**The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living
Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring
power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how
they can improve our world.
**
"Even though I've never attempted the New York Times crossword
puzzle or solved the Rubik's Cube, I couldn't put down The
Puzzler."--Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and
Better Than Before
What makes puzzles--jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus--so satisfying? Be
it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight
and humor, or their community-building properties, they're among the
fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have
made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs--four-time New York Times
bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly
crossworder--set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in
the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost.
In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters
(sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have
him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve
the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik's Cube, to the
hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of
unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the
world--including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America's top
puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle--The
Puzzler will open readers' eyes to the power of flexible thinking and
concentration. Whether you're puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you'll
walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward
becoming a better thinker and decision maker--for these are certainly
puzzling times.
