Ivan Moscovich’s memoir, The Puzzleman, is an unbelievable combination of gut-wrenchingly heartbreaking and awe-inspiring. As he puts it, he tells the story of a life “well spent.” A Holocaust survivor, founder and director of the Museum of Science and Technology in Tel Aviv, creator of the Harmonograph, author of over 50 books, inventor of countless toys, games, and puzzles, to say he is an accomplished man is an understatement.
Moscovich writes chronologically, beginning with his childhood in Navi Sad, Yugoslavia. He lived a relatively normal life up until 1942, when the Navi Sad Raid occurred. This marked the beginning of the extreme antisemitism Moscovich faced leading up to the Holocaust. He details his time in four different concentration camps, nearing death time and time again, accrediting this survival to his sheer will to survive, repeating to himself that survival is the best revenge. These sections of the memoir are horrific and heartbreaking as he describes the brutality he faced at the hands of Nazi Germany.
After liberation, Moscovich writes that he became a workaholic, attempting to constantly distract himself from reliving the nightmares of the Holocaust. He writes in depth about his work repairing the Yugoslavian railway, earning a degree in mechanical engineering, his creation of the harmonograph, and founding and director the Museum of Science and Technology in Tel Aviv before “retiring” and focusing more on creating toys, games, puzzles, and teaching aids.
Moscovich’s story is incredibly well written. His emotional recount of the loss of his childhood and his time in concentration camps will leave readers with wet eyes, and his many creative and scientific endeavors in the time after the Holocaust are impressive, inspiring, and heartwarming. His resiliency is abundantly clear as he overcomes obstacle over obstacle, yet he writes of his achievements with such humility, you wouldn’t know he’s won over 70 awards and medals for his work.
The Puzzleman is a wonderful story, absolutely worth reading. A well written and engaging story with various pictures that help tell his life story and many images of his famous Harmonograms, his memoir itself is a piece of history.
Go Poo! The Game
Miniland Launches “Build Kindness: Together We Stand” Anti-Bullying Campaign in Collaboration with ANAR Foundation
Dr Amanda Gummer on the Play Diet, School Readiness and More
Scott Traylor: Honoring Mike Wood: Tributes to the LeapFrog Founder and Toy Industry Visionary
Celebrate International Day of Play with The Toy Foundation™
PEOPLE OF PLAY WELCOMES SHANNON SWINDLE
Nominations Now Open for The Toy Association Board of Directors (2025-2027)
Santa Claus - The Interview: Trends and More!
SKY CASTLE TOYS PARTNERS WITH JAZWARES TO EXPAND THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL STICKI ROLLS™ BRAND IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE
Reserve Your Spot for The Toy Foundation’s Toy of the Year® Awards
Randy Klimpert Shares his Ukulele Collection
Steve Casino Peanut Art
Everyone's Talking about POP!
Princess Etch - a Multi-Talented Etch A Sketch Artist
Joseph Herscher of Joseph' s Machines.
Connie Vogelmann designed Apiary & Wyrmspan!
Bob Fuhrer... Is THE Crocodile Dentist!
Tom Dusenberry... Bought Atari, Wizards of the Coast, and Avalon Hill!
Matt Leacock created Pandemic... the game!
Scott Brown and Tim Swindle... are Launching a New Sport!
POPDuo: Richard Dickson, Mattel’s President & COO, and Kedar Narayan, Young Inventor Challenge AMB
POPDuo: Will Shortz and Josh Wardle
POP Duo: Elan Lee, Co-Founder, Exploding Kittens.and Jeff Probst, Host and Exec Producer, Survivor
POP Duo: David Fuhrer, MNG Director, Blue Sq Innovations & Shawn Green, past Dodgers & Mets MLB Star
POP Duo: Bob Fuhrer, Founder, Nextoy and Tom Fazio, Golf Course Designer