The Music of the Primes - by Marcus Du Sautoy (Paperback)

About the Book

Inthe tradition of Fermat s Enigma and Pi, Marcus du Sautoy tells the illuminating, authoritative, and engagingstory of Bernhard Reimann and the ongoing quest tocapture the holy grail of mathematics the formula to predict prime numbers.Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, calls TheMusic of the Primes an amazing book....I could not put it down once Ihad started. Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman, writes, this fascinating account, decoding the inscrutable language of themathematical priesthood, is written like the purest poetry. Marcus du Sautoy's enthusiasm shines through every line of this hymnto the joy of high intelligence, illuminating as it does so even the darkestcorners of his most arcane universe. "

Book Synopsis

Inthe tradition of Fermat's Enigma and Pi, Marcus du Sautoy tells the illuminating, authoritative, and engagingstory of Bernhard Reimann and the ongoing quest tocapture the holy grail of mathematics--the formula to predict prime numbers.Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, calls TheMusic of the Primes "an amazing book. . . . I could not put it down once Ihad started." Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman, writes, "this fascinating account, decoding the inscrutable language of themathematical priesthood, is written like the purest poetry. Marcus du Sautoy's enthusiasm shines through every line of this hymnto the joy of high intelligence, illuminating as it does so even the darkestcorners of his most arcane universe."

From the Back Cover

In 1859, German mathematician Bernhard Riemann presented a paper to the Berlin Academy that would forever change mathematics. The subject was the mystery of prime numbers. At the heart of the presentation was an idea that Riemann had not yet proved--one that baffles mathematicians to this day.

Solving the Riemann Hypothesis could change the way we do business, since prime numbers are the lynchpin for security in banking and e-commerce. It would also have a profound impact on the cutting edge of science, affecting quantum mechanics, chaos theory, and the future of computing. Leaders in math and science are trying to crack the elusive code, and a prize of $1 million has been offered to the winner. In this engaging book, Marcus du Sautoy reveals the extraordinary history behind the holy grail of mathematics and the ongoing quest to capture it.

Review Quotes

"Marcus du Sautoy's book is a highly engaging and entertaining account of the problem that most mathematicians put at the top of their most wanted list. No matter what your mathematical IQ, you will enjoy reading The Music of the Primes." - Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of The Math Gene and The Millennium Problems: The Seven Greatest Unsolved Mathematical Puzzles of Our Time
"An amazing book! Hugely enjoyable. I could not put it down once I had started. Du Sautoy provides a stunning journey into the wonderful world of primes, a journey made human and even more enthralling because he presents the personalities and lives of some of history's greatest mathematicians with the same vividness and brilliance as he presents their ideas." - Oliver Sacks, author of The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
"This fascinating account, decoding the inscrutable language of the mathematical priesthood, is written like the purest poetry. Marcus du Sautoy's enthusiasm shines through every line of this hymn to the joy of high intelligence, illuminating as it does so even the darkest corners of his most arcane universe." - Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman
"Du Sautoy's narrative conjures up the characters and their profound ideas with wonderful verve and a poetic gift for explanation. It is enormously entertaining stuff. He also uncovers a staggering depth and richness to the Universe that should leave you in awe." - New Scientist
"Fascinating." - Washington Post Book World
"Poignant. . . . As Marcus du Sautoy thrillingly shows, mathematicians love numbers so much that they invest them with the properties of things." - Financial Times
"Exceptional. ... A book that will draw readers normally indifferent to the subject deep into the adventure of mathematics." - Booklist (starred review)
"[A] lively history. . . . A must for math buffs." - Kirkus Reviews
"[T]his account is fascinating, filled with odd twists. . . . Marcus du Sautoy attempts to explain some of the efforts that have been made on this 'Everest of Mathematics.' " - Christian Science Monitor
"Du Sautoy provides a panoramic history of prime-number crunching, rich with anecdote and unfailingly patient with the mathematical fine points." - Village Voice
"Engaging. . . . [Du Sautoy] is a fluent expositor of more tractable mathematics, and his portraits of math notables are quite vivid." - Publishers Weekly
"Written with incisive clarity, Marcus du Sautoy's The Music of the Primes tells an enthralling story. . . . The saga is also one of profoundly human passions and griefs, of rivalries and collaborative labours. In what are today somewhat tawdry times, the history of this great hunt is quite simply one of rare human dignity. Du Sautoy brings it to passionate life even for the layman. A book not to be put down." - George Steiner, Times Literary Supplement (London)
"Du Sautoy shows how computers are used to discover reams of detail about the primes and how this detail is important to Web commerce. His account of current work takes us as close to the frontier as we can get without a passport." - Los Angeles Times Book Review
"An amazing book! Hugely enjoyable. Du Sautoy provides a stunning journey into the wonderful world of primes." - Oliver Sacks
"This fascinating account, decoding the inscrutable language of the mathematical priesthood, is written like the purest poetry." - Simon Winchester, author of The Professor and the Madman
"This is a wonderful book about one of the greatest remaining mysteries in mathematics." - Amir Aczel, author of Fermat's Last Theorem and The Riddle of the Compass
"No matter what your mathematical IQ, you will enjoy reading The Music of the Primes." - Keith Devlin, Stanford University, author of The Millennium Problems: The Seven Greatest Unsolved Mathematical Puzzles of Our Time