Fermat's last theorem : the story of a riddle that confounded the world's greatest minds for 358 years

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Fermat's last theorem : the story of a riddle that confounded the world's greatest minds for 358 years

Simon Singh ; [foreword by John Lynch, eidotr of BBC Horizon]

Fourth Estate, 1998

  • : pbk

Available at  / 6 libraries

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Note

Originally published: 1997

"This paperback edition published in 1998"--T.p. verso

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

In 1963, a schoolboy browsing in his local library stumbled across a great mathematical problem: Fermat's Last Theorem, a puzzle that every child can now understand, but which has baffled mathematicians for over 300 years. Aged just ten, Andrew Wiles dreamed he would crack it. Many people had tried before Wiles and failed, including an 18th-century philanderer who was killed in a duel. An 18th-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. This is the story of the puzzle that has confounded mathematicians since the 17th century. The solution of the Theorem is one of the most important mathematical developments of the 20th century.

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Details

  • NCID
    BA43473584
  • ISBN
    • 1857026691
  • Country Code
    uk
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    London
  • Pages/Volumes
    xxii, 362 p.
  • Size
    18 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
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