More reviews of Stan's Cruciverbalism
“Cruciverbalism is Stanley Newman’s fascinating glimpse into the minutiae-mad, pun-happy mind of Homo cruciverbalis, the crossword junkie. This book made me think, it made me laugh out loud, but mostly it made me want to solve some crosswords.”
-- Ken Jennings, Jeopardy! Champion
“If, like me, your day is not complete without an intimate encounter with a challenging crossword puzzle, reading Stanley Newman on life inside the grid is a revelation. And there’s a bonus: Very few revelations are as funny and as sweet as this one is.”
-- Daniel Okrent, author, Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center
“Cru
civerbalism
is an amazing journey into the mind and the thinking process of a
puzzle genius. It’s like being in the dugout of a major league team, or
backstage on Broadway, for it gives unprecedented insight into the
business and creative side of puzzles and those unique people who write
and solve them. I wish I were in that elite group!”
-- Jeffrey Lyons, NBC
“Crossword puzzle fans will eat up this entertaining stew of history, arcana and personalities in this memoir–cum–instruction manual by longtime Newsday crossword editor Newman…. And woven into the mix is a great lesson in how to engineer a midlife career switch. Newman, an advocate of “new wave” crosswords, gleefully describes his “war” with “pedantic” Eugene Maleska, the New York Times crossword editor from 1977 to 1993, a David-vs.-Goliath tale. But Newman doesn't neglect the nuts and bolts about difficulty levels (contrary to popular belief, Sunday isn't the hardest puzzle of the week: it's about midweek-level, but bigger), the types of clues used by constructors and the most effective ways to approach puzzle solving... Newman touts the health benefits of puzzling, citing studies that show it can help ward off Alzheimer's and senile dementia. He also provides some interesting trivia bits, among them, …many of the puzzles appearing in daily newspapers are constructed by prison inmates.”
-- Publishers Weekly
