This book is an AMAZING introduction to the Theory of Numbers. It assumes no previous exposure to the subject, or any technical mathematical knowledge for that matter. Its prose is lucid and the style appealing. Davenport chose NOT to write a lemma-theorem-proof kind of book, and the result is a marvelous, eminently readable introduction to the subject. Its wonderful to read a book where good prose is used to appropiately substitute a massive collection of uninviting symbols. I've also been reading other books on Number Theory, such as Hardy & Wright, but none are as clear as this one.
I found the chapter on quadratic residues (which includes the reciprocity law) to be especially well written. The section on computers and number theory is excelent as well. A concise and coherent discussion of crytography and the RSA system is included here. The organization of the book's chapters is fantastic. Each chapter builds up on results proven in the previous ones, showing well the connections between the different aspects of Number Theory. The exercises of the book range from simple to challenging, but are all accesible to someone willing to put effort into them.
This would be an excelent source for learning number theory for mathematical competition purposes, such as the ASHME, AIME, USAMO, and even for the International Mathematical Olympiad. The book contains much more than what is needed for these competitions, but the olympiad/contest reader will benefit greatly from a study of Davenport's work.
The book can certainly be used for an undergraduate course in Number Theory, though it might need supplementary materials, to cover a semester's worth of work. I know the book has been used in the past in previous editions as the main text for Math 124: Number Theory at Harvard University.
I would also recommend this book to anyone interested in acquanting themselves with Number Theory.
Awesome! There is simply no other word that describes The Higher Arithmetic.
