Review of "At Last!! Encoded Totals Second Addition," by Steven Kahan 089503171X

Review of

At Last!! Encoded Totals Second Addition, by Steven Kahan 089503171X

Five out of five stars

 Professor Kahan was the long-time editor of the alphametics column of Journal of Recreational Mathematics. I had the pleasure of working with him when I was the co-editor, he always demonstrated his skills in organizing the column. Many of the problems that were published were also his creations, Kahan demonstrated his cleverness on a regular basis.

 An alphametic is an arithmetic problem where the digits are each replaced by a letter where those letters create an understandable and relevant message. Historically, addition alphametics have dominated, but some problems based on other arithmetic operations have also been created. For example,

EIGHTEEN + EIGHTEEN + THREE + THREE + NINE = FIFTYONE

is an alphametic where the words also form a correct sum.

 This book is the second in his three book series of alphametics and that is of course the main type of problem in the book. Other items include number facts that will pique the interest of number enthusiasts, some simple puzzles and the setting of the context for the problem. Complete solutions to all the puzzles and problems are included.

 Professor Kahan demonstrates once again that the key to a good alphametic is generally due to the quality of the message that the digit replacement creates. Regarding that skill set, Kahan demonstrates that he has no peer.

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