Puzzle History

A blend of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel and Simon Winchester’s Pacific, a thrilling intellectual detective story that looks deep into the past to uncover who first settled the islands of the remote Pacific, where they came from, how they got there, and how we know. For more than a...

From the Great Pyramid to the Tunguska Explosion, from Atlantis to Area 51—100 enigmas that still defy explanation. What did the builders of Stonehenge know that we've forgotten? Why were the Nazca Lines drawn on a scale only visible from the sky? How did ancient civilizations cut, transport, and place stones so massive and precise that modern engineers struggle to replicate the feat? The Little Black Book of Ancient Mysteries is a guided tour through 100 of history's most enduring puzzles—monuments whose construction defies conventional explanation, manuscripts no one can read, ...

The explosive Robert Langdon thriller from Dan Brown, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Symbol, Inferno, and The Secret of Secrets. An ancient secret brotherhood. A devastating new weapon of destruction. An unthinkable target. When world-renowned Harvard...

Featuring a wealth of sample puzzles ranging from simple to extremely challenging, this lively and engaging book brings together many of the most ingenious puzzles ever devised, including the "Hardest Logic Puzzle Ever", metapuzzles, paradoxes, and the logic puzzles in detective stories. 

History hides its most dangerous secrets in Bloomsville… When a Revolutionary War painting vanishes, a chilling legend resurfaces, and an explosive newspaper investigation threatens to expose the town’s deepest scandals, amateur sleuth Grace Thompson and her friends find themselves in the center of Bloomsville’s biggest mysteries yet. This exclusive box set includes three full-length cozy mysteries filled with small-town charm, clever twists, spirited sleuths, and the cutest four-legged detectives around. Join Grace, Chloe, Tom, Oscar, Matilda, and Benji as they uncover buried truths...

Uncover the gripping geopolitical history of East Asia through the ancient roots and modern conflict of the Taiwan Strait. Perfect for your morning commute, this objective and deeply insightful narrative transforms a tense global standoff into a human story of maritime trade, shifting empires...

“Watson, there is not a moment to lose. If you care to join the chase, pack your bag at once!” Likewise, enthusiasts of the greatest detective will not want to miss this opportunity to join Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in a whirlwind of exciting new adventures… A daring thief penetrates the defenses of the Tower of London in search of a secret treasure. A profligate young actor is accused of murdering his exemplary sibling. From the safe of a prominent London banker, a priceless heirloom is stolen. Upon a high cliff, a ghostly assassin commits an impossible murder. A kingpin of ...

Who wore the first pants? Who painted the first masterpiece? Who first rode the horse? Who invented soap? This madcap adventure across ancient history uses everything from modern genetics to archaeology to uncover the geniuses behind these and other world-changing innovations. Who invented the...

A surprising, charming, and ever-fascinating history of the seemingly simple game that has had a profound effect on societies the world over. Why has one game, alone among the thousands of games invented and played throughout human history, not only survived but thrived within every culture it...

Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one-of-a-kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and...

What if the most mysterious book in the world is not hidden in a cave, buried in a tomb, or locked away in legend—but sitting in plain sight, still unread after centuries? The Voynich Manuscript for Beginners is a clear, fascinating guide to the strange medieval book that has baffled scholars, cryptographers, historians, linguists, and curious readers for generations. Written in an unknown script and filled with impossible plants, mysterious diagrams, zodiac-like circles, strange bathing figures, and pages of unreadable text, the Voynich Manuscript remains one of the greatest unsolved ...

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying?...

'A breathtaking adventure through the alphabet... An absolutely delightful read, filled with jewels of lightly worn scholarship and dazzling insight. I just couldn't recommend it more highly.' Stephen Fry 'An excellent read.' Susie Dent 'You'll never look at a keyboard the same way after reading...

Journey into vanished civilizations and lost expeditions to solve historical mysteries that defy modern science. Perfect for a gripping commute or a focused afternoon, this suspenseful exploration plunges you into the world's most stubborn archaeological puzzles. From encrypted manuscripts to...

What if the French secret buried beneath a tiny hilltop village could rewrite everything you thought you knew about civilization itself? Sarah Cabot is an American living quietly in France when a stunning genealogical discovery changes everything. She is a direct descendant of Joan of Arc, and the French government intends to crown her Queen of France. But the title comes with more than ceremony. Her new security clearance opens doors beneath Rennes le Chateau and the ruins of Perillos that have stayed locked for centuries, and what waits inside those tunnels is far more disturbing than any...

Bloomsbury presents Duel of Beasts by Boyd and Beth Morrison, read by Mark Elstob. Savage beasts, fabulous treasures, perilous duels, and deadly treachery abound in this thrilling adventure novel set in medieval Spain. Málaga, Spain, 1352. Knight-errant Gerard Fox and his daring wife Willa seek...

One Aztec Secret. One Rogue Programmer. One Chance to Save the World. Cryptographer Nicholas Foxe is looking forward to a quiet getaway with his new wife, Nina, in the red rock canyons of Sedona. Still adjusting to married life and the pressure of academic deadlines, Nick welcomes a break—but unease sets in when a mysterious note warns them not to trust anyone. When a fellow guest at their resort vanishes and whispers of a Y2K catastrophe begin to surface, Nick and Nina are pulled into a global conspiracy tied to a forgotten Aztec code. As the clock ticks toward midnight on December 31, ...

What if history's greatest secret wasn't lost—but deliberately hidden? When biblical archaeologist Dr. Elena Vassos receives a cryptic message from her missing mentor, she finds herself drawn into a mystery spanning two thousand years. The clue? A mathematical sequence hidden in ancient artifacts across Europe. Partnering with cryptographer Dr. Marcos Ribeiro, Elena follows an encoded trail through Prague's astronomical clock, hidden chambers beneath Paris, and musical manuscripts in Vienna. Each discovery reveals fragments of an extraordinary truth: Lazarus of Bethany didn't simply ...

An entertaining and eye-opening look at the history of the crossword, who constructs them, and why crosswords matter as both a reflection of and influence on our culture From Wordle to Spelling Bee, we live in a time of word game mania. Crosswords in particular gained renewed popularity during...

Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown: The Ultimate Collection of 750 Fascinating Facts for Curious Minds. Did you know wombats poop in cubes? That the Moon smells like gunpowder? That ancient Romans used urine as mouthwash? Or about the green children who mysteriously appeared in 13th-century England? Most fact books are disappointing — written for toddlers or just dry lists without context. You read a fact and forget it. Fascinating Facts About Everything is different. It is a deep-dive into the weirdest, wildest true stories from the universe.