Simon & Schuster's Super Crostics Book, Series No. 4 Paperback – March 1, 1997

Thomas Middleton wrote glorious crostics for the NYT. These puzzles are challenging and rewarding and not for the faint of heart. I was disheartened to learn that these compilations are out of print and only two volumes are still in supply. Used copies of the other volumes with (presumably) unsolved puzzles are offered at silly prices. Old puzzles aren't available online with a NYT puzzle subscription. So in essence they're close to being just a memory. Too bad because Middleton didn't use many pop culture or ephemeral words. His puzzles just require broad knowledge of language, history, and the arts. If you find puzzles by Morris, Dickman, et. al. difficult, you should step away now : )

A gold mine for Middleton fans. Some reviews have criticized the physical product, but I have had no trouble detaching each page. The print is dark and crisp and the spacing a generally adequate. Ample white space leaves room for marginal notes.

I love doing acrostics (or anacrostics or double crostics, as they're also called). I like the format of this book. Grid and clues are all on the same page. In some other books of this sort, the clues are on one page, and the grid on the opposite page. That makes them very difficult to fill in if you're not sitting at a table. I have another in this series of books.

First off, Middleton’s puzzles are masterful and a class by themselves. They are the very best that Acrostics have to offer.That said the physical books themselves are really poorly made. The puzzle book I received did not have "easy to use perforated pages" at all. There was no perforation whatsoever and the pages just rip along the binding. Even more problematic: The type is too small and often completely BLURRY. The printing is just terrible and looks like they just took a copy machine and slapped it together.But go ahead and buy it anyway. Middleton is just too good to pass up. It’s a shame the publisher has cheapened the experience with its third rate printing and editing.The author, and we puzzlers, deserve better.

I received this book today and saw a $10 price on the cover. I was charged $23.95! Also, it says on the cover, "Easy to use perforated pages". Not true. I tried to carefully remove a page and it tore off raggedly. Now I guess I cannot return it. I noticed the clues are very difficult, and i've been doing crostics for years. I feel like I was scammed and lied to. I made a $23.95 mistake, (plus inflated postage charges).. I will never buy another product from Simon & Schusters again!

Double Crostics are more interesting to do than crossword puzzles IMHO. Working from clues to solving the quotation that is the heart of the puzzle leads to hours of interesting and educational fun.

The print is very Much more tiny and blurry than previous books. Must have been reprinted many times 😑

I LOVE crostics and the Simon & Schusters are the best and most challenging, and I’ve been doing them since I was a little kid, for about maybe 35 years? That’s probably why they’re in the NYT every week. The fact that the sheets tear out is a definite plus.