Overview

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.

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9780385493628

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Reviews

An excellent account of one of the most dramatic and moving events of the century. --Sir Roger Penrose, <i>New York Times Book Review</i> It is hard to imagine a more gripping account of...this centuries-long drama of ingenious failures, crushed hopes, fatal duels, and suicides. --Jim Holt, <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> Though Singh may not ask us to bring too much algebra to the table, he does expect us to appreciate a good detective story. <i>--Boston Sunday Globe</i> The history of mathematics comes alive even for those who dread balancing their checkbooks. <i>--Publishers Weekly</i> Singh captures the joys and frustrations of this quest for an extremely elusive proof...and builds to a truly engrossing climax. It's a mathematical page-turner. <i>--Library Journal</i>

An excellent account of one of the most dramatic and moving events of the century. --Sir Roger Penrose, New York Times Book Review <p/> It is hard to imagine a more gripping account of...this centuries-long drama of ingenious failures, crushed hopes, fatal duels, and suicides. --Jim Holt, The Wall Street Journal <p/> Though Singh may not ask us to bring too much algebra to the table, he does expect us to appreciate a good detective story. --Boston Sunday Globe <p/> The history of mathematics comes alive even for those who dread balancing their checkbooks. --Publishers Weekly <p/> Singh captures the joys and frustrations of this quest for an extremely elusive proof...and builds to a truly engrossing climax. It's a mathematical page-turner. --Library Journal

Author Information

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.

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