Colorado Mathematical Olympiad
Love! Passion! Intrigue! Suspense! Who would believe that the history of a mathematics competition could accurately be described by words that more typically appear on the back of a popular novel? ... One of the great results of the Olympiad is the demonstration that real mathematics can be exciting and suspenseful. But the Olympiad also demonstrates the essence of mathematical research, or what mathematicians really do as they move from problem to example to generalization to deeper results to new problem.
- Philip L. Engel
in the introduction of The First 10 Years Colorado Mathematical Olympiad and Further Explorations, by Alexander Soifer A delightful feature of the book is that in the second part more related problems are discussed. Some of them are still unsolved; ... I warmly recommend this book to all who are interested in difficult elementary problems.
- Paul Erdös
in the introduction of The First 10 Years Colorado Mathematical Olympiad and Further Explorations, by Alexander Soifer The book is a gold mine of brilliant reasoning with special emphasis on the power and beauty of coloring proofs. Strongly recommended to both serious and recreational mathematicians on all levels of expertise.
- Martin Gardner
in The First 10 Years Colorado Mathematical Olympiad and Further Explorations, by Alexander Soifer I finished reading the book in one sitting – I just could not put it down. Professor Soifer has indebted us all by first making the effort to organize the Colorado Mathematical Olympiads, and then making the additional effort to tell us about it in such an engaging and useful way.
- Branko Grünbaum
in The First 10 Years Colorado Mathematical Olympiad and Further Explorations, by Alexander Soifer The problems alone would make this book rewarding to read. But Colorado Mathematical Olympiad has more than attractive mathematical problems. It has a compelling story involving the lives of those who have been part of this competition.
- Cecil Rousseau
in The First 10 Years Colorado Mathematical Olympiad and Further Explorations, by Alexander Soifer .. . Part II of the book, Further Explorations, pages 148 to 200, is an absolute gem. Each exploration (or, as the author calls each, an essay) takes an Olympiad problem (or 2 or 3 of them) and shows how its solution gives birth to deeper, more exciting and more general problems. Some such spawned problems are solved in this book, some are left unsolved. And 1 or 2 problems await first time solutions. ... This is a book of rare mathematical and educational quality.
- Ken Miltonin
The Australian Mathematics Teacher, an official publication of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers This book will be a source of delight to all serious problem solvers. It is recommended to schools who have, or wish to have, keen mathematicians, and to higher education institutions who have, or wish to have, people who will nurture mathematical talent.
- Steve Abbott
in The Mathematical Gazette A delightful feature of the book is that in the second part related problems are discussed. The author takes olympiad problems and shows how their solutions give birth to deeper, more exciting and more general problems. Some of these second generation problems are open (i.e., not solved by anyone), and the author offers a prize for their solutions.
- I. N. Lushchakova (Minsk)
in Zentralblatt für Mathematik/Mathematics Abstracts I hope that it will be translated into many languages, because it is a useful example of a successful transfer of an important cultural phenomenon from one country to another.
- Andrei Toom in Crux Mathematicorum