The problem of Cell 13

About the book

Augustus S. F. X. Van Dusen, known as the Thinking Machine, agrees to be locked in a prison cell under conditions intended to make escape impossible. The title story turns that challenge into a contest between the assumptions of his observers and the possibilities he can identify in limited circumstances. Its interest lies in the sequence of small practical decisions whose significance is not immediately apparent. This volume contains six additional mysteries, including The Scarlet Thread, The Flaming Phantom, and The Ralston Bank Burglary. Across the cases, an apparently baffling event becomes a problem whose terms need to be examined more carefully. Van Dusen's confidence and impatience give the intellectual demonstrations a distinctive personality, while the narrative arrangements invite readers to test their own interpretation of what has been observed.

• Reasoning
• Observation and assumption
• Apparent impossibility

Why read it

For the celebrated prison challenge and a collection that makes the definition of a problem central to solving it.

Seven Thinking Machine stories · English text