The Best Number Theory Books 2024

1. Dover Books on Mathematics: Number Theory and Its History (Paperback)

A prominent mathematician presents the principal ideas and methods of number theory within a historical and cultural framework. Fascinating, accessible coverage of prime numbers, Aliquot parts, linear indeterminate problems, congruences, Euler's theorem, and more. "A very valuable addition to any mathematical library." -- School Science and Math This book, written by a prominent mathematician and Sterling Professor of Mathematics at Yale, differs from most other books on number theory in two important ways: first, it presents the principal ideas and methods of number theory within a historical and cultural framework, making the subject more tangible and easily grasped. Second, the material requires substantially less mathematical background than many comparable texts. Technical complications and mathematical requirements have been kept to a minimum in order to make the book as accessible as possible to readers with limited mathematical knowledge. For the majority of the book, a basic knowledge of algebra will suffice. In developing the importance and meaning of number theory in the history of mathematics, Professor Ore documents the contributions of a host of history's greatest mathematicians: Diophantos, Euclid, Fibonacci, Euler, Fermat, Mersenne, Gauss, and many more, showing how these thinkers evolved the major outlines of number theory. Topics covered include counting and recording of numbers, the properties of numbers, prime numbers, the Aliquot parts, indeterminate problems, theory of linear indeterminate problems, Diophantine problems, congruences, analysis of congruences, Wilson's Theorem, Euler's Theorem, theory of decimal expansions, the converse of Fermat's Theorem, and the classical construction problems. Based on a course the author gave for a number of years at Yale, this book covers the essentials of number theory with a clarity and avoidance of abstruse mathematics that make it an ideal resource for undergraduates or for amateur mathematicians. It has even been recommended for self-study by gifted high school students. In short, Number Theory and Its History offers an unusually interesting and accessible presentation of one of the oldest and most fascinating provinces of mathematics. This inexpensive paperback edition will be a welcome addition to the libraries of students, mathematicians, and any math enthusiast.

"A very valuable addition to any mathematical library." — School Science and Math This book, written by a prominent mathematician and Sterling Professor of Mathematics at Yale, differs from most other books on number theory in two important ways: first, it presents the principal ideas and methods of number theory within a historical and cultural framework, making the subject more tangible and easily grasped. Second, the material requires substantially less mathematical background than many comparable texts. Technical complications and mathematical requirements have been kept to a minimum in order to make the book as accessible as possible to readers with limited mathematical knowledge. For the majority of the book, a basic knowledge of algebra will suffice. In developing the importance and meaning of number theory in the history of mathematics, Professor Ore documents the contributions of a host of history's greatest mathematicians: Diophantos, Euclid, Fibonacci, Euler, Fermat, Mersenne, Gauss, and many more, showing how these thinkers evolved the major outlines of number theory. Topics covered include counting and recording of numbers, the properties of numbers, prime numbers, the Aliquot parts, indeterminate problems, theory of linear indeterminate problems, Diophantine problems, congruences, analysis of congruences, Wilson's Theorem, Euler's Theorem, theory of decimal expansions, the converse of Fermat's Theorem, and the classical construction problems. Based on a course the author gave for a number of years at Yale, this book covers the essentials of number theory with a clarity and avoidance of abstruse mathematics that make it an ideal resource for undergraduates or for amateur mathematicians. It has even been recommended for self-study by gifted high school students. In short, Number Theory and Its History offers an unusually interesting and accessible presentation of one of the oldest and most fascinating provinces of mathematics. This inexpensive paperback edition will be a welcome addition to the libraries of students, mathematicians, and any math enthusiast.

2. Number Theory (Paperback) by George E Andrews

9780486682525. New condition. Trade paperback. Revised ed. Language: English. Pages: 288. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 288 p. Dover Books on Mathematics. Undergraduate text uses combinatorial approach to accommodate both math majors and liberal arts students. Covers the basics of number theory, offers an outstanding introduction to partitions, plus chapters on multiplicativity-divisibility, quadratic congruences, additivity, and more.

Although mathematics majors are usually conversant with number theory by the time they have completed a course in abstract algebra, other undergraduates, especially those in education and the liberal arts, often need a more basic introduction to the topic. In this book the author solves the problem of maintaining the interest of students at both levels by offering a combinatorial approach to elementary number theory. In studying number theory from such a perspective, mathematics majors are spared repetition and provided with new insights, while other students benefit from the consequent simplicity of the proofs for many theorems. Among the topics covered in this accessible, carefully designed introduction are multiplicativity-divisibility, including the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, combinatorial and computational number theory, congruences, arithmetic functions, primitive roots and prime numbers. Later chapters offer lucid treatments of quadratic congruences, additivity (including partition theory) and geometric number theory. Of particular importance in this text is the author's emphasis on the value of numerical examples in number theory and the role of computers in obtaining such examples. Exercises provide opportunities for constructing numerical tables with or without a computer. Students can then derive conjectures from such numerical tables, after which relevant theorems will seem natural and well-motivated.