"I have discovered a truly marvellous proof, which this margin is too narrow to contain ...". So wrote Pierre de Fermat, a French mathematician of the 17th century.
From Pythagoras' Theorem, it is clear that x² + y² = z² is true, as applied in any right-angled triangle. But what of the other powers ? For instance, are there any values for which x³ + y³ = z³ is true ? And further ... ?
Andrew Wiles, a mild-mannered Englishman, had dreamed of proving Fermat's Last Theorem ever since he first read about it as a boy of ten in his local library. This book tells the true story of how mathematics' most challenging problem was made to yield up its secret.
Author Simon Singh says : "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 describe the beautiful mathematical ideas behind Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem. Mathematics is not about balancing cheque-books, 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."
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