Mastering Rubik's Cube: The Solution to the 20th Century's Most Amazing Puzzle

"Rubik's Cube is a modern-day mechanical marvel, surpassing the ancient wonders of the Hellenistic tradition and rivaling John Dee's Scarabaeus of 1547 in the ingeniousness of its internal construction. To the uninitiated it is simply a delightful plaything for children or a perplexing puzzle for adults. But to those who know, its deceptively innocent exterior can be transformed into a kaleidoscope of changing patterns, governed by subtle laws of mathematical symmetry. Behind the apparent chaos lies a way into the beautiful theory of groups. Even to fully understand the patterns formed by moving just two faces requires a good grasp of group theory and its relation to finite geometry. Yet none of this knowledge is necessary to solve the puzzle. Simply by reading this book you will obtain the keys to the solution, and with a little practice you will be able to change the cube from chaos to order in under five minutes."