The crossword has a radical history. A puzzle veteran explores why

The crossword has a radical history. A puzzle veteran explores why

Natan Last's book delves into the crossword's century-long story, exploring what the grids we solve reveal about news and culture.

How Crossword Puzzles Underwrote Three of America’s Major Publishers

One winter evening in 1924 Mr. Richard L. Simon came home from dinner at his aunt Wixie’s house with an idea. He was a man of letters, now, and that’s why Wixie had invited him over. After Columbia and a tour in World War I, Simon had gone to work for a friend of his father’s—a sugar importer who liked the way Simon, born to a musical family, played the organ. Next he had a stint as a piano salesman. On a house call, he tried selling one to Max …