<div>In the spirit of <i>Word Freak</i> and <i>Searching for Bobby Fischer, Gridlock</i> is a chronicle of the quirky subculture of America's crossword puzzles.<br><br>Tens of millions of Americans solve crossword puzzles regularly, but few know a thing about their genesis. Who writes crosswords, how—and for God's sake, why? Matt Gaffney is one of two dozen people who earns a living as a cruciverbalist. In <i>Gridlock</i> he provides an insider's look at the people who put that puzzle in your paper every day.<br><br>With verve and gusto, Gaffney traces his own starving-artist struggle to find paying puzzle gigs, including marketing hip crosswords to the Gen-X market. He then moves on to topics like the effect of computers on crossword writing, including a man versus machine battle he stages to see who writes better crosswords; the ever-evolving crossword puzzle book market, where a top-selling series now has books shaped like a toilet seat; and a trip to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, where the “Cru” (collective slang noun meaning “the crossword puzzle writing community”) hangs out in person once a year. <i>Gridlock</i> also features an interview with crossword rock star Will Shortz.<br></div>