» Speedsolving the Cube: Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step Instructions for Many Popular 3-D Puzzles

Speedsolving the Cube: Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step Instructions for Many Popular 3-D Puzzles Reviews

Customer Rating:
Summary: Best book on speed cubing - period
Comment: While there is a ton of information on the web and YouTube about ways to solve the Rubik's cube, this book distills much of that information into a very concise and easy to learn format that should appeal to a wide range of people. If you just want to learn a beginner's method to solve the cube, you can do that but the book is definitely catered to those who want to go beyond just solving it and teaching how to solve it fast!

I really enjoyed the sections on the 2x2x2, 4x4x4, and 5x5x5 cubes as well and was surprised how easy they were to learn.

I just have two small gripes with the book, both of which have to do with the printing and binding more than the content (which is why I still gave it 5 stars). First, the book has a number of printing errors in it, mostly in the 5x5x5 section. Fortunately if you go to Dan Harris' website he has all the corrections posted. Secondly, it would have been nice to have this book published with spiral binding (even if the book cost more) - it's just impossible to lay it down on a table to look at the algorithms without placing a large heavy object on the book to keep it open.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Speed Solving THE CUBE
Comment: The book is as concise as it can possibly be, but I'm new to "Rubics cube" and it gets a little over my head in places. The learning curve for the algorithms is a little steep, but with enough practice, and dedication it can be a rewarding experience. The book has a wealth of information about record holders, and the invention of "Rubics cube." If you never solve the cube, the book is still worth the money. I bought two of them, so I would have one that hasn't been written in, and manhandled. If you have an interest in the cube, buy the book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The first step to becoming a speed cuber starts with this book!
Comment: I had tried to learn the so-called "speed cubing" methods online and had been completely frustrated. Dan Harris lays it all out perfectly: it is very easy to follow and understand. That doesn't mean that the technique is all that easy to learn: with a massive amount of algorithms to memorize it will certainly be an undertaking of some months before you can claim complete mastery of the CFOP method.
The sections on the 2x2, 4x4, and 5x5 cubes are also very easy to follow. There is one typo that I found in the 5x5 chapter. The algorithms in Table 8.3, p125 are wrong: they are written (R r) U (R' r') U (R r) (U2 u2) (R' r') (R r) and (R2 r2) U (R2 r2) U (R2 r2) (U2 u2) (R2 r2). I spent a frustrating 10 minutes trying to figure out why I couldn't complete the centers. I found that the correct algoritms are (R r) U (R' r') U (R r) U2 (R' r') and (R2 r2) U (R2 r2) U (R2 r2) U2 (R2 r2).
At the end of the book there is also a chapter that has algorithms for all sorts of cool patterns that can be applied to an already finished cube.
This is a great book and no true Rubik's fanatic should be without it!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A serious cubing book
Comment: This book seems best suited to people who already know how to solve the cube and who would like to find out how to improve their solutions. In my case, I hit a wall with my homebrew solution at about 60 seconds. While 1 minute solves are nice, it's not impressive in a world where a 20 second solve is not terribly competitive. This book seems to have the solution for that. It's too early to claim success, but what I've worked through so far is very good.

Would this book be suitable for a cubing novice? That's a tough call. The book does start from scratch teaching a basic solution, but I feel other resources online are a little clearer for the absolute beginner. However, a dedicated learner could work entirely from the book. Just keep in mind that pace is very quick, and the author doesn't do that much hand holding.

Would this book be suitable for an experienced speed cuber? That's hard to say, since I'm not in that category. If you follow another solving system, the book should be a very easy introduction to the authors strategy. I suspect that no matter where you are, you'll get a few new algorithms and tricks. There's also the 2x2x2, 4x4x4 and 5x5x5 solutions, which ought to provide additional value to the hardcore cuber.

This book is deceptively short. Although it weighs in at barely 160 pages, there's really a lot of content if you work through the material. It's taken a week to work through the first 50 pages, and that's just the intro material. I suspect it will be months, if not years, before I've even come close to exhausting what the book has to offer. In that regard, it's a tremendous value, and I can wholeheartedly recommend the book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, concise introduction to speedcubing
Comment: I taught myself much of the methodology outlined in this book by scrounging around the Internet for various algorithms, etc. Dan Harris' website ([...]) was instrumental in teaching me how to plan ahead, and he's used his skills at creating written tutorials for a very hands-on hobby to write an excellent book.

This book has several advantages over the way that most of us have had to learn our way around the cube. First, it's laid out in a linear fashion, so ideas are introduced to the reader in a very organized way, interspersed with lots of examples. Second, through the format of a published book, a comprehensive set of the many algorithms needed for a complete speedsolving solution are presented in a bound paper copy. This is perfect for someone who wants to carry the book and a cube in their backpack or messenger bag and keep notes about which algorithms are most comfortable, which have been committed to memory, etc. I bought this book specifically for Dan's great presentation of the last layer orientation algorithms, which I have yet to learn. Having all of the algorithms organized in such a thoughtful way, in a medium that I can easily carry with me is exactly what I've needed.

Great work, Dan!

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