shopping cart
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Original Essays | September 23, 2009

Jonathan Lethem: IMG Stops: On Those Things My New Novel Forgot to Be About, Maybe



For me, there's a weird, unfathomable gulf — I almost wrote gulp — between the completion of a novel and its publication. Some days this duration feels interminable, as though the book has... Continue »
  1. $19.56 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    Chronic City

    Jonathan Lethem

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$9.50
List price: $13.95
Used Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
1 Local Warehouse Mathematics- History

More copies of this ISBN:

The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics

by Marcus Du Sautoy

The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics Cover

ISBN13: 9780060935580
ISBN10: 0060935588
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $9.50!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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

Book News Annotation:

In their quest for the solution to the 1859 Reimann Hypothesis, the "Holy Grail" wrought of the mystery of prime numbers, mathematicians have developed aspects of number theory, logic, geometry, analysis, logic, probability theory, chaos theory, and quantum physics. Du Sautoy (mathematics, Oxford U.) describes how these various heroes and sinners blow apart the mathematical world of the Greeks in their search, develop startling theories, succeed, fail, and, it appears, incessantly persevere in their search for a definitive answer.
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Review:

"[W]ill draw readers normally indifferent to the subject deep into the adventure of mathematics." Booklsit

Review:

"An amazing book! Du Sautoy provides a stunning journey into the wonderful world of primes." Oliver Sacks

Review:

"[Du Sautoy's] discussion of the Riemann Hypothesis itself...can lapse into metaphors...that are long on sublime atmospherics but short on meaningful explanation." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"A Royal Society research fellow takes the Riemann Hypothesis, reputedly the most difficult of all math problems, as the focus for his lively history of number theory....Du Sautoy keeps the story moving and gives a clear sense of the way number theory is played in his accessible text. A must for math buffs." Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Marcus du Sautoy is a professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford and a research fellow at the Royal Society. A frequent contributor on mathematics to The Times and BBC radio, he lives in London.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Melissa Kinsey, December 11, 2007 (view all comments by Melissa Kinsey)
The demand for proof is a curiously mathematical phenomenon. Even when mathematicians are convinced of the truth of a hypothesis, even when physical evidence is overwhelmingly in support of it, still they demand conclusive logical proof. In this "story" of the search for a proof of Riemann's Hypothesis, which deals with prime numbers, duSautoy examines the question of what allows us to progress. There are stories of genius inhibited by the strictures of the time, stories of genius unfettered by formal education, stories of collaboration that result in better work than either collaborator could have contributed. It is a story of numbers, yes, but in the context of human nature and our singular drive to understand our world.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(7 of 18 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780060935580
Subtitle:
Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics
Author:
Du Sautoy, Marcus
Author:
by Marcus du Sautoy
Publisher:
Harper Perennial
Subject:
General
Subject:
Number Theory
Subject:
History -- Philosophy.
Subject:
General Mathematics
Copyright:
Publication Date:
May 2004
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
335
Dimensions:
8.02x5.30x.86 in. .68 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $1.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  2. $9.00 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  3. $7.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  4. $9.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  5. $8.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  6. $4.95 Used Mass Market add to wish list

    The Killer Angels

    Michael Shaara

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.