Sophie's Diary: A Historical Fiction

by Dora Musielak

Book Overview

Sophie Germain overcame gender stigmas and a lack of formal education yet proved, after Euler, that for all prime exponents n less than 100 Fermat's Last Theorem holds. Hidden behind a man's name, her... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1418408123
• ISBN13: 9781418408121
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Authorhouse
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Review of Sophie's Diary

I really enjoyed reading Sophie's Diary. It is a wonderful book and its description of struggle of young Sophie to teach herself basic mathematics is fascinating. I'm amazed by a broad spectrum of topics, ranging from history of mathematics to history of the French Revolution, covered by this book and by a perfect balance between fiction, historical facts and the fundamental concepts of mathematics introduced in the book. In addition to an engaging story of Sophie's personal struggle and a thoughtful account of life of ordinary people during the French Revolution, the book's greatest value is educational with its profound message of how a mixture of wonder, resourcefulness and hard work can get you to the top of the field of your interest. Indeed, this is a beautiful book, one of its kind, and it'd be a must read book for students and instructors interested in this subject, as well as for anyone trying to encourage young women into science and mathematics. This is a book to buy for yourself and then buy ten more copies to give as gifts to your friends.

Mathematics and Historical Fiction

This book is not for little girls! Actually, it is a book for adults with knowledge of mathematics or at least some interest in the subject. Someone gave "Sophie's Diary" to my 13-year old niece, thinking that it was like other books for young adult readers, but after she read about 20 pages my niece gave up for there was "too much math". "Sophie's Diary" should be advertised as containing a great deal of math analysis, history of mathematics, and historical facts from the French Revolution. Knowing that, one can enjoy reading about the struggle of a teenager teaching herself mathematics amidst the chaos of the social conflicts that led to the French Revolution. The author put in perspective the topics of mathematics that the girl had to learn in order to become one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.

Very interesting take on Sophie Germain

Although the character in Sophie's Diary is fictitious, one can easily believe the diary was written by the real Sophie Germain, who grew up to become a great mathematician. Reading this book one gets a sense of the world in which Sophie Germain grew up. I liked the book, but sometimes it gets hard to read because of the mathematics. However, one can imagine that a girl who likes mathematics would write a journal that not only describes what is going on around her, but also the things she is learning, since she did not have anybody to share that with.Good book to motivate and to be a source of inspiration for young women interested in mathematics, and for anyone who likes to read about the history of mathematics.