This book is about the life of primes. Indeed, once they are defined, primes take on a life of their own and the mysteries surrounding them begin multiplying, just like living cells reproduce themselves, and there seems to be no end to it. This monograph takes the reader on a journey through time, providing an accessible overview of the numerous prime number theory problems that mathematicians have been working on since Euclid. Topics are presented in chronological order as episodes. These include results on the distribution of primes, from the most elementary to the proof of the famous prime number theorem. The book also covers various primality tests and factorisation algorithms. It is then shown how our inability to factor large integers has allowed mathematicians to create today's most secure encryption method. Computer science buffs may be tempted to tackle some of the many open problems appearing in the episodes. Throughout the presentation, the human side of mathematics is displayed through short biographies that give a glimpse of the lives of the people who contributed to the life of primes. Each of the 37 episodes concludes with a series of problems (many with solutions) that will assist the reader in gaining a better understanding of the theory.

The authors assemble a fascinating collection of topics from analytic number theory that provides an introduction to the subject with a very clear and unique focus on the anatomy of integers, that is, on the study of the multiplicative structure of the integers. Some of the most important topics presented are the global and local behavior of arithmetic functions, an extensive study of smooth numbers, the Hardy-Ramanujan and Landau theorems, characters and the Dirichlet theorem, the $abc$ conjecture along with some of its applications, and sieve methods. The book concludes with a whole chapter on the index of composition of an integer. One of this book's best features is the collection of problems at the end of each chapter that have been chosen carefully to reinforce the material. The authors include solutions to the even-numbered problems, making this volume very appropriate for readers who want to test their understanding of the theory presented in the book.