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

@book{citeulike:771742, abstract = {{When Andrew Wiles of Princeton University announced a solution of 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 labored 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 star-, trauma-, and wacko-studded history of Fermat's last theorem. <I>Fermat's Enigma</I> contains some problems that offer a taste of the math, but it also includes limericks to give a feeling for the goofy side of mathematicians.} {xn + yn = zn, where n represents 3, 4, 5, ...no solution<br><br>"I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain."<br><br>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 <i>Fermat's Enigma</i>--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.}}, author = {Simon Sing, H.}, citeulike-article-id = {771742}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&amp;path=ASIN/0385493622}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike01-21&amp;path=ASIN/0385493622}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike06-21&amp;path=ASIN/0385493622}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.amazon.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385493622}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385493622/citeulike00-21}, citeulike-linkout-5 = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0385493622}, citeulike-linkout-6 = {http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0385493622}, citeulike-linkout-7 = {http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0385493622}, citeulike-linkout-8 = {http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?keywords=0385493622&index=books&linkCode=qs}, citeulike-linkout-9 = {http://www.librarything.com/isbn/0385493622}, comment = {Excellent book for non-mathematicians. Focuses more on what led up to Wiles's proof, less on the proof itself. Contains great anecdotes about many historical math personalities. Does }, day = {08}, edition = {1st Anchor Books ed}, howpublished = {Paperback}, isbn = {0385493622}, keywords = {history, math}, month = {September}, posted-at = {2006-07-24 21:01:59}, priority = {0}, publisher = {Anchor}, title = {Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem}, url = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0385493622}, year = {1998} }

TY - BOOK ID - citeulike:771742 L3 - citeulike-article-id:771742 N2 - {When Andrew Wiles of Princeton University announced a solution of 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 labored 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 star-, trauma-, and wacko-studded history of Fermat's last theorem. <I>Fermat's Enigma</I> contains some problems that offer a taste of the math, but it also includes limericks to give a feeling for the goofy side of mathematicians.} {xn + yn = zn, where n represents 3, 4, 5, ...no solution<br><br>"I have discovered a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain."<br><br>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 <i>Fermat's Enigma</i>--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.} SN - 0385493622 TI - Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem PB - Anchor KW - history KW - math N1 - Excellent book for non-mathematicians. Focuses more on what led up to Wiles's proof, less on the proof itself. Contains great anecdotes about many historical math personalities. Does AU - Simon Sing, H PY - 1998/09/08/ UR - http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&amp;path=ASIN/0385493622 ER -