Product Description

For the millions of people who do crosswords, the person behind the puzzle is always something of a mystery. What puzzler wouldn't want to know how a constructor thinks when putting together a puzzle? Or the secret rules that guide the selections of clues and answers? Or how to outsmart the constructor by understanding his mindset? A few tips about how to improve solving skills wouldn't hurt, either. Putting it all together in an accessible and witty "guide to life in the grid" is just what everybody wants and needs. CRUCIVERBALISM will help people become better solvers and have more fun doing crosswords. It will also pull back the curtain on puzzle–making itself, outlining the history of crosswords, showing how they have evolved over the past century, and how rules and the mindsets of puzzle editors have changed over time. It will pass along the guidelines the author provides to his stable of puzzle constructors, and tidbits such as the "100 essential words" for the pursuit of crossword happiness. Finally, it will recount the decade–long battle between Old Guard and New Wave constructors, bringing in a cast of colorful characters living in a world of words. The book will be a combination of crossword self–help, wisdom, trivia and stories that will fascinate today's millions of avid puzzlers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #394500 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-19
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .66" h x 5.82" w x 7.36" l, .59 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
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 Wall Street Journal deputy books editor Lasswell. 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 (start with an easy clue and try to fill in that entire section before moving on). 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, that the late Seagram's chairman Edgar Bronfman's passion for puzzles helped Newman finance a Lincoln Town Car, and many of the puzzles appearing in daily newspapers are constructed by prison inmates. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Crossword puzzle fans--solvers and constructors alike--will find a wealth of useful tips in this book by Newsday's crossword editor (and world record holder for the fastest solving of a New York Times crossword). The book is part autobiography, part how-to guide, and part manifesto: while telling us how he got to be a full-time puzzle editor, Newman both rails against editors and constructors who try to hold back the evolution of the crossword and celebrates the new wave of constructors and solvers, the brave men and women who risk their reputations on the front lines of the new crossword battlefield. Yes, the author does take his subject a little too seriously (and he has a troubling hate-on for former New York Times crossword editor Eugene Maleska), but he also has a good sense of humor, and his knowledge of his field appears to be virtually encyclopedic. For veteran crossworders, a fascinating glimpse into their special world; for newbies, an introduction to a world that can be intellectually stimulating and, at the same time, childishly petty. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“Cruciverbalism is smart, informative, and valuable. Any crossword puzzler will enjoy this book.” (Will Shortz, Crossword Editor, The New York Times )

“Cruciverbalism is an amazing journey into the mind and the thinking process of a puzzle genius.” (Jeffrey Lyons, NBC )

“Crossword puzzle fans--solvers and constructors alike--will find a wealth of useful tips in this book.” (Booklist )

“Cruciverbalism could be neatly encapsulated in three lines: ‘Obsessive wordsmith/Enraged by stuffy old clues/Thinks outside the grid.’” (New York Times )

“Crossword puzzle fans will eat up this entertaining stew of history, arcana and personalities in this memoir–cum–instruction manual.” (Publishers Weekly )

“Reading Stanley Newman on life inside the grid is a revelation.” (Daniel Okrent, author, Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center )

“This book made me think, it made me laugh..., but mostly it made me want to solve some crosswords.” (Ken Jennings, Jeopardy! champion )

“A breezy insider’s look at the puzzlers’ small world, along with some tips to improve your own performance.” (Boston Globe )