A Friendly Introduction to Number Theory, Fourth Editionis designed to introduce readers to the overall themes and methodology of mathematics through the detailed study of one particular facet-number theory. Starting with nothing more than basic high school algebra, readers are gradually led to the point of actively performing mathematical research while getting a glimpse of current mathematical frontiers. The writing is appropriate for the undergraduate audience and includes many numerical examples, which are analyzed for patterns and used to make conjectures. Emphasis is on the methods used for proving theorems rather than on specific results.

Joseph H. Silverman is a Professor of Mathematics at Brown University. He received his Sc.B. at Brown and his Ph.D. at Harvard, after which he held positions at MIT and Boston University before joining the Brown faculty in 1988. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles and seven books in the fields of number theory, elliptic curves, arithmetic geometry, arithmetic dynamical systems, and cryptography.  He is a highly regarded teacher, having won teaching awards from Brown University and the Mathematical Association of America, as well as a Steele Prize for Mathematical Exposition from the American Mathematical Society. He has supervised the theses of more than 25 Ph.D. students, is a co-founder of NTRU Cryptosystems, Inc., and has served as an elected member of the American Mathematical Society Council and Executive Committee.