# Math & Logic Puzzle Books: recommendations needed **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 23, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881 "2019-11-23T18:07:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/1 "2019-11-23T18:07:53Z")
My dad has worked through all of Martin Gardner’s match and logic puzzle books (like [This one](https://www.amazon.com/Mathematical-Logic-Puzzles-Dover-Recreational/dp/0486281523/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=7H0YJVVMVO7R&keywords=martin+gardner&qid=1574532115&s=books&sprefix=martin+gar%2Caps%2C161&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzNE1NUTFUVlRYV0ExJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzQwODUxM1NHVVdINVBSQVJCNiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzkyOTk0MU01R0hTOFJJSUREUiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=)) and has asked me to find new similar ones for him this Christmas. Any recommendations or ideas out there? Much obliged, F ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/2 "2019-11-23T18:18:05Z")
Raymond Smullyan. He’s like Gardner, only more so (and I think Gardner agreed). ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/3 "2019-11-23T18:25:01Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Raymond Smullyan. He’s like Gardner, only more so (and I think Gardner agreed). Brilliant! Exactly the breadcrumb I needed. Many thanks, Chronos. F ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/4 "2019-11-23T18:30:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Raymond Smullyan. He’s like Gardner, only more so (and I think Gardner agreed). Yes, this is the first thing I thought of. Clifford Pickover has some books that might fit. Some are all puzzles (_The Mathematics of Oz_, _The Alien IQ Test_) while some are grab-bags of puzzzles, facts, curiosities, etc. (_A Passion For Mathematics_, _Wonders of Numbers_). In this vein see also Ian Stewart’s _Professor Stewart’s Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries_. And Alex Bellos’s _Can You Solve My Problems?: Ingenious, Perplexing, and Totally Satisfying Math and Logic Puzzles_ looks promising. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/5 "2019-11-23T18:33:25Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Yes, this is the first thing I thought of. > > Clifford Pickover has some books that might fit. Some are all puzzles (_The Mathematics of Oz_, _The Alien IQ Test_) while some are grab-bags of puzzzles, facts, curiosities, etc. (_A Passion For Mathematics_, _Wonders of Numbers_). In this vein see also Ian Stewart’s _Professor Stewart’s Casebook of Mathematical Mysteries_. And Alex Bellos’s _Can You Solve My Problems?: Ingenious, Perplexing, and Totally Satisfying Math and Logic Puzzles_ looks promising. Also great stuff! A lot to choose from here… ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/6 "2019-11-23T18:48:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Raymond Smullyan. He’s like Gardner, only more so (and I think Gardner agreed). _What is the Name of This Book?_ is an excellent one. Be aware that Smullyan has written some non-puzzle books also, like _The Tao is Silent_, so be sure to verify what the book is about. ---
**Author:** ![Figaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ea666f/32.png) [@Figaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Figaro)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/7 "2019-11-24T18:15:43Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > _What is the Name of This Book?_ is an excellent one. Be aware that Smullyan has written some non-puzzle books also, like _The Tao is Silent_, so be sure to verify what the book is about. I went with this one and a smattering of others. Great SD value on this thread. Thanks again, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/math-logic-puzzle-books-recommendations-needed/843881/8 "2019-11-24T18:36:10Z")
As a different idea in the same theme, you could look at the board game _Sherlock Holmes, Consulting Detective_, too.