Fermat's Last Theorem: Unlocking the Secret of an Ancient Mathematical Problem - Hardcover

Aczel, Amir D.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1568580770 ISBN 13: 9781568580777

Publisher: Basic Books, 1996

Synopsis

Over three hundred years ago, a French scholar scribbled a simple theorem in the margin of a book. It would become the world's most baffling mathematical mystery. Simple, elegant, and utterly impossible to prove, Fermat's Last Theorem captured the imaginations of amateur and professional mathematicians for over three centuries. For some it became a wonderful passion. For others it was an obsession that led to deceit, intrigue, or insanity. In a volume filled with the clues, red herrings, and suspense of a mystery novel, Dr. Amir Aczel reveals the previously untold story of the people, the history, and the cultures that lie behind this scientific triumph. From formulas devised for the farmers of ancient Babylonia to the dramatic proof of Fermat's theorem in 1993, this extraordinary work takes us along on an exhilarating intellectual treasure hunt. Revealing the hidden mathematical order of the natural world in everything from stars to sunflowers, Fermat's Last Theorem brilliantly combines philosophy and hard science with investigative journalism. The result: a real-life detective story of the intellect, at once intriguing, thought-provoking, and impossible to put down.

About this title

Review:

Born in 1601, Pierre de Fermat lived a quiet life as a civil servant in Toulouse, France. In his spare time, however, Fermat dabbled in mathematics, and somehow managed to become one of the great mathematical theorists of his century. Around 1637 he scribbled a marginal note in one of his books. In it, he stated that he had solved a celebrated number theory problem: "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof of this, which, however, the margin is not large enough to contain."

If only the margin had been wider! For more than 300 years, mathematicians labored to crack the secret of Fermat's Last Theorem, without any success. Finally, in 1995, a Princeton-based mathematician named Andrew Wiles solved the riddle. Amir Aczel's account of this brainteaser and its solution is an irresistible read. And for mathematical dolts--like myself, for instance--it includes a concise, profusely illustrated history of mathematical theory from the Bronze Age to our own fin-de-siecle.

From the Publisher:

"Captivating...a tale of buried treasure...lucidly presented."
--The New York Times

"Aczel maps the strange, beautiful byways of modern mathematical thought in ways the layperson can grasp."
--Publishers Weekly

"Aczel does a superb job . . . A mathematical bonbon of a book."
--The New Yorker

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 1568580770
• ISBN 13: 9781568580777
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 200