Readable discussions motivate new concepts and theorems before their formal definitions and statements are presented. Many theorems are preceded by Numerical Proof Previews, which are numerical examples that will help give students a concrete understanding of both the statements of the theorems and the ideas behind their proofs, before the statement and proof are formalized in more abstract terms. In addition, many applications of number theory are explained in detail throughout the text, including some that have rarely (if ever) appeared in textbooks.
A unique feature of the book is that every chapter includes a math myth, a fictional story that introduces an important number theory topic in a friendly, inviting manner. Many of the exercise sets include in-depth Explorations, in which a series of exercises develop a topic that is related to the material in the section.