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The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics Paperback – August 14, 2012

by Marcus du Sautoy (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 55 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (August 14, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0062064010
  • ISBN-13: 978-0062064011
  • Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.8 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsPrime Fascination
By Rob Hardy HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER on July 27, 2003
Format: Hardcover
One of the attractions of number theory is that it has to do with the counting numbers; if you can get from one to two and then to three, you are well on your way to hitting all the subject matter of "The Queen of Mathematics." All those numbers can be grouped into two simple categories. The composite numbers, like 15, are formed by multiplying other numbers together, like 3 and 5. The prime numbers are the ones like 17 that cannot be formed by multiplying, except by themselves and 1. Those prime numbers have held a particular fascination for mathematicians; they are the atoms from which the composites are made, but they have basic characteristics that no one yet has fully fathomed. We know a lot about prime numbers, because mathematicians have puzzled over them for centuries. We know that as you count higher and higher, the number of primes thin out, but Euclid had a beautiful proof that there is no largest prime. However, the primes seem to show up irregularly, without pattern. Can we tell how many primes are present below 1,000,000 for instance, without counting every one? How about even higher limits? Speculating about the flow of primes led eventually to the Riemann Hypothesis, the subject of _The Music of the Primes: Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics_ (HarperCollins) by mathematician Marcus du Sautoy. The counting numbers turn out to be astonishingly complicated, and Du Sautoy knows that egghead number theorists will understand these complications better than we nonmathematicians, but he invites us to consider at a layman's level the importance of the particular quest of proving the Riemann Hypothesis. He is convincing in his demonstration that it is worth knowing what all the effort is about.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsdu Sautoy is Prime Time Player
By NotToto on June 15, 2003
Format: Hardcover
This is an exceptionally interesting book on the nature of prime numbers. The author succeeds on two fronts, he makes an incredibly vexing mathematical problem understandable to the lay person, AND he successfully explains most of the attacks against the problem for the last 150 years in a way that is both intrigueing and understandable. This is NOT a book with pages and pages of formulae, but it does contain a rich description of this problem which helps make it accessible to the curious mind.
The author has provided an excellent index at the back of the book for people that want to delve further. In addition, the author mentions several websites in the book that are helpful. The book contains many interviews with people currently working in the field to solve this problem .. but what I found most interesting, was how far ahead of his time Riemann himself was. The fact that he was able to come up with this hypothesis way before the advent of modern computational equipment and the ability to compute the zeroes necessary in the formula ... truly marks him as a unique mind. What would he be like if he lived today, with our supercomputers and other aids to computation?
I felt the book was very thought provoking on several fronts, the author's style was quite accessible, and it was enjoyable reading.
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3.0 out of 5 starsThe good, the bad, and the ugly
By P. Wung VINE VOICE on June 8, 2005
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
As the previous reviewers have already noted, du Sautoy does a great job bringing together the history of research that has been done on prime numbers, especially the Riemann Hypothesis and anything that pertains to that problem. I had not heard of the physics connection until I read this book and I did enjoy reading about it. The coverage is also very comprehensive and very thorough.

The bad is the purple prose that du Sautoy resorts to in order to make the material accessible to the lay reader. i think perhaps he underestimates his audience -to some a fatal flaw, to others a grating annoyance. My opinion is somewhere in between. It is rather difficult to express higher mathematics in a language other than in the mathematical language. I thought he did a pretty decent job with many of the concepts but I wonder what Simon Singh could have done with the same information. For example, du Sautoy's explanation of the RSA encryption method was lightweight and confusing. I think I had to read the pages four or five times before I saw how he was trying to explain the method. I am not a mathematician but I do have extensive background in mathematics, so if I got confused, what happens to the average reader?

The ugly is the way he flits around in his narrative. There is never any sense of when he is done talking about one development and the beginning of another. the history of the mathematicians were cursory at best. I understand that the purpose is to explore the idea of primes and their frequency but I agree also that the history and quirks of the mathematicians are interesting sidenotes that help the narrative move along, but don't leave the reader hanging!!!

regardless, I would recommend the book because of the expanse of mathemtical ground covered and the interesting concept introduced. I like the concept, I just did not care for the execution.
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5.0 out of 5 starsI'd give this book 6 stars if I could
By Brian Michalowski on May 17, 2006
Format: Hardcover
Mathematical texts are seldom page-turners, but du Sautoy has written a book that's difficult to put down. He describes the history of the Riemann Hypothesis as an unfolding mystery, and there are genuine cliffhangers that leave you wondering what twists and turns the plot is about to take.

My favorite part of the book, though, consists of the characters. Instead of dryly listing each mathematician's achievement, du Sautoy describes their personalities and quirks. If you have a background in math, you'll have heard of most of the mathematicians in this book, but perhaps not known which were womanizers, which were rivals with each other, and which were just plain nuts. I'd wager that this is the first math text ever written to start with the description of an April Fool's prank.

This plot and character development means there's not as much space for technical explanations as one might like, and du Sautoy consistently avoids technical details to emphasize the ideas behind them instead. For me this was fine, since it's given me the motivation to read a more technical book, but folks who are interested only in the math behind the Riemann Hypothesis and nothing more would be happier selecting another text.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great read. Really enjoyed the flow of the book.

Published 1 day ago by Binvi
5.0 out of 5 starsStarts slow, ends great

Started a little slow but steadily built into a great read -- I love it!

Published 9 days ago by Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsAn excellent history of the mathematic fraternity over the past three...

An excellent history of the mathematic fraternity over the past three or four centuries. The Riemann hypothesis being the one major challenge for the other mathematicians to prove... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Piet
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Well written, engaging, and informative.

Published 4 months ago by Jacquelyn Weaver
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Impressive book, though I haven't read much of it yet...

Published 4 months ago by Tom McDonnell
5.0 out of 5 starsWonderful Read!

Had I read this 30 years ago, I would have gone into mathematics. Great survey of the evolution of theoretical mathematics with prime numbers as the primary vehicle.

Published 5 months ago by David S. Brooks
1.0 out of 5 starsDO NOT GET KINDLE VERSION.

KINDLE VERSION is text only where paper version has illustrations.

Published 5 months ago by Peter Lau
4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Read; Not A "Math Book"

Perhaps the best written mathematics history I've ever read. The author is very good with language, and has an engaging style. Read more

Published 7 months ago by J. Patrick Dolan III
5.0 out of 5 starsLoved it!

I absolutely loved this book. Marcus du Sautoy has written a maths book that is accessible and fascinating. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Gav
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

A thoroughly enjoyable read

Published 9 months ago by Kindle Customer

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