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Title: Fermat's Last Theorem : Unlocking the Secret of an Ancient Mathematical Problem by Amir D. Aczel ISBN: 0-385-31946-0 Publisher: Delacorte Trade Paper Pub. Date: 08 September, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.44 (25 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: By the Numbers
Comment: This is an exceptional book because the author does a great job in laying out to the layman how the incredibly difficult solution to this simple looking equation was achieved in terms most could understand.
The bulk of the book is kind of a history of number theory in which the author gives mention to many great feats in mathematics that had to be achieved before the solution to Fermat's Last Theorem could be devised. It really amplifies the the words of Sir Isaac Newton, "If I have seen further, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants".
Rating: 5
Summary: What, an interesting Math book!?
Comment: I would have thought the only way to make a Math book interesting would be to have it be a pop up book where the Numbers would start attacking you or something. Let's face it, math blows bit time. This makes Aczel's work even more amazing.
This relatively small book reads even quicker than its size. I completed it in one day - a weekday, with a full day of work no less. Akzel's turns the proof of a 300-year-old equation into a great work of literature. He goes through the proof in a unique way, by describing the history of each part of the proof chronologically. He give mathematical history lessons stretching from Babylonian times to the present day in a way that any layman can understand.
Even if you have no interest in numbers or equations, this book will fascinate you. It helps me understand why professors devote their whole lives to mathematics. Heck, it even got me a little interested in Math as well (of course I snapped out of once the Simpsons came on).
I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
Rating: 2
Summary: On the Right Track but Flawed
Comment: Amir D. Aczel's _Fermat's Last Theorem_ starts with great promise. Aczel begins by describing Andrew Wiles' initial, although flawed, surprise presentation of a proof of Fermat's Last Theorem--one of the "Holy Grails" of mathematics--at a 1993 conference. Here, Aczel writes with gripping suspense. You can't wait to read on and find out all the details--a summary of the solution unfolding like a mystery novel as Wiles spells out the proof on the blackboard, an account of the reaction of Wiles' colleagues, an explanation of the hole in the proof that was soon after discovered, and the tale of how Wiles plugged the hole.
But after only a few pages, Aczel takes a sidestep to tell a bit of the history of Pierre de Fermat and the origin of the theorem. This is understandable, since the reader needs some background information on the nature of the problem, its difficulty, and its importance before we get back to the proof. However, the Fermat detour is only the first of many, and the next 100 pages (in a book only 136 pages long) amount to one long alternate route explaining the mathematics that led to Fermat's conjecture and the mathematics that grew out of attempts to prove it.
Unfortunately, there are some serious flaws with the approach and the overall conception of the book. _Fermat's Last Theorem_ is written for interested laypersons. That idea in itself is problematic in that the mathematics behind the proof encompasses a huge swath of the entire field, including many complex graduate-level topics. It is still possible to tackle the job, but Aczel, or his publisher, further compounded the problem by limiting the book to 136 relatively scant pages. Aczel's solution is to handle the book as a cursory survey of the personalities and ideas that contribute to the problem and solution. Each personality receives only a few pages, and the ideas are presented in a way that they'll probably further confuse a novice yet frustrate a more serious student or amateur who would like to really _understand_ some of the mathematics--not just know the names of some of the ideas. Worse, Aczel never bothers to really tie the ideas together and relate them all to solving Fermat's Last Theorem--in retrospect many just hang like forgotten laundry. Additionally, Aczel loses his intriguing, suspenseful voice soon after the material on Fermat begins and barely recovers it near the end. The final result is a very shallow history of mathematics where novices will forget 80% of what they read by the next day and serious students and amateurs will feel that they don't know much more than when they began.
It would have been wiser to expand the book to at least four times its current size, spend more time on each topic, and present more serious mathematical material in a large number of sidebars, which novices could skip. It would have also been wiser to maintain the Wiles story and lay out a simplified version of the proof step-by-step, delving into background material as necessary. As written, the best we can hope for is that Fermat's Last Theorem might whet your appetite for a more in-depth study. Aczel's writing is not bad, and I'm confident he knows his subject--if he'd only tell us about it. It's a shame that such interesting material is given such a light treatment.
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Title: God's Equation : Einstein, Relativity, and the Expanding Universe by Amir D. Aczel ISBN: 0385334850 Publisher: Delta Pub. Date: 28 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Fermat's Enigma : The Epic Quest to Solve the World's Greatest Mathematical Problem by Simon Singh ISBN: 0385493622 Publisher: Bantam Books Pub. Date: 08 September, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Mystery of the Aleph : Mathematics, the Kabbalah, and the Search for Infinity by Amir D. Aczel ISBN: 0743422996 Publisher: Washington Square Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Pendulum : Leon Foucault and the Triumph of Science by Amir D. Aczel ISBN: 0743464788 Publisher: Atria Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography by Simon Singh ISBN: 0385495323 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 29 August, 2000 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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