Andre Well
Number theory : an approach through history from hammurapi to legendre - Boston: Birkhauser, [c2007] - 375 p. - Institute for Advanced Study .
Chapter 1 Protohistory
Chapter 2 Fermat and His Correspondents
Chapter 3 Euler
Chapter 4 An Age of Transition: Lagrange and Legendre
André Weil, one of the outstanding contributors to number theory, has written an historical exposition of this subject; his study examines texts that span roughly thirty-six centuries of arithmetical work – from an Old Babylonian tablet, datable to the time of Hammurapi to Legendre’s Essai sur la Théorie des Nombres (1798). Motivated by a desire to present the substance of his field to the educated reader, Weil employs an historical approach in the analysis of problems and evolving methods of number theory and their significance within mathematics. In the course of his study Weil accompanies the reader into the workshops of four major authors of modern number theory (Fermat, Euler, Lagrange and Legendre) and there he conducts a detailed and critical examination of their work. Enriched by a broad coverage of intellectual history, Number Theory represents a major contribution to the understanding of our cultural heritage.---Summary provided by publisher
9780817645656
QA241
Number theory : an approach through history from hammurapi to legendre - Boston: Birkhauser, [c2007] - 375 p. - Institute for Advanced Study .
Chapter 1 Protohistory
Chapter 2 Fermat and His Correspondents
Chapter 3 Euler
Chapter 4 An Age of Transition: Lagrange and Legendre
André Weil, one of the outstanding contributors to number theory, has written an historical exposition of this subject; his study examines texts that span roughly thirty-six centuries of arithmetical work – from an Old Babylonian tablet, datable to the time of Hammurapi to Legendre’s Essai sur la Théorie des Nombres (1798). Motivated by a desire to present the substance of his field to the educated reader, Weil employs an historical approach in the analysis of problems and evolving methods of number theory and their significance within mathematics. In the course of his study Weil accompanies the reader into the workshops of four major authors of modern number theory (Fermat, Euler, Lagrange and Legendre) and there he conducts a detailed and critical examination of their work. Enriched by a broad coverage of intellectual history, Number Theory represents a major contribution to the understanding of our cultural heritage.---Summary provided by publisher
9780817645656
QA241