The Hidden Paw's Second 50 Puzzles

This second puzzle eBook contains a collection of 50 puzzles or riddles with their solutions. These brain teasers require insight to solve but not brute force. Some of them rely on common sense. Others are AHA or GOTCHA puzzles that Martin Gardner loved. There are some that rely on lateral thinking while others require convoluted logic to solve. Of interest are some uncommon puzzles such as cross numbers and puzzles extracted from real life situations.

When selecting the puzzles, two attempts were made:


1) Not to include commonly available puzzles

2) Not to include puzzles that require general knowledge or expertise in specific domains (such as math or algebra).


The intended age bracket is from early teens onwards.


About the Author


Akram Najjar is an engineer currently working as a Business Technology Consultant. He completed a B. Sc. in physics and mathematics at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (1966). He took another B. Sc. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Hertfordshire in England (1969).


Akram spent the first part of his career managing software development companies in Lebanon and the Arabian Gulf. By 1995, he concentrated on contractual work: IT Consulting, Business Process Reengineering, Project Management, Process Mapping, Data Analysis, Frameworks for Software Development and Technical Writing. He worked with various international organizations such as the World Bank, UNDP and the EU. In parallel with his consulting work, Akram focused on management training developing and conducting workshops for the above subjects. This and other books on his site are based on the experience acquired in these workshops.


The three types of books Akram writes (fiction, technical and puzzles) can be traced back to one incident when he was 12. His teacher introduced him to “Scientific American”. His name was David W. Miller. Mr. Miller’s whereabouts are not known today. But he is to be thanked and thanked again. The articles were above Akram’s head but his love for astronomy made the magazine fascinating. That eventually led him to study Physics and Mathematics. Coincidentally, the Greek Myths that were used to name the constellations got him interested in Literature, a love that led him to write fiction at a later date.


Akram also got hooked on the Mathematical Games column by Martin Gardner which was the reason Akram was set firmly in Puzzledom. Later on, it was second nature to him to work in software as a career. Software is an abstract practice that is full of puzzles whether you are designing, programming or debugging.


His eBooks are presented on two website. The www.marginalbooks.com site covers technical and literary books. All puzzles and games are presented on www.thehiddenpaw.com.