Most people know of Martin Gardner, if they know of him at all, through his Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions column in Scientific American, and the books that came from those columns. But Gardner's interests are more diverse than that, and this book gives some insight into the breadth of his intellect.

It's a book of two parts. The first collects essays on a variety of topics - word games, calculating prodigys, the writing of Lord Dunsany, bad poetry, formula jokes and puzzles in "Ulysses", to pick a few. The second part consists of reviews: of Quine's autobiography, Needham's "Science in Ancient China", and many others.

This is an interesting book on many levels. Gardner writes well and entertainingly on many topics and manages to have opinions without being opinionated. Every one of his reviews both does justice to its subject and educates the reader (did you know, for instance, that H G Wells wrote a novel featuring atomic bombs in 1914, only shortly after Rutherford had first demonstrated that atoms had internal structure.)

It's a surprise to discover Gardner's varied sense of humour. His articles on word play and Joyce reveal a fondness for what British comedians would describe as 'knob jokes', and he's also a fan of appalling puns.

This a varied collection of primarily short pieces. It's unlikely that every one will be of interest to every reader, but most should find something here of interest and they all illuminate the mind of a notable individual. ( )

Collection of essays and reviews