Pit your wits against Britain’s best brains
BLETCHLEY PARK BRAINTEASERS
by Sinclair McKay (Headline £12.99) I WAS nervous about testing my wits against the brightest brains of World War II. Fortunately, the opening sentence of this book claims ‘not everyone who worked at Bletchley Park was a genius on the level of Alan Turing’, which did, at least, put me slightly more at ease. It was, however, almost immediately apparent that I wouldn’t have made it through the front door of the top-secret Government Code And Cypher School. The book kicks off with cryptic crosswords and moves on to Morse code. There’s also a riddle section and even a common sense chapter for those of us less mathematically inclined. Sinclair McKay, whose previous books include The Secret Life Of Bletchley Park, also peppers the volume with entertaining anecdotes from the enigma-cracking club — such as the story of a young Sarah Baring who bluffed her way into the Foreign Office, claiming she was fluent in Italian by quoting the only Italian she knew — a few words from the opera La Traviata.
THE MONKMAN AND SEAGULL QUIZ BOOK
by Eric Monkman and Bobby Seagull (Eyewear Publishing £12.99) IT WAS hard not to notice Eric Monkman and Bobby Seagull when they went head-to-head on University Challenge in March this year. The unlikely pin-ups have gone from on-screen rivals to close friends and, to their fans’ delight, have produced this quiz book. It’s supposed to be played with friends in a gameshow set-up, but works just as well if you compete with yourself. With primary-school-type questions (harder than you might think), ‘Starters for Ten’ and even a section on Christmas, this book covers just about everything. Annoyingly, if, as is traditional in my house when we watch University Challenge, you choose one word and answer every question with said word until you get a question right, you’ll come unstuck . . .
QUESTION TIME: A JOURNEY ROUND BRITAIN’S QUIZZES
by Mark Mason (W&N £12.99) IF THE last two books have left you feeling brainless, then Mark Mason’s Question Time is the perfect antidote. Mason gives us a whistle-stop tour of Britain’s best quizzes while packing in as much trivia as possible. For instance, did you know that Edinburgh Waverley is the only station in Britain to be named after a fictional place? Or that George Harrison wrote Here Comes The Sun in Eric Clapton’s garden? Mason’s signature bouncy style manages to keep what could be niche subjects totally gripping and he guides us around the country while he is at it. He also gives the recipe for a great quiz night: no joker cards, a 3:2:1 ratio of easy to hard questions and — most importantly — booze. This is the one I will be giving to everyone for Christmas.