Most Popular Books by Martin Gardner

Famed puzzle expert explains math behind a multitude of mystifying tricks: card tricks, stage "mind reading," coin and match tricks, counting out games, geometric dissections, etc. More than 400 tricks. 135 illustrations.

Not since his Science: Good, Bad and Bogus has there been such a bountiful offering of the delightful combination of drollery and horse sense that has made Martin Gardner the undisputed dean of the critics of pseudoscience. In The New Age: Notes of a Fringe-Watcher, Gardner confronts new trends in pseudoscience and the paranormal: from the much-publicized past-life exploits of Shirley MacLaine to the latest in perpetual-motion machines, from "prime-time preachers" to the "channeling mania" of the past few years. Many of these pieces were published in Gardner''s column in the Skeptical Inquirer. Others appeared in the New York Times, The New York Review of Books, Discover magazine, and other publications. Gardner has added forewords and/or afterwords to most of the chapters to give background, to bring recent developments to light, or to include responses from his critics. Destined to be a classic of skeptical literature, this book will be a welcome treat for Gardner fans and a rewarding adventure for his new readers.

"I have always been intrigued by fringe science," writes Martin Gardner in the preface to this book, "perhaps for the same reason that I enjoy freak shows and circuses. Pseudoscientists, especially the extreme cranks, are fascinating creatures for psychological study. Moreover, I have found that one of the best ways to learn something about any branch of science is to find out where its crackpots go wrong."A unique combination of horse sense and drollery has made Martin Gardner the undisputed dean of the critics of pseudoscience. This bountiful collection of essays and articles will be wholeheartedly greeted by Gardner''''s fans, as well as by new readers.This collection of articles - many of which first appeared in the Skeptical Inquirer, the New York Review of Books, and Free Inquiry - explores pseudoscience and strange religious beliefs with the author''''s trademark wit and verve. Destined to be a classic of skeptical literature, this book covers a wide range of topics - including UFOs, rainmaking, ghosts, the Big Bang, ESP, Oral Roberts, as well as the early history of spiritualism and today''''s bizarre "trance channeling" cults.

One of the subject''s clearest, most entertaining introductions offers lucid explanations of special and general theories of relativity, gravity, and spacetime, models of the universe, and more. 100 illustrations.

The definitive work of Martin Gardner''s brilliant, seven-decades-long career, "The Night Is Large" collects 54 of the most significant essays by this popular writer best known for his "Mathematical Games" columns which appeared in "Scientific American" magazine for more than 25 years.

Calculus Made Easy by Silvanus P. Thompson and Martin Gardner has long been the most popular calculus primer. This major revision of the classic math text makes the subject at hand still more comprehensible to readers of all levels. With a new introduction, three new chapters, modernized language and methods throughout, and an appendix of challenging and enjoyable practice problems, Calculus Made Easy has been thoroughly updated for the modern reader.

Professor Picanumba has dozens of surefire tricks up his sleeve — and he''s willing to show junior mathemagicians how to predict the answers to 88 word and number challenges. Includes solutions and illustrations.

Here is Martin Gardner''''s first collection of short stories. Culled from fiction written over the years for such magazines as Esquire and the London Mystery Magazine, The No-Sided Professor is proof that Gardner''''s expertise does not stop at his scientific and mathematical works. Only Gardner can infuse short stories with the same masterful charm, wit, and philosophical brio that have brought him legions of fans through his mathematical-puzzle books and investigations into science and pseudoscience. Gardner introduces us to the "No-Sided Professor," Dr. Stanislaw Slapenarski, who by means of a kind of mathematical yoga blips himself and his nemesis into another dimension. In "At the Feet of Karl Klodhopper," Gardner tells an engrossing story of lust and murder in the art world. These and other stories reveal Gardner''''s astonishingly wide range of intellectual insight and cultural acumen. The No-Sided Professor is full of tales of fantasy, humor, the bohemian life, topological wizardry, and mystery. All are stamped with the unmistakable seal of a master storyteller.

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 1975, contains columns published in the magazine from 1965-1967. This 1989 MAA edition contains a foreword by John H. Conway and a postscript and extended bibliography added by Gardner for this edition.

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

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 1977, contains columns published in the magazine from 1965-1968. This 1990 MAA edition contains a foreword by Persi Diaconis and Ron Graham and a postscript and extended bibliography added by Gardner for this edition.

Excellent guide to dozens of mystifying acts of deception provides aspiring magicians with all the information they need to perform professional-quality tricks. Step-by-step instructions and nearly 200 easy-to-follow diagrams show how to make cards vanish and reappear, get coins to pass through solid objects, make articles mysteriously travel from one location to another, more.

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 1992 edition and contains columns published from 1978-1979.

In a society begging to be duped, Martin Gardner, the most devastating debunker of scientific fraud and chicanery of our time, ranges here from science and mathematics to literature, philosophy, religion, and mysticism. With keen skepticism, he skewers the fallacies of pseudoscience, from Dr. Bruno Bettelheim''s erroneous theory of autism to the farce of Primal Scream therapy, and he examines the bizarre tangents produced by Freudians and deconstructionists in their critiques of "Little Red Riding Hood." Book jacket.

For many decades, Martin Gardner, the Grand Master of mathematical puzzles, has provided the tools and projects to furnish our all-too-sluggish minds with an athletic workout. Gardner''s problems foster an agility of the mind as they entertain. This volume presents a new collection of problems and puzzles not previously published in book form. Martin Gardner has dedicated it to "all the underpaid teachers of mathematics everywhere, who love their subject and are able to communicate that love to their students."

Martin Gardner continues to delight readers in Origami, Eleusis, and the Soma Cube, which is the second volume in the new Cambridge series, The New Martin Gardner Mathematical Library, based off his enormously popular Scientific American columns. He introduces young and old readers alike to the Generalized Ham Sandwich Theorem, origami, digital roots, magic squares, the mathematics of cooling coffee, the induction game of Eleusis, Dudeney puzzles, the maze at Hampton Court Palace, and many more mathematical puzzles and principles. Now the author, in consultation with experts, has added updates to all the chapters, including new game variations, mathematical proofs, and other developments and discoveries, to challenge and fascinate a new generation of readers.

Playing with mathematical riddles can be an intriguing and fun-filled pastime — as popular science writer Martin Gardner proves in this entertaining collection. Puzzlists need only an elementary knowledge of math and a will to resist looking up the answer before trying to solve a problem. Written in a light and witty style, Entertaining Mathematical Puzzles is a mixture of old and new riddles, grouped into sections that cover a variety of mathematical topics: money, speed, plane and solid geometry, probability, topology, tricky puzzles, and more. The probability section, for example, points out that everything we do, everything that happens around us, obeys the laws of probability; geometry puzzles test our ability to think pictorially and often, in more than one dimension; while topology, among the "youngest and rowdiest branches of modern geometry," offers a glimpse into a strange dimension where properties remain unchanged, no matter how a figure is twisted, stretched, or compressed. Clear and concise comments at the beginning of each section explain the nature and importance of the math needed to solve each puzzle. A carefully explained solution follows each problem. In many cases, all that is needed to solve a puzzle is the ability to think logically and clearly, to be "on the alert for surprising, off-beat angles...that strange hidden factor that everyone else had overlooked." Fully illustrated, this engaging collection will appeal to parents and children, amateur mathematicians, scientists, and students alike, and may, as the author writes, make the reader "want to study the subject in earnest" and explains "some of the inviting paths that wind away from the problems into lusher areas of the mathematical jungle." 65 black-and-white illustrations.

The late "Scientific American" columnist who published books on topics ranging from magic and math to philosophy and religion chronicles his life, from his childhood to his service in the Navy to his varied professional pursuits.

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 is a collection of Irving Joshua Matrix columns published in the magazine from 1960-1980. There were several collections of Dr. Matrix, the first in 1967; they were revised as Gardner reconnected with the good doctor over the years. This is the 1985 Prometheus Books edition and contains all the Dr. Matrix columns from the magazine.

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, originally published in 1961, contains columns published in the magazine from 1958-1960. This is the 1987 edition of the collection and contains an afterword written by Gardner at that time.

No amateur or math authority can be without this ultimate compendium of classic puzzles, paradoxes, and puzzles from America''s best-loved mathematical expert. 320 line drawings.

The first of fifteen updated editions of the collected Mathematical Games of Martin Gardner, king of recreational mathematics.

Reviews fads, hoaxes, and cults propagated under the guise of being scientifically founded and proven

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 1971 edition and contains columns published in the magazine from 1963-1965.

The noted expert selects 70 of his favorite "short" puzzles, including such mind-bogglers as The Returning Explorer, The Mutilated Chessboard, Scrambled Box Tops, and dozens more involving logic and basic math. Solutions included.

Contains puzzles that first baffle and then delight problem solving addicts. Grew out of a collaboration between Bob Tappay and Martin Gardner to enliven the learning of mathematics.

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

Find new twists on knotted molecules, the hangman''s paradox, cat''s cradle, gambling, peg solitaire, pi and e in this book.

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

The Whys of a Philosophical Scrivener showcases Martin Gardner as the consummate philosopher, thinker, and great mathematician that he is. Exploring issues that range from faith to prayer to evil to immortality, and far beyond, Garnder challenges the discerning reader with fundamental questions of classical philosophy and life''s greater meanings. Recalling such philosophers was Wittgenstein and Arendt, The Whys of Philosophical Scrivener embodies Martin Garner''s unceasing interest and joy in the impenetrable mysteries of life.