The Best of Merl Reagle's Sunday Crosswords: Big Book No. 1 (1) Paperback – October 1, 2014

Merle Reagle's puzzles are always theme-based. Most of the words, although not common, are well known words.

These (two of his collections) were ordered as a gift, but I ordered them because Merl Reagle's puzzles are my favorites, as a crossword fan. He has a lovely sense of humor and is so clever in how he puts his puzzles, clues, etc, together. I did notice in these books that he has "commentary" and that was also fun to read. Yay, Merl!!

I love Reagle's puzzles, but have to limit myself to one a week. I used to do them every week in the Sunday newspaper. Since each puzzle has a "twist," if I don't limit myself, I find that I drive myself crazy trying to get in Reagle's mind. If you're a crossword fan, these puzzles are for you.

I do lots of crosswords and find his are fun yet challenging, but not enough to make you pull your hair out. I'm planning on ordering more vol. 2 and his 100th Anniversary book.

O.K., you've done all of the Will Shortz puzzles, or at least all you want to. You've used up all of the Leslie Billig collections. You've exhausted the Uptown Puzzle Club. You're looking at the USA Today books and the L.A. Times collections and thinking about taking a chance.Well, Merl Reagle to the rescue. The puzzles are challenging but not impossible. They fit comfortably into the Shortz/Billig universe. Clues are fair and clever. All of the answers aren't "Esai" and they aren't loaded with Proper nouns, foreign words, or the names of South American rivers.If you find yourself muttering at or yelling at editors as you do crossword puzzles, well these puzzles are fun, fair, entertaining and aggravation free. A nice alternative and a happy find.

i am a great fan of Merl Reagle and this is a good compilation. The paper is not as slick and well finished as his puzzle books - not a particular problem for me...

Like many of you, a highlight of Sunday morning is digging down to the Washington Post Magazine for the crossword puzzle. Merle's puzzles brought me back to really enjoying crosswords, and his passing was a blow. But, you can get right back into his funny, clever world with this book. It looks like most of these are from the 80s and 90s, and my old brain can't remember any of them, so I get to enjoy them again! There are also some specialty puzzles that are extremely clever and challenging.

These puzzles are always smart, fun, clever and solvable! From one of the greatest puzzle designers. I've bought this collection for several friends.

I love his Sunday puzzles. This collection is great and I plan to order Volume II when it’s back in stock.