Topics in Algebra
"Topics in Algebra" by Herstein
1975 | ISBN: 0471010901 | Pages: 398 | English | PDF | 31 MB
1975 | ISBN: 0471010901 | Pages: 398 | English | PDF | 31 MB
Reader's review
I knew before I read Herstein that it was a very famous book known for its exposition and interesting problems. But I had no idea of the reality: it IS amazing! Herstein's approach is to just concentrate on a few basic notions and take it as far as possible before introducing new ideas. This results in very simple-seeming proofs which flow elegantly into the next theorem and proof. Incidentally, Herstein's approach is to also have a bunch of problems that are more meant to be 'tackled rather than solved.' He hopes that by trying to solve hard problems, the reader will come across ideas which are later explained in the book. At that stage, the new ideas are natural. This means these problems are very difficult, and even if you read ahead, they remain difficult. Not to say there aren't some easy ones, but I'd say somewhat less than 50% are difficult. But it's all worth it. I recommend studying out of this book in conjunction with a more standard reference type textbook. Then you get the best of both worlds.
By the way, this book contains an intro to Galois Theory! How many books intended for undergraduates have such topics and such a prestigious reputation?