Cubed
The Puzzle of Us All
-
- € 3,99
Beschrijving uitgever
'More than just a memoir. A manifesto for a whole way of thinking' Daily Mail
'An idiosyncratic and gripping memoir about his life and the indomitable career of the Cube' Observer
'The rise and enduring power of the world's most popular puzzle toy . . . Cubed is less a memoir than a chronicle of Rubik's evolving relationship with his creation' Financial Times
***
As a child, Erno Rubik became obsessed with puzzles of all kinds. To him, they weren't just games - they were challenges that captured his imagination, creativity and perseverance. Rubik's own puzzle went on to be solved by millions worldwide, becoming one of the bestselling toys of all time. In Cubed, he tells us the story of the unexpected and unprecedented rise of the Cube for the very first time - and makes a case for why rediscovering our playfulness and inner curiosity holds the key to creative thinking.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hungarian architect and entrepreneur Rubik delivers a quirky memoir of a man and his eponymous creation. The narrative begins in 1974, when 30-year-old Rubik is building "Cube" prototypes with wood, rubber bands, and fishing line. Describing his memoir as a "meta" work, echoing the chaotic cube-solving experience itself, he reflects on the joys and challenges of design in general, and his eventual achievement, the Rubik's Cube: "Its core is like that of the earth's, we're drawn to it by gravity," he writes. And as the Cube's success proves, "in the rare cases when the harmony of function and design miraculously come together, beauty is achieved." One hundred million of them were sold worldwide within three years of its 1980 release, a level of popularity that Rubik attributes to the fact that it's "a puzzle that needs no instruction manuals or elaborate rules." After recounting the Cube's many pop culture appearances in media and the emergence of Rubik's Cube competitions, Rubik takes readers on a series of digressions, including one on the "unknowable mysteries of the cube." It's a clever concept, but the narrative rambles. Despite his otherwise charming and humble delivery, the book may not keep the casual reader engaged, though puzzle enthusiasts and design students will find plenty of takeaways.
