The Music of the Primes

“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

Marcus du Sautoy is a professor of mathematics and the Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is a frequent contributor on mathematics to The Times, The Guardian, and the BBC, and he lives in London.