The Music of the Primes by Marcus du Sautoy, HarperCollins/Fourth Estate, $24.95/£18.99, ISBN 0066210704 Reviewed by Ben Longstaff
MANY of the most beautiful ideas in mathematics have the irresistible appeal of familiar old children’s stories. Even if you know how the plot unfolds, you can’t help listening spellbound until the end. The same charm surrounds the many anecdotes about the lives, triumphs and tragedies of the mathematicians who have unearthed these gems for us – their chance encounters, bizarre wagers, peculiar habits and reassuringly human flaws.
Playing brilliantly with these facets of the subject, Oxford professor Marcus du Sautoy’s The…
