Algebra (Graduate Texts in Mathematics) (v. 73) [Hardcover]

Thomas W. Hungerford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 3, 1980 | ISBN-10: 0387905189 | ISBN-13: 978-0387905181

Finally a self-contained, one volume, graduate-level algebra text that is readable by the average graduate student and flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of instructors and course contents. The guiding principle throughout is that the material should be presented as general as possible, consistent with good pedagogy. Therefore it stresses clarity rather than brevity and contains an extraordinarily large number of illustrative exercises.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Thomas W. Hungerford Algebra "An excellent text from which to teach the beginning graduate survey course in algebra and I would recommend it to anyone considering a text for such a course."—LINEAR AND MULTILINEAR ALGEBRA

Product Details

• Hardcover: 532 pages
• Publisher: Springer (December 3, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387905189
• ISBN-13: 978-0387905181
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the read for any budding mathematician July 12, 2004

By Todd Ebert

Format:Hardcover

I've been acquainted with several introductory graduate algebra
books over the years, and prefer this one for its coverage of all the fundamental areas (groups, modules, rings, linear algebra, fields, and category theory), being concise, and providing great care when outlining each proof.

If one compare's the amount of material in this book to Jacobson's "Basic Algebra Vol 1", Grove's "Algebra", or Herstein's "Abstract Algebra", Hungerford's book gets the nod.
Moreover, I much more prefer the concise definition, example, theorem, proof format over the more colloquial approach, as can be found in Jacobson's text. For me at least, the payoff for reading an algebra text is the beauty found in the logic and reasoning from which very profound results arise from the complex interaction and use of more straightforward ones. And this is exactly where Hungerford's book shines through in tremendous glory. When outlining a proof he does an outstanding job in citating the results from previous Chapters that are used. For me this is the strength of algebra (In geometry I cringe when I get a picture for proof, and in analysis it is often quite complicated to verify that a given situation possesses the appropriate conditions needed to invoke some famous lemma or theorem).

One last good word about this book: I found the exercises both in abundance (after each section) and quite reasonable for a first year grad. student. Happy reading.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Encyclopedic, but dry. September 8, 2000

By David Rudel

Format:Hardcover

This tome is probably the best single-volume REFERENCE for basic abstract algebra at the graduate level. It touches on almost every important subject. However, the style is very much in the way of an efficient, concise, statement of fact rather than a lucid expository of subject-matter.

This is an excellent reference, but for the task of learning the material (especially if without a lecture), I would recommend Dummit and Foote or Steinbeck (the former for advanced undergraduate, the latter for purely graduate study).

Also, while this is very comprehensive, it simply cannot fully treat everything in all subjects. For example, very little is given in the way of group (co)homology. For the specialist, you should instead invest in more specific books (e.g. Robinson).

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, if not so easy to read April 26, 2000

By Charles S. Hague

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a reference, this is simply an amazing book; tons of information are crammed into this book. The flip side is that if you are seeing this information for the first time, the presentation can be a little daunting. I started using this book in a class last year and hated it at first, because the presentation of material here is very densely packed together and not written for maximum clarity. For example, the chapter on category theory was the first time I'd seen the subject, and I found it frustrating, unlike the presentation given by, say, Rotman in his Algebraic Topology text. All of that said, though, I appreciate the book more now looking back on the material. Overall, if you haven't seen the material before, this is a fine book as long as you've got someone to help you through the rough spots. As a reference, though, this book is extraordinary.