Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem

Simon Singh; John Lynch [Foreword]

ISBN 10: 0385493622 / ISBN 13: 9780385493628

Published by Anchor, 1998

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 0385493622-4-22317131

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem
• Publisher: Anchor
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0385493622
• ISBN 13: 9780385493628
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Fair
• Weight: 8 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

xn + yn = zn, where n represents 3, 4, 5, ...no solution

"I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain."

With these words, the seventeenth-century French mathematician Pierre de Fermat threw down the gauntlet to future generations.  What came to be known as Fermat's Last Theorem looked simple; proving it, however, became the Holy Grail of mathematics, baffling its finest minds for more than 350 years.  In Fermat's Enigma--based on the author's award-winning documentary film, which aired on PBS's "Nova"--Simon Singh tells the astonishingly entertaining story of the pursuit of that grail, and the lives that were devoted to, sacrificed for, and saved by it.  Here is a mesmerizing tale of heartbreak and mastery that will forever change your feelings about mathematics.

About the Author

Simon Singh received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge. A BBC producer, he directed and coproduced an award-winning documentary film on Fermat's Last Theorem that aired on PBS's "Nova" series. He is also the author of the bestselling The Code Book:  The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography.  He lives in London, England.