Fermat's Last Theorem: The Story of a Riddle That Confounded the World's Greatest Minds for 358 Years - Softcover

Singh, Simon

Softcover

ISBN 10: 000724181X ISBN 13: 9780007241811

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2007

Synopsis

The extraordinary story of the solving of a puzzle that has confounded mathematicians since the 17th century. The solution of Fermat’s Last Theorem is the most important mathematical development of the 20th century.

In 1963 a schoolboy browsing in his local library stumbled across the world’s greatest mathematical problem: Fermat’s Last Theorem, a puzzle that every child can understand but which has baffled mathematicians for over 300 years. Aged just ten, Andrew Wiles dreamed that he would crack it.

Wiles’s lifelong obsession with a seemingly simple challenge set by a long-dead Frenchman is an emotional tale of sacrifice and extraordinary determination. In the end, he was forced to work in secrecy and isolation for seven years, harnessing all the power of modern mathematics to achieve his childhood dream. Many before him had tried and failed, including a 18-century philanderer who was killed in a duel, and an 18-century Frenchwoman who had to attend maths lectures at the Ecole Polytechnique disguised as a man.

A remarkable story of human endeavour and intellectual brilliance over three centuries, ‘Fermat‘s Last Theorem’ will fascinate both specialist and general readers.

About this title

Review

When Cambridge mathematician Andrew Wiles announced a solution for Fermat's last theorem in 1993, it electrified the world of mathematics. After a flaw was discovered in the proof, Wiles had to work for another year--he had already laboured in solitude for seven years--to establish that he had solved the 350-year-old problem. Simon Singh's book is a lively, comprehensible explanation of Wiles's work and of the colourful history that has build up around Fermat's last theorem over the years. The book contains some problems that offer a taste for the maths, but it also includes limericks to give a feeling for the quirkier side of mathematicians.

Review

“I was gripped by Simon Singh’s “Fermat’s Last Theorem”...Singh’s book puts across the romance of the discipline and the engaging wit and comradeship of the mathematical community.’ Independent

‘Unexpectedly gripping...The averagely numerate can catch a glimpse of the pure beauty of numbers without having to understand the calculations involved.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Far from being a dry textbook it reads like the chronicle of an obsessive love affair. It has the classic ingredients that Hollywood would recognise.’ Daily Mail

‘If you enjoyed Dava Sobel’s “Longitude” you will enjoy this.’ Evening Standard

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 000724181X
• ISBN 13: 9780007241811
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 368