“Problem-solving is a unique achievement of reasoning, and reasoning is the special gift of humanity: Problem-solving can be considered the most characteristic human activity.

The purpose of this work is to understand this activity, to suggest ways of teaching it, and ultimately to improve the reader's abilities regarding it. In most of the following chapters, the majority of the texts concern the extensive presentation of solutions to various problems. This presentation may seem overly broad to those mathematicians who are not interested in methodological issues.

In reality, what is presented here are not simple solutions but the history of the solutions. In such a history, the sequence of the main steps that ultimately led to finding the solution is described, and an effort is made to reveal the motivations and approaches that dictated these steps.

After each chapter, examples and comments follow. Any reader solving the examples has the opportunity to apply, clarify, and expand upon the methodological observations provided in the main text.” (...) [Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]