puzzle is. It is very satisfying to get one of the puzzles right and reading Dudeney's ingenious solutions to the harder puzzles is a pleasure in its own right. One answer is calculated to 58 decimal places - not easy without a calculator unless you are HE Dudeney. I would recommend other recreational maths books such as Martin Gardner's ahead of this one, but if you're into tricky puzzles this is certainly worth buying.

A fun mathematical book

Henry Dudeney (1847-1930) was one of the inventors of mathematical puzzles. This little book can be considered a fun educational math book to encourage the use of logic and visual skills. I do not feel that this book is for those who are weak in mathematics. Although, it could be used as a tool to expand one's mind in that area. And if all else falls-the answers are in the back of the book. I found it to be a fun book.