Puzzle mavens will find much that is new here-and much that is familiar. I am a part of this world, having been in the Class B playoffs one year, and having done crosswords and other word and non-word puzzles for 50 years. The arcane is the world of top solvers and constructors who congregate every March at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, CT. The familiar is the crossword puzzle, pastime of tens of millions (or maybe now fives of millions, what with sudoku's encroachments). Gridlock, along with its recent predecessors in various media (Marc Romano's book, Crossworld, and the film Wordplay) opens up a world at once familiar and arcane. "Gridlock" would be a welcome addition to every crossword lover's library. Thanks to books like Gaffney's and to the documentary film "Wordplay," the crossword puzzle has finally been given a chance to bask in the limelight. I think I will easily be able to tell the difference between a computer-generated grid and a human-generated one, but there are a few surprises in store. Gaffney organizes a contest between man and machine. A chapter I find especially interesting is about the use of computers in crossword puzzle construction. Although the reader gets to look over Gaffney's shoulder as he creates a puzzle, there is not enough information about the mysterious mechanics of filling a grid so that I would be able to successfully construct a puzzle myself. There is ample information about the cardinal rules of crossword construction and about what makes a puzzle good enough to beat out the competition for publication in the New York Times. He even takes the book to a personal level as he offers frank details about his own struggles, frustrations, and triumphs in getting his puzzles marketed. He discusses the marketing of original and reprint crossword collections, and describes the mind set needed to create and clue a specialty crossword for a niche market. He visits the offices of Penny Press, a large publisher of puzzle magazines. He draws an interesting and touching portrait of reclusive constructor Henry Hook. Gaffney interviews New York Times puzzle superstar Will Shortz, of course, but he also talks to New York Sun puzzle editor Peter Gordon and provides a humorous look at the Times/Sun crossword wars. This book is a veritable potpourri of facts, interviews, and anecdotes about crosswords. who can claim the designation of professional cruciverbalist (someone who actually earns a living creating crossword puzzles), presents a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the crossword puzzle business. In "Gridlock," Matt Gaffney, one of the fifteen or so people in the U.S. Gridlock also features an interview with crossword rock star Will Shortz.Īlthough a great many people work the crosswords in their local newspaper, buy puzzle books and magazines, and spend hours scratching their heads over devilish clues and fiendish themes, almost no one gives much thought to the people who construct, edit, or publish crossword puzzles. He then moves on to topics like the effect of computers on crossword writing, including a man versus machine battle he stages to see who writes better crosswords the ever-evolving crossword puzzle book market, where a top-selling series now has books shaped like a toilet seat and a trip to the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament, where the "Cru" (collective slang noun meaning "the crossword puzzle writing community") hangs out in person once a year. With verve and gusto, Gaffney traces his own starving-artist struggle to find paying puzzle gigs, including marketing hip crosswords to the Gen-X market. In Gridlock he provides an insider's look at the people who put that puzzle in your paper every day. Who writes crosswords, how-and for God's sake, why? Matt Gaffney is one of two dozen people who earns a living as a cruciverbalist. Tens of millions of Americans solve crossword puzzles regularly, but few know a thing about their genesis. In the spirit of Word Freak and Searching for Bobby Fischer, Gridlock is a chronicle of the quirky subculture of America's crossword puzzles.
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