Fermat's Last Theorem

By Simon Singh

Subjects: Theorema van fermat, Number theory, Fermat's last theorem, Teorema de Fermat, Fermatsche Vermutung, Wiles, Andrew, Fermat-vermutung, mathematics, Mathematics, Beweis, Grand théorème de Fermat, Geschichte, Wiskunde, Elliptic curves, Theorema van Fermat, Fermat-Vermutung, New York Times reviewed, Teorema di Fermat, elliptic curves, number theory, History, proof, Fermatsche vermutung, 31.01 history of mathematics, Studies, Proof

Description: 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.