[.ca] The Moscow Puzzles: 359 Mathematical Recreations (ISBN 0486270785)

From Amazon.com:
This book has been a classic in the former Soviet Union since it was first published in 1956, and it remains just as entertaining today. A master at making math fun for his high school students, Boris Kordemsky loaded this clever collection with a wide variety of math and logic related games and puzzles dealing with magic squares, tricky weights and measures, properties of numbers, mathematical tricks, and more. Number and math game fans are bound to find several new amusements here. Even many of the well-known classics from generations past take on new life with the fresh twists Kordemsky provides.

Comprehensive set of math puzzles for various levels:
Nice collection of problems which demand some creativity as well as varying degrees of mathematical prowess. Also populated with interesting anedotes regarding mathematicians throughout history. Although no mathematics beyond the high school level is required, the challenge lies in the ingenious application of even the most rudimentary math and logic necessary to successfully tackle these exercises. The problems range from rather simple to difficult. Some amount to raw logic riddles requiring little or no math while others offer the opportunity to fine tune one's skills in geometry and algebra. In addition to offering a rich variety of problems which will satisfy the needs of puzzlists at many levels, the editors have made a good point of dividing the problems into categories emphasizing different sets of skills including geometry, algebra, arithmetic operations, spatial visualization and logic. Such a delineation makes it easy evaluate strengths and weaknesses so you can focus on areas of improvement. Given the long history of this publication, several problems will be familiar to some seasoned puzzle enthusiasts but most will still provide a fresh challenge.

very interesting:
I teach my sons using this book (6,8 grades).

too easy:
This book may be challenging for infants, but for my intelligence, i found the game boring.

One of the best puzzle books ever.:
I greatly enjoy mathematical puzzles and brain teasers and regularly look for good puzzle books out there. I picked this one up about 10 years ago, and it's still one of the best I've ever encountered. Many of the problems are short and concise, but provide great challenges. A great learning tool as well as a nice diversion for many ages.

Lessons in Becoming More Creative:
"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!