Never thought I would use the words "Romance" "Suspense" "Thriller" and the History of Mathematics in the same sentence. Great book and worth reading. It is a gripping account of the events leading to the solving of one of the greatest puzzles in Mathematics.

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"Mathematical theorems rely on a logical process and once proven are true until the end of time," says Simon Singh, on page 21 of this impressive exposition of scientific method and the history of mathematics.

The author points out, under the rubric "Absolute Proof," that there is a difference between the "hard science" of mathematics and the guesswork, maybe, and make-believe of the "pseudo-sciences" (sociology, anthropology, linguistics, psychology and others). Singh goes on to say that the proofs acceptable in these pseudo-sciences "rely on observation and perception, both of which are fallible and provide only approximations to the truth."

Simon Singh has a Ph.D. in particle physics from Cambridge University. He worked for the BBC where he co-produced and directed their documentary film Fermat's Last Theorem, which is at the heart of the PBS/BBC/NOVA production The Proof, outlining Princeton professor Andrew Wiles' solution to Fermat's 400 year old problem. (I tried to purchase Fermat's Last Theorem directly from the BBC, when I could not get it from Amazon.com, but BBC prices are too steep for a poor "Yank")

Fermat's Enigma is the story of Frenchman, Pierre de Fermat, who happens to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. It is the story of the world's 400-year-long effort to solve a problem he discussed, later to become the "Holy Grail of Mathematics." The dust jacket says it is a "human drama of high dreams, intellectual brilliance, and extraordinary determination, it will bring the history and culture of mathematics into exciting focus for all who read it."

Every innocent school child, with an IQ greater that his shoe-size, is familiar with the Pythagorean theorem, which states that, in a right-triangle, the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The mystery of Fermat's last theorem is directly rooted in Pythagoras and ancient Greece.

Here's the problem under consideration by Fermat: x(to the power "n") + y(to the power "n") = z(to the power "n") where "n" is any number greater than 2. Can it be proved?

The equation represents an infinite series of equations each with a different value for "n". An infinite number of equations can never be solved, therefore it has always been impossible to prove that the underlying equation has no solution; i.e. there is no value for "n" which would make the equation balance.

This is exactly what the genius Frenchman, Pierre de Fermat, claimed to have done, almost 400 years ago, when he noted in the margins of Diophantus' Arithmetica: "I have discovered a truly marvelous proof which this margin is too narrow to contain." Thus was created a mystery and a problem not solved until Andrew Wiles came along.

"Wiles proof of the Last Theorem is not the same as Fermat's," Singh says on page 283. Fermat noted in the margin of his Arithmetica that his proof could not fit in the space available. "Wiles 100 pages of dense mathematics certainly fulfills this criteria," Singh continues, "but, surely the Frenchman did not invent modular forms, the Taniyama-Shimura conjecture, Galois groups and the Kolyvagin-Flach method centuries before anyone else.

So, if Fermat did not use Wiles' method and the tools available to Wiles, what did the Frenchman use? What was Fermat's actual proof and how did he arrive at his result? Wiles arrived at his own proof, his own way, and officially, Wiles has solved Fermat's Last Theorem.

While it appears that nobody knows for sure, exactly what Fermat did, or how he did it, I believe that [one person] knows, but remains incommunicado, like Lawrence of Arabia and Gordon of Khartoum. Fermat's mystery will have to wait just a little longer.

A beautifully written book that traces the development of classical number theory in a way that its "humaness", if you will, makes clear that even the most abstract of thinkers in this most abstract of all human endeavors, is very human, indeed. Particularly to my liking is the author's covering of the important women in mathematics, especially his excellent coverage of the contributions of French mathematician, Sophie Germain. That she had to work and publish under an assumed masculine name says a lot about the way we were; perhaps the way we still are in some instances. But finally revealing her identity to the great Guass, and receiving his praise for her work is simply delightful to read.

I cannot recommend this work too highly. A masterly performance that will reward the reader with at least a small appreciation of the power, the beauty of the human mind.

The book is crisply written, and gives some remarkably clear insights and advice on reengineering. It also provides some useful, applicable tools (process maps, LP diagrams) to make an effort more effective. Advice includes service quality design, organizing a reengineering effort, and implementation. All is invaluable.

I stongly recommend this book.

Where's the great editorals from some leading authors and experts in the field ? Just started to re-read. Great stuff for those spearheading a re-engineering project. Still awaiting your next text/book from the trio of Kelvin, Rich and John.

I finished reading this book a few days ago, and I quickly realized that next summer I will have to read it again. The book is an overflowing fountain of information about Polynesian, Austronesian, and Papauan languages. It is written in a similar style to the Cambridge Language Survey books, though it is shorter and written in a colloquial style designed for those with only a basic knowledge of linguistics. (This is not to say the information is simplistic. Lynch starts with rather basic explanations, and then jumps into a massive amount of comparative linguistic data.)

The book also goes beyond the scope of grammar sketches. It starts with a history of the Pacific region. It then discusses commonalities of the Pacific languages. Next come chapters dealing specifically with each of the three languages families (above). He then discusses the development and current use of pidgins, including Tok Pisin, Bislama, and Hiri Motu (including where the name "Hiri Motu" comes from). Following this is material on cultural use of language: politeness registers, gender registers, kinship terms, areas of social importance, etc. Lastly, he discusses language shift, death, and revival.

Overall, this is an excellent work for anyone who has any interest in Polynesian languages. As I said, I will probably read it again next year so more information can sink in.

Lynch goes where no one has gone before in attempting to cover, however briefly, the salient characteristics and historical development of something like fourteen hundred Oceanic and Polynesian languages. Most readers will never have heard of any of them, but they occupy a far-flung territory from Easter Island to Australia. Many are dying out; Lynch gives figures for the number of speakers of some languages, and these are a real revelation to those of us who speak English. Fifty speakers? Astonishing. Six speakers? How can this be? Lynch lives in Vanuatu (formerly the New Hebrides), and his dicussion of Bislama-the creole that the native French and English speakers of those islands use with each other in preference to either English or French-is particularly interesting. In general the linguistic diversity of the region is mind-boggling. As the only book ever to attempt such a survey, this must rate five stars, and I doubt that anyone would ever be able to do a better job.

This little volume has aged well. It is a gift for those who are invited to reacquaint themselves with Mary, the real woman who was chosen to give birth to Jesus. Long ago and far away might just as well be here and now. We still struggle to accept that God chooses to become human. This book offers a loving portrait of the woman who accepted mystery and became its bearer. Don't just read it. Allow it to speak to your heart and empower your dreams.

This book/poem beautifully illustrates the heart of Mary, Our Blessed Mother. The reader comes to understand her thoughts, emotions, and, especially, her silence as she watches Jesus grow, enter public life, be crucified and resurrected.

The book may be a little difficult to get into, but by the time Jesus is lost in the temple, you can't put the book down. Truly a wonderful insight into Mary as she "pondered these things in her heart."

A very concise and practical source of information about medicines and their use.

This book is a wonderful thing for me. Because, I'm working on "the Relations Between Muslims and Christians at the Period of Almoraides-Almohades in the Medieal Spain". I'm very glade to the author of the book and thanks. I hope that the book would be very useful for mankind on the earht.. LUTFI SEYBAN, SAKARYA UNIVERSITY-TURKEY

This strong precise outlook reflects different aspects of different sides of the business spectrum. It's a truly positive look at successful businesses and the great minds behind them. Grove, Smith, Lynch, Rowland, & Volcker all share insights & directions in a volatile era. With Gretchen Morgenson, Senior Editor at Forbes magazine, letting these truly gifted individuals openly express ideas, predictions and success fortitudes. Forbes Great Minds made a lasting impression on me. It was great to listens to these fascinating people in an informal interview. To pick up one new idea and one new lesson is worth the time spent, but too generate the detailed information they provided is extraordinary.

Hello Mr Willis, I spoke to you recently about you dedicating a page to my mother in your book because of her remarkable selflessness. I hope that out of the goodness of heart you will grant me this. Although I know this is very audatious of me I love my mother more than life. I'm sure you can relate! Please cosider. Ps. My mother appears in 5-6 additions of your book so I think she is as you put it "a prestigus actress" Thank You C. Mitchell-Ressler age 13

Great read.I was highly impressed by the fluency of the book. The author has tackled the insides of a very difficult and incomprehendable field not only in a manner that it come to grips with the lay persons but also in a way that he has happened to show the adventures and the joy of doing mathematics! Which is a feat in itself. Every now and then he takes us to the history of Mathematics and it's fore-bearers in such a way that it comes entwined with the history of mankind. I loved it the way he has successfully showed in the end that how the story of Fermat's Theorem has it's roots from the time of Pythagora's and how eventually Andrew Wiles takes the route of the mathematics from that of Greeks to Euler,to Euclid to Gauss and all the way to Shamura and Tanyaman to this day in the 90's; he makes one full circle, in solving this most difficult problem of mathematics.Bravo! However I did find one peice of historical narration out of place in the book which I'd like to point out over here, because if I don't, this review would not be of justice. The author while describing the granduer of the famous library of Alexandria has quoted that the library was brought down to it's demise first by the christians and then later by the Muslim conquerer Hazrath Umer Farooq in the 7th century AD. However the American Historian Hitti in his famous book "The Arabs:A short History" has dealt with this myth in his words:"The story that by Caliph's order Amr for six long months fed the numerous bath furnaces of the city with the volumes of the Alexandrian library incidentally, makes a good fiction but bad history.The great library was burned as early as 48 BC by Julius Ceaser. A later one reffered to as the Daughter Library,was destroyed about AD 389 by the Roman Emporer Theodosius.At the time of the Arab conquest, no library of importance existed in Alexandria and no contemporary writer ever brought the charge against Amr or Umer.(Pg70). So I really don't know where the author got his source of inform! ation on this matter, and I think I'd be justified to ask him that in the name of History the author should correct himself in the later editions of this book.

The author seeks to describe the events that led to the proof of Fermat's theorem and succeeds amply. Not only is the book informative, its very very enjoyable. The book does not require a math background. In fact the author takes care to properly introduce any math term or concept he uses.

Fermat was a great mathematician. In one of his notebooks he stated an equation and mentioned that the margin was too short for the proof of the statement. Later mathematicians found it impossible to prove this math statement. So hard was the problem that it became one of the most popular problems in mathematics and remained unsolved for centuries! Recently, a math professor from Princeton proved this theorem after a marathon effort.

The book introduces the reader to a lot of key mathematicians and interesting anecdotes associated with them. The best aspect of the book is that it presents events spanning centuries, in a manner that fits them together as parts of a solution to a single problem. Its not a sequential narration of events, instead its a coherent presentation of what was done over the years and how it contributed to the final assault.

Simon Singh's Fermat's Enigma is a very elegant book that accomplishes several difficult tasks: it acts as a brief history of number theory, explains the culture of the world of mathematicians, and acts as a window looking into the personal struggle of Andrew Wiles as he spends seven years attempting to solve a 350 year old riddle. This book is very accessible for non-mathematicians, and is the type of book that can inspire a young person who is mathematically inclined to become a mathematician -- similar to how Andrew Wiles himself became a mathematician. I particularly liked the portraits of the famous mathematicians who contributed to the proof over the period of time involved: Euler, Galois, Taniyama, Shimura, etc. The book is very nicely written; one never finds the book to be jarring or difficult to read. In its small format it is over 300 pages long, but it reads very quickly (less than 5 hours for me). The appendices contain some very elegant, simple explanat! ions of mathematical proofs. The manner in which the subject is made accessible is a testimony to the author's literary as well as technical skill -- something this easy to read must have been exceptionally difficult to write. Well worth reading, very high on my personal list.

Forget about those so-called "Here-are-my-Wall-Street-secrets-which-will-make-you-a-millionaire" books - There are SIMPLY NONE out there (For if there were any REAL secrets about making overnight fortunes in stocks, do you seriously think anyone would tell everybody about them by publishing them in a book?). Peter Lynch takes out the "non" from all the "nonsense" about the difficulties and mysteries about equity investment. For whoever you are, you already are an expert in your field! Even kids have beaten Wall Street fund managers by following one simple Peter Lynch rule: "Invest in companies you like". Not only will this be MOST USEFUL investment book you'll ever find, it'll also be the MOST FUN investment book you'll ever read. BUY THIS BOOK!!

Forget about those "Here-are-my-Wall-Street-secrets- that-will-make-you-a-millionaire" books. Peter Lynch takes all the "non" out of the "nonsense" about investing in stocks. For whoever you are, you're an expert in your field and you can beat Wall Street fund managers by following two simple Peter Lynch rules: "Invest in what you understand" and "Invest in companies you like". Not only will this be MOST SENSIBLE and USEFUL investment book you'll ever own, it'll also be the MOST FUN investment book you'll ever read. BUY THIS BOOK!

Having recently graduated with an MBA - I decided that I should be putting my finances in order, especially my investment strategy.

This book was a very good opportunity to learn some practical skills from an investment professional of Peter Lynch's Calibre.

Filled with examples, experience and non-technical investment strategies, this book should be among your investment references.

Peter's core approach and message: * Anyone (with a bit of sound research) is able to amass money in the stock market (I would advise a course that teaches basic financial management though, if you intend to manage your own investment portfolio). * Avoid the noise and sentiment, stick to the fundamentals. * A well broken down and explained segmentation of shares/companies (Turn arrounds, asset plays, stalwarts, etc)

Who should buy this book: Anyone with a desire to take takle charge of their own financial future.

Who should avoid this book: Investors that want information on technical analysis. Investors that invest with dowsing rods. Day traders and short term investors.

Also note that only shares as an investment vehicle are discussed. Very little information on Puts, warrants, futures, etc.