''The Music of the Primes'' (British subtitle: ''Why an Unsolved Problem in Mathematics Matters''; American subtitle: ''Searching to Solve the Greatest Mystery in Mathematics'') is a 2003 book by

Marcus du Sautoy Marcus Peter Francis du Sautoy (; born 26 August 1965) is a British mathematician, Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, Fellow of New College, Oxford and author of popular mathematics and popu ...

, a professor in mathematics at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, on the history of

prime number A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

theory. In particular he examines the Riemann hypothesis, the proof of which would revolutionize our understanding of prime numbers. He traces the prime number theorem back through history, highlighting the work of some of the greatest mathematical minds along the way. The cover design for the hardback version of the book contains several pictorial depictions of prime numbers, such as the number 73 bus. It also has an image of a clock, referring to clock arithmetic, which is a significant theme in the text.

References

* * * * * * * * * * * 2003 non-fiction books Mathematics books Analytic number theory Prime numbers Fourth Estate books {{Mathematics-lit-stub