Best Selling Books by Martin Gardner

Of all of Martin Gardners writings, none gained him a wider audience or was more central to his reputation than his Mathematical Recreations column in Scientific American - which virtually defined the genre of popular mathematics writing for a generation. Flatland, Hydras and Eggs: Mathematical Mystifications is the final collection of these columns, covering the period roughly from 1979 to Gardners retirement in 1986. As always in his published collections, Gardner includes letters commenting on the ideas presented in his articles. These columns show him at the top of his form and should not be missed by anyone with an interest in mathematics.

A collection of puzzles that challenge reasoning power and intuition and help develop problem solving ability.

Martin Gardner''s Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American inspired and entertained several generations of mathematicians and scientists. Gardner in his crystal-clear prose illuminated corners of mathematics, especially recreational mathematics, that most people had no idea existed. His playful spirit and inquisitive nature invite the reader into an exploration of beautiful mathematical ideas along with him. These columns were both a revelation and a gift when he wrote them; no one--before Gardner--had written about mathematics like this. They continue to be a marvel. This is the original 1983 edition and contains columns published from 1970-1972. It includes three columns on the game of Life.

A true pioneer in the field of recreational mathematics, Martin Gardner has been wrangling words for decades, and his latest opus is nothing short of extraordinary. From amazing anagrams and silly spoonerisms to alphamagic squares and cryptarithms, this mind-bending compendium is chock-full of whimsical forms of wordplay that are sure to have sesquipedalian scholars and limber-minded logophiles racking their brains in delight.

Best known as the longtime writer of the Mathematical Games column for "Scientific American," Gardner displays an awesome level of erudition combined with a wicked sense of humor in this collection of amusing essays.

A prominent popular science writer presents simple instructions for 100 illustrated experiments. Memorable, easily understood experiments illuminate principles related to astronomy, chemistry, physiology, psychology, mathematics, topology, probability, acoustics, other areas.

A collection of tricks, stunts, and puzzles that explore the properties of water, air, friction, heat, motion, light, and more.

Relying on the remarkable forces of science and nature, this material offers great ideas for performing illusions, magic tricks, and experiments.

Offers a series of puzzles featuring puns, anagrams, missing letters, and other verbal tricks.

Martin Gardner''s Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American inspired and entertained several generations of mathematicians and scientists. Gardner in his crystal-clear prose illuminated corners of mathematics, especially recreational mathematics, that most people had no idea existed. His playful spirit and inquisitive nature invite the reader into an exploration of beautiful mathematical ideas along with him. These columns were both a revelation and a gift when he wrote them; no one--before Gardner--had written about mathematics like this. They continue to be a marvel. This volume, first published in 1969, contains columns published in the magazine from 1961-1963. This is the 1991 edition and it contains an afterword and extended bibliography added by Gardner at that time.

A master debunker of scientific fraud and psuedo-science takes on numerology, Freud''s dream theory, reflexology, and the Heaven''s Gate cult, among other assaults on reason and rational thought.

This newly updated edition of a well-known work explores a pair of modern science''s most fundamental discoveries: the asymmetric DNA helix and the overthrow of parity (left-right symmetry) in particle physics. Absorbing and thought-provoking, The New Ambidextrous Universe was written by Martin Gardner, one of Dover''s most popular authors,.

Fair, witty appraisal of cranks, quacks, and quackeries of science and pseudoscience: hollow earth, Velikovsky, orgone energy, Dianetics, flying saucers, Bridey Murphy, food and medical fads, and much more.

Explains various methods used in cryptography and presents examples to help readers in breaking secret codes

"[Gardner] zaps his targets with laserlike precision and wit."—Entertainment Weekly Martin Gardner is perhaps the wittiest, most devastating unmasker of scientific fraud and intellectual chicanery of our time. Here he muses on topics as diverse as numerology, New Age anthropology, and the late Senator Claiborne Pell''s obsession with UFOs, as he mines Americans'' seemingly inexhaustible appetite for bad science. Gardner''s funny, brilliantly unsettling exposés of reflexology and urine therapy should be required reading for anyone interested in "alternative" medicine. In a world increasingly tilted toward superstition, Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? will give those of us who prize logic and common sense immense solace and inspiration. "Gardner is a national treasure...I wish [this] could be made compulsory reading in every high school—and in Congress."—Arthur C. Clarke "Nobody alive has done more than Gardner to spread the understanding and appreciation of mathematics, and to dispel superstition."— The New Criterion, John Derbyshire

This is the first edition of Chesterton''s masterpiece, The Man Who Was Thursday, that explicates and enriches the complete text with extensive footnotes, together with an introductory essay on the metaphysical meaning of Chesterton''s profound allegory. Gardner sees the novel''s anarchists as symbols of our God-given free will, and the mysterious Sunday as representing Nature, with its strange mixture of good and evil when considered as distinct from God, as a mask hiding the transcendental face of the creator. The book also includes a bibliography listing the novel''s many earlier editions and stage dramatizations, as well as numerous illustrations that further illuminate the text.

Selections from his monthly column on mathematical recreations in the "Scientific American," with much new material, and comments from Mr. Gardner and his readers.

This book contains scores of intriguing puzzles and paradoxes from Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, whose interests ranged from inventing new games like Arithmetical Croquet to important problems in symbolic logic and propositional calculus. Written by Carroll expert and well-known mathematics author Martin Gardner, this tour through Carroll''s inventions is both fun and informative.

Published in 1955 under the direction of psychiatrist William Sadler, The Urantia Book is the largest and most sophisticated work of New Age literature ever produced. Well-known skeptic and acclaimed popular science writer Martin Gardner presents a complete history of the Urantia movement, from its beginnings in the early 20th century to the present day.

Gathers paradoxes, logic puzzles, number problems, geometric problems, gambling puzzles, optical illusions, string, word, and chess problems featured in Scientific American

Martin Gardner''s Mathematical Games columns in Scientific American inspired and entertained several generations of mathematicians and scientists. Gardner in his crystal-clear prose illuminated corners of mathematics, especially recreational mathematics, that most people had no idea existed. His playful spirit and inquisitive nature invite the reader into an exploration of beautiful mathematical ideas along with him. These columns were both a revelation and a gift when he wrote them; no one--before Gardner--had written about mathematics like this. They continue to be a marvel. This volume was originally published in 1989 and contains columns from published 1976-1978. This 1997 MAA edition contains three new columns written specifically for this volume including the resurrection of the lamented Dr. Matrix.

Martin Gardner is widely known for his writing on recreational mathematics, not least for the myriad problems he has devised over some 25 years for Scientific American. In this book are 36 of his best brainteasers. These are not simply cunning puzzles, but serve to illustrate the art of the mathematician as problem solver, and their solution draws on ideas from topology, probability, number theory, logic and beyond. Fully worked answers are given, which, in turn, lead to additional problems for the reader. For anybody who likes to solve mathematical problems, this book will be both entertaining and a challenge.

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At a time when popular knowledge of basic science has sunk to a new low and books promoting angels, parapsychology, and bizarre forms of medicine and healing outnumber skeptical books by more than a thousand to one, Americans need a voice of sanity. Weird Water and Fuzzy Logic introduces readers to mind-wrenching probability paradoxes, recent attacks on the Big Bang Theory, and Marianne Williamson''s success promoting The Course of Miracles, which is said to have been channeled by Jesus. Other columns address E-prime, a language that omits all forms of the verb "to be"; Norman Vincent Peale''s beliefs in the paranormal; repressed memory therapy; science blunders by famous writers; the influence of Transcendental Meditation on the career of Doug Henning; a critique of "Klingon" and other artificial languages; and much more.

A book of all sorts of stimulating ideas and feasts for the eyes, hands and brain.

Brain-teasing mathematical puzzles accompanied by lucid explanations of the basic principles behind the solutions.

This text contains 54 of Martin Gardner''s most searching and challenging essays, spanning nearly six decades. Issues tackled range from the apparent inexplicability of quantum physics to the eternal question of the existence of God, and an array of subjects are covered, from philosophy, the arts and religion, to mathematics and science.

Offers puzzles and problems dealing with logic, fractals, negative numbers, topology, and geometry.

From coincidences that seem to violate the laws of time and space, to the perplexities of the rubber rope, to the centuries-old delights of tangram play, the puzzles, problems, and paradoxes presented in Time Travel and Other Mathematical Bewilderments reveal just how enlightening and entertaining mathematical recreations can be.

A collection of tricks, stunts, and puzzles that explore the properties of water, air, friction, heat, motion, light, and more.