Also known as the Collatz problem, it entails multiplying an odd number by three and adding one, or dividing an even number by two. Apparently starting with any positive integer and repeating often enough eventually reaches the number one. But no one can prove it. This volume assembles an overview and introduction, survey papers, stochastic modeling and computation papers, reprinted early papers, and an annotated bibliography covering 1963-1999. Among the topics are the problem and its generalizations, empirical verification of the problem and related conjectures, unpredictable iterations, and a simple universal programming language for arithmetic. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)