thedailychannel.com — recommended books

Fermat's Enigma
by Simon Singh

A gripping page-turner about an equation that doesn't even have a solution? You've got to be kidding!

But it's true. Going back to before Pythagoras and the foundations of mathematics in the ancient world, Simon Singh skilfully fills in the mathematical background necessary to appreciate what it meant when, at age 10, Andrew Wiles first encountered Fermat's last theorem, unsolved for over 350 years, and decided he wanted to prove it.

I've always loved math, but I still learned a lot from this book, about the history of mathematics, the different kinds of proving methods which can be brought to bear on a mathematical problem, about the lives of various famous mathematicians, and about fields of modern mathematics. What's more, it's safe to say that the story is in its own way a thrilling drama.

Along the way, this book provides, among other things, a very clear and concrete example of infinity, a very clear explanation of complex numbers.

Fermat's Enigma is an essential book for everyone to read, but don't take my word for it. Think your way over to Amazon.com, grab a copy, and prove it for yourself!

After you're done, you'll want to make sure your local or school library gets a copy.

reviewed January 6, 2001