Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-258) and index.

Print version record.

Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Introduction; CHAPTER ONE: The Logarithmic Cradle; CHAPTER TWO: The Harmonic Series; CHAPTER THREE: Sub-Harmonic Series; CHAPTER FOUR: Zeta Functions; CHAPTER FIVE: Gamma's Birthplace; CHAPTER SIX: The Gamma Function; CHAPTER SEVEN: Euler's Wonderful Identity; CHAPTER EIGHT: A Promise Fulfilled; CHAPTER NINE: What Is Gamma ... Exactly?; CHAPTER TEN: Gamma as a Decimal; CHAPTER ELEVEN: Gamma as a Fraction; CHAPTER TWELVE: Where Is Gamma?; CHAPTER THIRTEEN: It's a Harmonic World; CHAPTER FOURTEEN: It's a Logarithmic World.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Problems with PrimesCHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Riemann Initiative; APPENDIX A: The Greek Alphabet; APPENDIX B: Big Oh Notation; APPENDIX C: Taylor Expansions; APPENDIX D: Complex Function Theory; APPENDIX E: Application to the Zeta Function; References; Name Index; Subject Index.

Among the myriad of constants that appear in mathematics, p, e, and i are the most familiar. Following closely behind is g, or gamma, a constant that arises in many mathematical areas yet maintains a profound sense of mystery. In a tantalizing blend of history and mathematics, Julian Havil takes the reader on a journey through logarithms and the harmonic series, the two defining elements of gamma, toward the first account of gamma's place in mathematics. Introduced by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler (1707-1783), who figures prominently in this book, gamma is defined as the limit of the su.

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