Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh

'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

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.

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, Wiles was forced to work in secrecy and isolation for seven years, harnessing all the power of modern maths to achieve his childhood dream. Many before him had tried and failed, including a 18-century philanderer who was killed in a duel. An 18-century Frenchwoman made a major breakthrough in solving the riddle, but she had to attend maths lectures at the Ecole Polytechnique disguised as a man since women were forbidden entry to the school.

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

A word from the Author

For the last seven years I have worked as a science journalist for BBC television in London, and, without doubt, the story of Fermat's Last Theorem is the most compelling scientific tale I have encountered. As soon as Andrew Wiles solved the problem of the Last Theorem, I began working on a TV documentary describing his achievement (which was aired in the UK on BBC's Horizon series and in the USA as part of the NOVA series), but it was obvious that there was much more to the story than could be squeezed into 60 minutes of television. The book is intended to do justice to the extraordinary history of the problem, involving tragedy, obsession, rich prizes, suicide and even transvestism. At the same time, it was an opportunity to desribe the beautiful mathematical ideas behind Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. Mathematics is not about balancing checkbooks, it's about exploring an abstract universe of numbers, filled with profound and subtle concepts. Since the moment I heard about Fermat's Last Theorem I was fascinated by it, and I hope that you will be equally enthralled.

Find out more about the author here...

And below you can watch the opening of the 1996 BBC documentary on the solving of Fermet's Theorem...