The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations (Dover Recreational Math)

"The Moscow Puzzles" is unique among problem-solving and brainteaser books because of the wide range of types of problems that it addresses. As a lecturer at Cal Tech's Executive Training Center, I teach "Creating Breakthrough Products" to technical executives. This book has been very helpful for those participating, because the problems it contains represent various types of psychological barriers that prevent problem-solvers and designers from achieving high-level solutions. I refer to examples from this book during the Cal Tech training session; we employ the revolutionary Russian problem-solving tool whose acronym is "TRIZ." Other fine attributes of this book are its sense of humor and its practicality. The author has chosen everyday events and situations for his problem "plots," and in doing so, maintains the interest level of the average reader. Readers of this book will learn to overcome personal barriers to creativity (the chief personal barrier is called "psychological inertia"), and will increase their creativity quotients by an order of magnitude, or more. I strongly recommend this book for use in all classes from grades 4 through college senior. For the rest of us who simply like ("love") to work on challenging problems, this is the book for you. Good luck!

By 

James F. Kowalic