title: Fermat's Enigma: The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem
author:  Simon Singh 
description: 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.
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/Sing_9780307787842_epub_001_r1.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  SIMON SINGH
  
  
  
  
  
  **_The Code Book_**
  
  
  
  
  
  Simon Singh received his Ph.D. in physics from Cambridge University. A former
  BBC producer, he directed an award-winning documentary film on Fermat’s Last
  Theorem that aired on PBS’s _Nova_ series and wrote the bestselling book,
  _Fermat’s Enigma_. He lives in London, England.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Also by Simon Singh
  
  
  
  
  
                _Fermat’s Enigma_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../Images/Sing_9780307787842_epub_tp_r1.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, SEPTEMBER 2000
  
  
  
  
  
  _Copyright © 1999 by Simon Singh_
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
  Conventions. Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of
  Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of
  Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published in hardcover in the United
  States by Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New Y