Fermat's Last Theorem

Andrew Wiles has now proved Fermat's Last Theorem, but to most of us it's still as much of a mystery as it ever was. In Fermat's Last Theorem Amir Aczel gives us the background to this proof, describing the evolution of the mathematics involved, and the stories of mathematicians who have tried in the past to prove it but failed. Several convinced themselves that they had cracked it, only to have a fatal flaw discovered in their proof. The book is written in a non-technical way, with hardly any mathematical notation, and so it will appeal to the non-mathematical reader who wants to find out what all the fuss was about.

Simon Singh has written a book with the same title, and it's natural to compare the two. Well Aczel's is shorter, so it might appeal to someone wanting a less detailed read. The historical phase gives more information on the mathematicians involved than just their work related to FLT. Hence the book seems to wander around more than Singh's - one gets less of the idea of a thread running through the book.. There is more treatment of modular forms - their history, and simple descriptions, as well as the stories of Shimura, Taniyama and Weil. But in conclusion I would say that this book is aimed at those wanting an easy to read overview of FLT.