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

Alternating chapters of extraordinarily lucid mathematical exposition with chapters of biography and history, Prime Obsession is a fascinating and fluent account of an epic mathematical mystery that continues to challenge and excite the world.

The Christian Science Monitor

The most detailed, and consequently the most rewarding account of the Riemann Hypothesis is John Derbyshire's Prime Obsession. The author, a trained mathematician with a day job as an investment banker, moonlights as a novelist. This remarkable constellation of interests results in a math book that reads like a mystery novel. When, some 300 pages into the book, Derbyshire finally presents Riemann's conclusion, it is with literally breathtaking impact.

John Derbyshire is a mathematician and linguist by education, a systems analyst by profession, and a celebrated writer in his spare time. His work appears frequently in National Review and The New Criterion. Born and raised in England, he has made his home in the United States for the past fifteen years.