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Prime Obsession: Berhhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in
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Prime Obsession: Berhhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics Paperback - 2004

by John Derbyshire

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Alternating passages of extraordinarily lucid mathematical exposition with chapters of elegantly composed biography and history, "Prime Obsession" is a fascinating and fluent account of an epic mathematical mystery that continues to challenge and excite the world.

Summary

In 1859, Bernhard Riemann, a little-known thirty-two year old mathematician, made a hypothesis while presenting a paper to the Berlin Academy titled  “On the Number of Prime Numbers Less Than a Given Quantity.”  Today, after 150 years of careful research and exhaustive study, the Riemann Hyphothesis remains unsolved, with a one-million-dollar prize earmarked for the first person to conquer it.

Alternating passages of extraordinarily lucid mathematical exposition with chapters of elegantly composed biography and history, Prime Obsession is a fascinating and fluent account of an epic mathematical mystery that continues to challenge and excite the world.

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From the publisher

The definitive story of the Riemann Hypothesis, a fascinating and epic mathematical mystery that continues to challege the world.

In 1859, Bernhard Riemann, a little-known thirty-two year old mathematician, made a hypothesis while presenting a paper to the Berlin Academy titled "On the Number of Prime Numbers Less Than a Given Quantity." Today, after 150 years of careful research and exhaustive study, the Riemann Hyphothesis remains unsolved, with a one-million-dollar prize earmarked for the first person to conquer it.

Alternating passages of extraordinarily lucid mathematical exposition with chapters of elegantly composed biography and history, Prime Obsession is a fascinating and fluent account of an epic mathematical mystery that continues to challenge and excite the world.

First line

In August 1859, Bernhard Riemann was made a corresponding member of the Berlin Academy, a great honor for a young mathematician (he was 32).

Details

  • Title Prime Obsession: Berhhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics
  • Author John Derbyshire
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 448
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Plume Books, New York
  • Publication date 2004-05-25
  • Illustrated Yes
  • Features Illustrated, Index
  • ISBN 9780452285255 / 0452285259
  • Weight 0.82 lbs (0.37 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.98 x 5.38 x 0.95 in (20.27 x 13.67 x 2.41 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Category Biography / Autobiography
  • Library of Congress subjects Numbers, Prime, Series
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2002156310
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

Media reviews

"Derbyshire’s attempt to take nonmathematicians into this subject had me on the edge of my seat." —Los Angeles Times



"Riemann and his colleagues come to life as real characters and not just adjectives for conjectures and theorems." —Scientific American

Citations

  • Science, 06/05/2009, Page 1268

About the author

JOHN DERBYSHIRE is a contributing editor for National Review, where he writes a regular column. He also contributes regularly to National Review Online and writes frequently for a number of other publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the American Conservative, the Washington Examiner, and the New Criterion. In addition to his opinion journalism, he writes on the subject of mathematics and is the author of the books Prime Obsession and Unknown Quantity. His novel, Seeing Calvin Coolidge in a Dream, was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. A native of England, Derbyshire now lives on Long Island, New York, with his wife and two children.

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Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics

Prime Obsession: Bernhard Riemann and the Greatest Unsolved Problem in Mathematics

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