Author Description

"This work presents an introduction to the fascinating subject of diophantine approximation that requires a minimum of prerequisites for full comprehension. The book revolves around two important results in this field: that of K.F. Roth on rational approximations to algebraic numbers (a nonconstructive result), and that of A. Baker on linear forms in the logarithms of algebraic numbers (a constructive result). The author distinguishes between these two types of results and systematically develops the basic theorems of algebraic number theory from a constructive viewpoint. The book provides a wide variety of problems, results, and methods of both historical and contemporary interest. Direct, elementary methods are emphasized in both the text itself and the exercise sections."--from back cover.