The Crossword Obsession: The History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime

by Coral Amende

The history of the crossword puzzle in all its glory-from the earliest games such as word squares and acrostics, through the creation of the New York Times crossword, to the modern day phenomenon.

Now, this enchanting, informative book is being re-released with humorous illustrations throughout.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Puzzles

369 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2002

Reviews

[Roberta · Rating 2 out of 5]

By the end of Chapter 1 I had already filled two post-its with tiny notes.

Thank goodness I picked this book up at a library fair for very cheap! It is a mess, organizationally speaking. Like reading crossword themed Twitter feeds.

People were telling me that I should exercise my brain to stave off dementia so I've been doing the crosswords in the local newspaper (mostly reprints of NYT crosswords) and thought that this book would shed some light on the peculiarities of the crossword puzzle world.

So far I have discovered that my pet peeves can be blamed on the current editor, who buys the puzzles from "constructors" and, if necessary, edits them according to his personal whim standards.

Pet Peeve #1: Stupid fake abbreviations that have NEVER EVER been used in real life, not even once.

Pet Peeve #2: Puzzles constructed on an esoteric theme or to answer a quiz (Kevin G. Der and his ilk). There will be a caption that says "The circled letters will spell the capitals of defunct third world nations, backwards, phonetically, in Arabic, starting with the shaded circle and going from right to left, bottom to top."

Pet Peeve #3: The word Eel (Eelers, Eeling, Elver, etc.) which is apparently some kind of inside joke since it appears in every crossword puzzle I have worked so far.

Pet Peeve #4: Names of "celebrities." 6D Grandson of Ice-Tea

Pet Peeve #5: (Actually, my husband's pet peeve) two different letters in the same square.

Somewhere half way through Chap. 1, which is broken up into something like 20 sub-chapters, the constructors have an opportunity to dish the dirt on the past and present editor(s) of the NYT crossword. While the current editor, Will Shortz (see Pet Peeves above), is praised to high heaven, the former editor, Eugene T. Maleska, who died in 1993 is cut up into little pieces and roasted over an open BBQ pit. But in the next section, when constructors are asked how they got started selling puzzles, something like half made their first sale to a small local paper or newsletter but the other half made their first real sale to... wait for it... the much maligned Mr. Maleska!!!!!

What the constructors say they hated about Mr. Maleska was that he was nasty, had no sense of humor and insisted that answers be "look upable." (Oh yeah? Then how do you explain THIS?) What they like about Mr. Shortz is that he allows them to use made up words (and is still alive to write them checks). That's about what you would expect from people who use the phrase "look upable."

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're really, really, really into crossword puzzles (especially the NYT) like me, this book is full of interesting (and occasionally juicy) bits about different editors, trends, and crossword constructions. This book taught be enough about crossword construction that I've attempted a few on my own and found them to be very challenging and fun. The downside--and it's a rather big one--is that this book is strangely organized. Each chapter is basically a string of quotes from different crossword constructors about various editors and topics. I would have much preferred the author synthesize the information or publish each interview separately but in their entirety. It makes for a very choppy read.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this book is like watching a documentary film about everything crosswordese, from history to construction to solving to publishing. Don't expect a smooth narrative format because you'll be disappointed. Go in knowing that this is a book of insiders' insights chopped up and organized into chapters. Though having all the interviews presented beginning to end might be quite enjoyable, i believe Amende's format is the right one for her subject: each interviewee's personality, prejudices, and predilections are revealed piecemeal while illuminating the immediate subject at hand.

Strongly recommended for gamers.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book #: 6
Title: The Crossword Obsession
Subtitle: The History and Lore of the World's Most Popular Pastime
Author: Coral Amende
Category: Popsugar Advanced: A microhistory
Rating: 2.5 out 5

It's an interesting subject, but the book needs to be better organized. Over fifty crossword constructors were interviewed and a lot of the chapters consist of the constructors all answering the same question; e.g. What was your favorite puzzle?, How long does it take you to create a puzzle? What reference books do you have in your library? What makes a good puzzle? It's very choppy reading, especially when you're reading essentially the same answer multiple times.

That being said, there were some interesting tidbits. Some markets will pay $150 to $250 for a crossword puzzle, depending on size, theme, difficulty to solve, cleverness and what the editor had for breakfast that morning. The New York Times Sunday crossword only pays $35 but gets more submissions than any other publication. It's all about bragging rights. You cannot make a living selling crosswords, this an avocation that makes a little money. Will Shortz, the current puzzle editor of the NYT, has a liberal arts degree in Enigmatology from Indiana University, the only person in the world with a degree in crossword puzzles.

I thought it was interesting that while the NYT and Games magazine were both prominently mentioned, the Atlantic Monthly was not. I know a guy who subscribed to the magazine just for the crossword puzzle on the last page, it's that good. Finally, some of the more clever puzzles are included in the book. That makes it worth a second hand store price, but not cover price.

[David W. Cofer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting, but slow read. Mostly, the book was snippets of interviews with various crossword puzzle solvers and constructors. For the most part, it was a slog of a read, and took a long time for me to finish. The book was published about 20 years ago, so much of the information contained in the book was out of date.

[Nip · Rating 2 out of 5]

With the exception of this book’s opening homage to the crossword’s founding generations, the remainder consists of a mountain of useless (scattershot and disorganized) quotations on dozens and dozens of puzzleword minutiae.

[Raffi O’Keefe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was a bit more interview than history for my taste and the blurb didn’t make me aware of that.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book mainly for the subject matter, as I am an avid New York Times crossworder. And the opening chapters seemed fairly promising. In fact, it was mostly an interesting read all the way through. Unfortunately, the format is laid out as snippets of interviews with various crossword editors, constructors and solvers. While that works well enough in a documentary film, in print it becomes repetitive, especially when the quote is all of two lines, with nearly all two dozen or so interviewees agreeing on the same point. I had hoped this would shed some light into the world and business of crosswords, which I suppose it did. (There's an entire chapter on using a program called Crossword Compiler for Windows, which I may use if and when I construct my own crossword.) While it was intriguing, as far as entertaining reads go, I'm sure there are better pieces out there.

In fact, for a very inciteful examination of the same subject matter, watch the documentary "Word Play". The same source material, but presented in a manner more fitting to its medium.

[Nicole M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Indeed, this book was interesting and I learned a lot of things about crosswords and their construction, but the way it was written drove me kind of insane. A topic is addressed, and then follow many answers from a number of people in the business. To me, it felt like 100 people were all talking at once, often repeating the same ideas again and again. Besides that, their writing wasn't all particularly top-notch... it was more as if they were just talking, and expecting we understood all they said. It felt like things were all over the shop... still, as I said, I learned quite a bit, and several interesting puzzles are included at the end.

[Keith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Approximately 90% of this book is selections from interviews with leading puzzle constructors, editors, and solvers. It's all divided by topic---e.g., how do you come up with themes? What makes a good clue? etc. There are bits of history and advice about constructing and solving puzzles. Probably only of interest to a hardcore crossword fan who at least recognizes a lot of the "big names." Otherwise, it's just a lot of names that are hard to keep straight saying similar things in different ways. For me about 10% of the book was interesting, the other 90% was a waste of time.

[Mark Mikula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a sucker for this one since I am enough of an enthusiast to appreciate all of the nuanced information provided within this history. My favorite part was crossword constructors offering praise to other crossword constructors giving specific examples of the creativity demonstrated during puzzle making.

This is a very winning account of a very specific subject, but if you aren't a regular crossword completer, most of this will not appeal to you.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the movie Wordplay was chiefly about people who solve crosswords, this book is mostly about people who create them. Lots of insider gossip (some if it fairly nasty) and detailed info about making puzzles. I ended up skimming chunks, especially since the computer and Internet-related sections are mostly obsolete at this point. As an occasionally obsessed solver, I found the book useful for seeking out new constructors I don't already know.

[Andrea Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read like a compilation of interviews with crossword editors and writers. Interesting, though, for the crossword addiction. I paid two bucks for it, which was about right; I wouldn't spend more than that on it.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything you always wanted to know about crossword puzzles but were afraid to ask. I enjoyed this.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

In need of editing and a narrative, but the tidbits about how those devilish brainteasers come to be are occasionally interesting.