Fermat's Last Theorem

Produktbeschreibung

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. 

Kritik

'If you enjoyed Dava Sobel's "Longitude" you will enjoy this.' Evening Standard

'This is probably the best popular account of a scientific topic I have ever read.' Irish Times

'Reads like the chronicle of an obsessive love affair. It has the classic ingredients that Hollywood would recognise.' Daily Mail

'To read it is to realise that there is a world of beauty and intellectual challenge that is denied to 99.9 per cent of us who are not high-level mathematicians.' The Times

'This tale has all the elements of a most exciting story: an impenetrable riddle; the ambition and frustration of generations of hopefuls; and the genius who worked for years in secrecy to realise his childhood dream.' Express 

Autoreninfo

Simon Singh, geb. 1964 in Wellington, Somerset (England) als Sohn indischer Vorfahren, lebt heute in London. Er studierte Physik am Imperial College in London und später in Cambridge. 1988 gab er Wissenschaftsunterricht in der Doon Schule in Indien, 1990 unterrichtete er in Zulu Schulen in Südafrika. 1989-91 forschte er an dem Europäischen Institut für Teilchenphysik in Genf. 1991-97 war er als Produzent bei der Fernsehstation BBC tätig. Seit 1997 arbeitet er als Fernsehproduzent, Autor und Wissenschaftsjournalist. Er veröffentlichte Artikel in The Daily Telegraph, The Scotsman, The Guardian, New Scientist, Scientific American und Focus.
Simon Singh is a science journalist and TV producer. Having completed his Ph.D. at Cambridge he worked from 1991 to 1997 at the BBC producing Tomorrow's World and co-directing the BAFTA award-winning documentary Fermat's Last Theorem for the Horizon series. In 1997, he published Fermat's Last Theorem, which was a no 1 best-seller in Britain and translated into 22 languages. In 1999, he published The Code Book.