Product Description

The book aims to take readers to a deeper understanding of the patterns of thought that have shaped the modern understanding of number theory. It begins with the fundamental theorem of arithmetic and shows how it echoes through much of number theory over the last two hundred years.

One of the main strengths of this book is the narrative. Everest and Ward present number theory as a living subject, showing how various new developments have drawn upon older traditions.

The authors concentrate on the underlying ideas instead of working out the most general and complete version of a result. They select material from both the algebraic and analytic disciplines and sometimes present several different proofs of a single result to show the differing viewpoints and also to capture the imagination of the reader and help them to discover their own tastes. They also cover important topics of significant interest, eg. elliptic functions and the new primality test, which are often omitted from other books at this level.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #964809 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 302 pages

Review
From the reviews:

"This number theory text is somewhat different than traditional number theory texts. The authorsa (TM) guiding principle is unique factorization and its consequences. a ] This is not a traditional number theory text, but one that tries to guide the reader through the beginnings of the subject towards the modern frontiers. This is helped along by a good sized bibliography plus many problems a ] . it might provide an interesting experience when used at the graduate level." (Don Redmond, Mathematical Reviews, Issue 2006 j)

"The book under review contains several topics which are usually not brought together in an introductory text. The book is meant to give a broad introduction to advanced undergraduate students a ] of number theory. a ] Each chapter contains many exercises and historical notes. a ] In my opinion, because so many topics are treated in an accessible way, the book is very well suited for an introductory course in number theory." (Jan-Hendrik Evertse, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1089 (15), 2006)

"In An Introduction to Number Theory, the authors strive to have the best of all worlds: they cover a broad range of topics a ] . This book could be used for a number of different courses. a ] The full book would be appropriate for a first-year graduate course. Ita (TM)s also a nice introduction to the subject for established mathematicians form other fields. a ] its extensive bibliography, tasteful collection of topics, and clear presentation make it a pleasant reference even for working number theorists." (Rob Benedetto, MathDL, January 2006)