Rating: 
Summary: A fun, quick read
Review: The book is only about 140 pages in the hard-back, which is fairly short. The remaining pages are solutions to some puzzles listed in the book. Poundstone gives a nice history of the use of puzzle-type interviews. You learn some Microsoft trivia, get some cool puzzles with solutions, and a discussion on the pros and cons of puzzle interviews. My only gripe is that the puzzles are in the 4th of 8 chapters. I skipped that chapter, and after reading the book I am now working the puzzles. Very entertaining if you enjoy logic puzzles/brainteasers.
Rating: 
Summary: Suggestion to Author
Review: The book was an enjoyable read, but I have to say that I have one gripe with the book. The author presents logic questions throughout the book and later presents the answers. Some of the questions were quite long. For long questions, rather than reprinting the entire question when the answers were presented, he would print just the first few words. I was constantly flipping back through the book trying to find the full question...which some of the questions were rather hard to find. It wasted a lot of time for something that could have been solved by simply giving the page number of the original question.
Rating:
Summary: clever puzzles, but their software still don't work
Review: The puzzles presented here are certainly entertaining and definitely are great excercises for your mind. It's nice to know that Microsoft engineers are all required to solve these brain teasers before being hired. Although the book does briefly address the problem of such hiring practices, it never really discusses how solving these types of puzzles will ensure that Microsoft will hire engineers and software developers who can create a good product. Microsoft would see far greater benefits if they were to hire some folks who could write some applications that don't hang-up all the time. None of these puzzles would seem to address a potential employee's ability to solve the hang-up problem that are experienced with most Microsoft applications. And it would also help if they concentrated on creating some programs that allow the users to line up some paragraphs the way they want, instead of having the programs just shift margins around arbitrarily on its own..or a program that will acquire a photo from the scanner and not blow it up 600% on its own, or maybe create an operating system that will recognize my modem and printer. I got a puzzle for microsoft - Let's say we have an program, or programs, that hang-up or don't perform the way they're supposed to. What type of change would you make to get those things to work properly, without making the user reboot every time, or reinstall everything?
Oh Yeah, keep doing those puzzles. But also spend some time on making products that work.
Rating:
Summary: Very nicely done . . .
Review: There's been a need for a book like this for years. Like most people in IT, I've encountered these types of questions and have had complicated feelings about them. (When I solve a puzzle, I think they're great, of course.) I've read several of Poundstone's other books and knew he was a terrific writer. This didn't disappoint. It looks perceptively at how these questions are used and misused today. It is not a long book. I read it in one weekend, and I wish more books were like that. Well worth it for anyone in the job market, anyone who likes puzzles, anyone interested in the whole idea of measuring intelligence and creativity.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and Anecdotal, but not super informative.
Review: This book was entertaining because it contained great anecdotes and history about the puzzle-based interview. Apart from that, however, I found it quite unoriginal. If you're interested in learning how to hire great people, go search the JoelOnSoftware website for interviewing tips. There's an essay there which is cited several times in this book. If you're a puzzle enthusiast, you've probably heard many of the puzzles in this book. As the author mentions, there are plenty of online resources for this information. This book devotes too much time to talking about msft and it seems like the author is locked in a love/hate relationship with that company. :) Overall, this book was a collection of many sources of information (anecdotes about msft, recruiting tips from Joel, puzzles from the web) without adding much originality (except maybe the 'answers' section).
Rating:
Summary: I'm Buying One for Each of My Children
Review: This is a fascinating look at the "real" world. I've had similar interviews; they are very tough. My children will each be given their own copy of this book as they prepare to tackle the world.
Rating:
Summary: GET THE EBOOK, BUT GET IT!
Review: Whether you're preparing for those pesky "brain teaser" interviews or not (as the purported intent of this book is) this compilation of jerk-your-gray-matter trivia is mindbogglingly, exhileratingly addictive! Which is quite a boon, now that Reader's Digest no more publishes such interesting stash. We first get a brief trace of the the rise and controversial fall of employer-mandated IQ tests, the peculiar obsessions of Bill Gates (who plays jigsaw puzzles as a competitive sport), the sadistic mind games of Wall Street (which reportedly led one job seeker to smash a forty-third-story window), and the bizarre excesses of today's hiring managers (who may start off your interview with a box of Legos or a game of virtual Russian roulette). Then comes the barrage of killer questions: Why are beer cans tapered on the ends? How many piano tuners are there in the world? Why does a mirror reverse right and left instead of up and down? If you are like me, you'll read this book end to end. Makes for a great subway read, especially if you are tired of bromides such as "Why are manhole covers round?". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: ProntoPurchase material.
Rating:
Summary: GET THE EBOOK, BUT GET IT!
Review: Whether you're preparing for those pesky "brain teaser" interviews or not (as the purported intent of this book is) this compilation of jerk-your-gray-matter trivia is mindbogglingly, exhileratingly addictive! Which is quite a boon, now that Reader's Digest no more publishes such interesting stash. We first get a brief trace of the the rise and controversial fall of employer-mandated IQ tests, the peculiar obsessions of Bill Gates (who plays jigsaw puzzles as a competitive sport), the sadistic mind games of Wall Street (which reportedly led one job seeker to smash a forty-third-story window), and the bizarre excesses of today's hiring managers (who may start off your interview with a box of Legos or a game of virtual Russian roulette). Then comes the barrage of killer questions: Why are beer cans tapered on the ends? How many piano tuners are there in the world? Why does a mirror reverse right and left instead of up and down? If you are like me, you'll read this book end to end. Makes for a great subway read, especially if you are tired of bromides such as "Why are manhole covers round?". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: ProntoPurchase material.
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