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

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

Customer Rating:
Summary: Prime numbers and Riemann
Comment: Very good book, easy to read, no previous knowledge on math is needed but just secondary.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of its genre
Comment: There are a number of authors who have tried to esplain difficult scientific or mathematical problems to non-expert readers. I have read and enjoyed many such books. Thus far, Derbyshire is the master.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A great book, which I'll explain later in the review.
Comment: This is a fine book that lays out clearly Riemann's life and times and the mathematical work he did, but I'll explain more about that later in the review.

The author certainly knows his subject matter and it thoroughly researched, which I'll touch on a little later. The only thing that drove me to distraction was that at least 2 times in every chapter he would make a point, then say something like "I'll explain more about this in just a bit" or "More about this later" or "In chapter 12 I'll touch on this again". I'm not kidding, it happened EVERY chapter and after a while it got annoying....but I'll show you more about that in my other review.

Still, a great read and required reading for anyone into mathematics and number theory.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A rambling, long winded book that never makes a point succinctly. 2.5 stars.
Comment: The Prime Number Theorem and its related consequences is a fascinating subject. This book however is a long winded, very poorly written attempt. The author never seems to be able to make a point clearly and succinctly. Instead we are treated to a ramble that confuses more than elaborates. For example the presentation on functions is very poorly done. I have seen basic algebra texts explain the idea of functions far better than in this book. To make matters worse the author takes about ten pages to explain the beautiful idea of a function thus killing a sublime truth.

Sorry to say but far better general math books abound. Take a look at Journey Through Genius.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Simply breathtaking
Comment: Wauw, never thought the prime principles and theories behind it could be explained so well and most of all so easy to understand.
With this book, the writer makes one of the most mysterious and complex theories in mathematics easy to understand for the common man.
Simply great!

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