The Big Book of Crossword Puzzles: 288 Puzzles for the Crossword Fanatic

I'm not a champion crossword puzzle solver so some of these are ridiculously hard for me. I prefer the straight ahead puzzles without gimmicky tricks. Many of these puzzles are from the '50s and '60s so they meet my criteria (especially since I grew up in that era). A number of them, however, are way too hard for me or else too cute (e.g. answers where one of the letters is incorrect, etc.). I would have rated it a "3" for me but I realize that many people want variety so I gave it a "4".

A crossword puzzle is generally built by following an overall theme, whether it is modern pop culture, geography, politics, history or basic vocabulary. This collection of crossword puzzles is different, in that it is a combination of all of them, being composed of four separate collections. The puzzles of the first collection were taken from magazines published in the `50s and `60s, and none of the clues have been updated to reflect changes. Therefore, a clue such as "Mild expletive" must be interpreted in that context. References to political and entertainment celebrities also must be examined in a historical light. Puzzles in the second section were all taken from the U.S. Airways in-flight magazine "Attache", which debuted in 1997. The third section is made up of puzzles that were given to top crossword experts under tournament conditions. Much more difficult than the others, this group of puzzles will stretch your capabilities to the limits. The fourth and final section is also made up of puzzles that were created in the `50s and `60s. As was the case with the first set, it is best to think twice before responding, as you may be thinking fifty years after the fact. Solutions to all of the puzzles are included, so you have everything you need to pit yourself against the experts and time as you try to solve these mind straining crosswords. The crossword puzzle page of newspapers is generally one of the most popular pages in each issue. Properly done, they are challenging, frustrating and yet fun to do. The puzzles in this collection certainly fit that description.

Cox, Rathvon, Carlton, and Newgate have shown once more that they produce the best crossword books in the puzzle biz. When is their next book coming out?

If you like crosswords that are fun to do without resorting to stacks of reference materials, then this book is for you. Lots and lots of clever puzzels you can complete in an hour or so. One word of advice : take the first 70 or so puzzels and give them to someone just beginning to do crosswords as I found them too easy to enjoy. The other 200+ puzzels were great. These crosswords are not the brain twisters from the New York Times which require experience, determination, and research to complete. These puzzels are challenging without being frustrating. Give it a try.