About 180 famous mathematical puzzles and intriguing elementary problems posed and/or solved by great mathematicians are collected here. The selected problems do not require advanced mathematics, making this book accessible to a variety of readers. The puzzles originate with historical founders such as Archimedes and Pascal, as well as contemporary scientists and mathematicians such as John Littlewood, Paul Dirac, and Donald Knuth. Concise biographies of many mathematicians mentioned in the text are also included. The majority of the mathematical problems are based on number theory, graph theory, optimization, and probability. Others are based on combinatorial and chess problems, and geometrical and arithmetical puzzles. Four reference appendices are included, on solving Pell's equation, geometrical inversion, basic facts from graph theory, and linear difference equations with constant coefficients. The book is intended for general readers and undergraduate students, but the dense, academic-looking layout is not immediately inviting, in spite of a few humorous b&w illustrations. Petkovic teaches in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Nis, Serbia. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)