Classical Recursion Theory: The Theory of Functions and Sets of Natural Numbers

1988 marked the first centenary of Recursion Theory, since Dedekind's 1888 paper on the nature of number. Now available in paperback, this book is both a comprehensive reference for the subject and a textbook starting from first principles.

Among the subjects covered are: various equivalent approaches to effective computability and their relations with computers and programming languages; a discussion of Church's thesis; a modern solution to Post's problem; global properties of Turing degrees; and a complete algebraic characterization of many-one degrees. Included are a number of applications to logic (in particular Gödel's theorems) and to computer science, for which Recursion Theory provides the theoretical foundation.

G.E. Sacks, Harvard University and M.I.T.
Odifreddi has written a delightful yet scholarly treatise...

C. Calude
An impressive presentation of classical recursion theory... highly recommended to everyone interested in recursion theory.
Zentralblatt für Mathematik
A must as a reference manual for any mathematician, philosopher or theoretical computer scientist who deals with issues of computability.
Mathematical Reviews
An incredible wealth of information, including much that occurs for the first time in book form.
Journal of Symbolic Logic