The Unexpected Hanging and Other Mathematical Diversions.

by Martin Gardner

255 pp
A fun book for those interested in recreational mathematical explanations and problems. This is one of Martin Gardner's mentally stimulating books from his column appearing in Scientific American.
A Fireside Book, a division of Simon & Schuster

Genres: Mathematics, Puzzles, Nonfiction, Science, Reference, Stem

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Martin Gardner was an American mathematics and science writer specializing in recreational mathematics, but with interests encompassing micromagic, stage magic, literature (especially the writings of Lewis Carroll), philosophy, scientific skepticism, and religion. He wrote the Mathematical Games column in Scientific American from 1956 to 1981, and published over 70 books.

Reviews

[Bryan--The Bee’s Knees]

This is a perfectly acceptable collection of Martin Gardner's articles from The Scientific American in the 1960s. Unfortunately, it was just a few notches above my interest level and capability. All of the articles I read were interesting in and of the themselves, but several times the concepts were a little out of my reach. But, for a dedicated puzzler/logician/mathematician, I think this would be perfect. I realized when I started skimming through most of the articles that it was probably time for me to go on to something else.


But again, Gardner writes in a pleasant, almost jocular manner at times, and for those that can follow where he leads, I think this would be a great read

[Remo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otra recopilación de Martin Gardner, con los acertijos, puzzles y pasatiempos del Scientific American. El que da nombre al libro es una variante de la famosa paradoja del examen sorpresa, que me fascinaba y me fascina. Hay decenas más, igual de interesantes, por todo el libro. Martin Gardner era una máquina de producir entretenimiento de altísimo nivel. Muy recomendable.

[Guthrie C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of mathematical curiosities, histories and brain teasers that are as pleasing and mind expanding.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

An opportunity to learn from the master

When describing the works and career of Martin Gardner it is easy to run out of superlatives. At that point you either have to invent new ones or engage in recycling. The latter is what all people interested in mathematics should do, read and re-read the writings of Gardner. No one was more skilled in making mathematics understandable and he was the most influential person in lighting the fire of mathematical interest in people.
This book is a collection of twenty articles that appeared in “Scientific American” in the years 1961, 1962 and 1963. All of them have the distinctive Gardner style of dissecting (sometimes quite literally in the case of geometry) a problem down into the fundamental components and then building the solution.
One of the hardest jobs that can be envisioned would be to select a “best of” collection of Gardner’s works. The following line that I used in a previous review has been quoted in other media outlets, “If there were mathematics of watching paint dry, Martin Gardner could make it interesting.” As is always the case, this book is an opportunity to read and learn from the master.

This book was made available for free for review purposes

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth entry in the first complete collection of Martin Gardner's Mathematical Library covering the entire twenty-five-year run of his Scientific American columns. Oddly, the cover and spine have no indication of this ordinal or the count of volumes. It is not immediately obvious this is part of a set. The back cover does cite Don Knuth as saying that this material is “…always worth reading and rereading.” ... Gardner’s engaging explorations telegraph an awe of the beauty of mathematics making this collection a treat and a challenge for any mathematics enthusiast.

[See my entire review at MAA Reviews]

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

While also not as engaging for me as some of his other books, it was still fun. The bibliography is stunning - I do not know how he managed to not only read so much, but have access to so many rare sources in a pre-Internet age.

[Dan Slimmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice little collection of snackable math articles. There are some fun problems and one or two chapters on profound mathematical ideas. But there are also some misses.

I think this would be a good read for a tween who's interested in math and puzzles.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Formalizing the Unexpected Hanging Paradox: A Classical Surprise