--- product_id: 115166691 title: "The Art and Craft of Problem Solving" price: "£5.83" currency: GBP in_stock: false reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/115166691-the-art-and-craft-of-problem-solving store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # The Art and Craft of Problem Solving **Price:** £5.83 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Art and Craft of Problem Solving - **How much does it cost?** £5.83 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/115166691-the-art-and-craft-of-problem-solving) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description This text on mathematical problem solving provides a comprehensive outline of "problemsolving-ology," concentrating on strategy and tactics. It discusses a number of standard mathematical subjects such as combinatorics and calculus from a problem solver's perspective. Review: Essential for budding (and experienced) problem-solvers - I join the ranks of previous reviewers here who honestly feel that having read this book in high school would have almost certainly changed my life. I, too, did very well in high school math competitions, but the maturity I am gleaning from this gem may have vaulted me into a different league. It contains hundreds of problems from various levels of competition, from AIME problems all the way through some of the toughest Putnam problems (which, if you know anything about the Putnam, are about as hard as competition problems come). But the biggest help are the vital insights and exciting ways of looking at these problems. Don't take my word for it--many past IMO contestants have suggested this book too. Particularly helpful is the way the author divides the book into sections based on often-used concepts and techniques. For example, you will see applications of the pigeonhole principle from the most basic (e.g. "In a drawer with socks of 2 colors, show that after picking any 3 socks, we must have a pair of same-colored socks.") through some rather difficult ones (1994 Putnam A4, an Erdos problem, and more). The same goes for a multitude of others--the invariants section includes both the classic chocolate bar-cutting problem and Conway's rather difficult checker problem. Then, not only does he solve the latter beautifully, but incorporates nontrivial questions that ensure the reader has completely understood the solution (e.g., "Could we have replaced lambda with an arbitrary integer? Why not?"). You don't have to be a math competition buff to gain from this book, however. If you're simply interested in mathematical puzzles and problems, and are looking to expand your repertoire, this book will help you. Anyone with a good dose of intelligence and motivation will benefit. For an additional problem book, check out Mathematical Olympiad Challenges by Andreescu and Gelca. For purely Putnam treatment, there are several volumes written by Kedlaya. And if you're a CS student, looking for honing those CS math skills to be razor sharp, you should definitely look into Concrete Mathematics by Graham, Knuth, and Patashnik. Happy solving. Review: One of the best - This book is indeed one of the best problem-solving textbook so far. As a frequent lecturer of Taiwan IMO team, I have many many MO books. Most of the books available are well-written by professionals and excellent mathematicians. However, since IMO does really prevail in recent years, these authors could not be the participants themselves (^^). Furthermore, usually these books (except those are merely problems collections) contains a good proportion of "harder" and beautiful problems, and the easier and basic training problems are relatively few. It often get the beginners frustrate. Now this maybe is the first book written by a member of former MO team, and now a training lecturer. (The author himself won the USAMO and IMO in 1974, and helped train several USA IMO teams, including the 1994 "perfect score team"). So here is the precious experience! Besides, the ratio between the harder problems and the easier problems is really good. In my opinion this is an excellent textbook for ambitious beginners (both teachers and students), for self-studys and problem-solving fans. Highly recommended. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #2,279,905 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #959 in Mathematical Logic #8,372 in Mathematics (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.8 out of 5 stars 18 Reviews | ## Images ![The Art and Craft of Problem Solving - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41W7z7XetOL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Essential for budding (and experienced) problem-solvers *by A***D on June 13, 2004* I join the ranks of previous reviewers here who honestly feel that having read this book in high school would have almost certainly changed my life. I, too, did very well in high school math competitions, but the maturity I am gleaning from this gem may have vaulted me into a different league. It contains hundreds of problems from various levels of competition, from AIME problems all the way through some of the toughest Putnam problems (which, if you know anything about the Putnam, are about as hard as competition problems come). But the biggest help are the vital insights and exciting ways of looking at these problems. Don't take my word for it--many past IMO contestants have suggested this book too. Particularly helpful is the way the author divides the book into sections based on often-used concepts and techniques. For example, you will see applications of the pigeonhole principle from the most basic (e.g. "In a drawer with socks of 2 colors, show that after picking any 3 socks, we must have a pair of same-colored socks.") through some rather difficult ones (1994 Putnam A4, an Erdos problem, and more). The same goes for a multitude of others--the invariants section includes both the classic chocolate bar-cutting problem and Conway's rather difficult checker problem. Then, not only does he solve the latter beautifully, but incorporates nontrivial questions that ensure the reader has completely understood the solution (e.g., "Could we have replaced lambda with an arbitrary integer? Why not?"). You don't have to be a math competition buff to gain from this book, however. If you're simply interested in mathematical puzzles and problems, and are looking to expand your repertoire, this book will help you. Anyone with a good dose of intelligence and motivation will benefit. For an additional problem book, check out Mathematical Olympiad Challenges by Andreescu and Gelca. For purely Putnam treatment, there are several volumes written by Kedlaya. And if you're a CS student, looking for honing those CS math skills to be razor sharp, you should definitely look into Concrete Mathematics by Graham, Knuth, and Patashnik. Happy solving. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the best *by S***U on October 31, 2001* This book is indeed one of the best problem-solving textbook so far. As a frequent lecturer of Taiwan IMO team, I have many many MO books. Most of the books available are well-written by professionals and excellent mathematicians. However, since IMO does really prevail in recent years, these authors could not be the participants themselves (^^). Furthermore, usually these books (except those are merely problems collections) contains a good proportion of "harder" and beautiful problems, and the easier and basic training problems are relatively few. It often get the beginners frustrate. Now this maybe is the first book written by a member of former MO team, and now a training lecturer. (The author himself won the USAMO and IMO in 1974, and helped train several USA IMO teams, including the 1994 "perfect score team"). So here is the precious experience! Besides, the ratio between the harder problems and the easier problems is really good. In my opinion this is an excellent textbook for ambitious beginners (both teachers and students), for self-studys and problem-solving fans. Highly recommended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the best math books I've found *by W***I on September 24, 2018* This book is great for helping you learn how to solve math problems. It gives a lot of techniques and strategies that are used again and again and after reading this book you'll start to recognize them in your math courses. I think it's helpful for anyone who is studying for a math intensive major. It's definitely not a math textbook though. It's more of a supplement or a fun read for a hobby problem-solver. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/115166691-the-art-and-craft-of-problem-solving](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/115166691-the-art-and-craft-of-problem-solving) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-05-18*