Message #207

From: Melinda Green <melinda@superliminal.com>
Subject: Re: [MC4D] "good books"
Date: Wed, 12 Oct 2005 22:58:24 -0700

Here are some more books. Text lifted directly from
http://www.math.ucf.edu/~reid/Rubik/index.html
I’ve read Singmaster’s "Notes on Rubik’s Magic Cube" which is short and
accessible.
-Melinda

4. Cube books

*Inside Rubik’s Cube and Beyond*, by Christoph Bandelow, Birkhäuser
Boston, 1982. This is the best cube book ever written. Besides the
clever title, it also has a section on mathematical theory, a solution
understandable to the average person, amusing cartoons, an exceptional
collection of pretty patterns and maneuvers, and a flowchart for a
cube-solving program. The German edition of the book, *Einführung in die
Cubologie* is earlier, and not quite as complete as the English edition,
but I’ve heard it’s also very good.

*Notes on Rubik’s Magic Cube*, by David Singmaster, Enslow, 1981. The
first book to appear about the cube and the most influential. This book
popularized Singmaster’s "FLUBRD" notation and other conventions which
have become standard. It’s not as polished as Bandelow’s book, but it
appeared much earlier. Appendices were added as new information was
discovered. You can see cube history unfold before your eyes as you read
them. It’s still a classic.

*Winning Ways* (volume 2), by Elwyn Berlekamp, John Conway and Richard
Guy, Academic Press, 1982. It only has a brief section on Rubik’s Cube,
but it’s quite worthwhile. Many other games are discussed, including
Conway’s Game of Life.

*Handbook of Cubik Math*, by Alexander Frey, Jr. and David Singmaster,
Enslow, 1982. This book supplements Singmaster’s *Notes on Rubik’s Magic
Cube*, by taking a closer look at the group theory behind the cube.

*Rubik’s Cubic Compendium*, by Ernő Rubik, Tamas Varga, Gerzson Keri,
Gyorgy Marx and Tamas Vekerdy, Oxford University Press, 1987. English
translation of *A Buvös Kocka*, with an afterword by David Singmaster.

*Cubic Circular*, by David Singmaster. A short-lived periodical in 8
issues. They are now online at Jaap’s page
<http://www.geocities.com/jaapsch/puzzles/cubic.htm>, but you are
encouraged to purchase print versions from David Singmaster.

Also see Georges Helm’s comprehensive collection of cube solutions
<http://webplaza.pt.lu/public/geohelm/myweb/cubbib.htm> (nearly 600 items).

liatsecret wrote:

> Hi Ivan and all…:)
>
> sorry for the delay…
>
> Here are some books you might find interesting.
>
> You can find them on Amazon…
>
> 1) "A handbook of Cubik Math" by Alexander Frey and David Singmaster.
>
> 2) The other is Bizek’s "mathematics of the rubic cube design".