Group Theory (Dover Books on Mathematics) [Paperback]

W. R. Scott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2010 | Series: Dover Books on Mathematics

Here is a clear, well-organized coverage of the most standard theorems, including isomorphism theorems, transformations and subgroups, direct sums, abelian groups, and more. This undergraduate-level text features more than 500 exercises.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486653773
• ISBN-13: 978-0486653778
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,050,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent textbook, January 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Group Theory (Dover Books on Mathematics) (Paperback)

"Group Theory" (W.R.Scott) is an excellent textbook, with an axiomatic, temperate style which avoid useless gossiping; thanks to such concision, this book contains numerous results generally missing in other courses on the same subject, and often emphasizes interesting variations of some theories.
A great deal of investigation exercises complete this reference work. To my opinion, this book should be recommended to anyone who wants to begin studies on group theory.

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An all-business bargain book., November 8, 2005

By 

solar-bear - See all my reviews

This review is from: Group Theory (Dover Books on Mathematics) (Paperback)

This book is fantastic in my opinion. The ball gets rolling right away, and proceeds in a concise, rigorous fashion all the way to the end. "Pedantic" would be precisely the wrong word to describe the book. "Rigorous" is more like it. It doesn't bother for one second with the "hold my hands..." approach and certainly wastes no time on extraneous motivational stuff. For that, perhaps one should try Tony Robbins.

As a physicist, I first learned group theory from Tinkham's excellent "Group Theory and Quantum Mechanics," also a Dover, which is geared on all cylinders toward physical applications. There are times however, I want nothing but mathematics in all its stirling beauty. Definitions -> logic -> theorems. No namby-pamby stuff.

I had such a great time reading this book. If you have a soft spot for the prestineness of mathematics, I suspect you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

28 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars No want of better books on the subject, December 23, 2000

By 

D. Taylor (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Group Theory (Dover Books on Mathematics) (Paperback)

This is probably the worst book on Group Theory a beginner could buy. If you're not a beginner, the book is dated and quite pedantic. The book lacks historic motivation, it lacks algebraic and geometric motivation, it lacks combinatorial and number-theoretic motivation -- so what then is it's motivation? Good question. It even lacks a comprehensive bibliography. If E. Galois was alive, I'm sure he'd ask for a duel with W.R. Scott for the pedantic way he's treated the subject. But don't expect to even find one paragraph about E. Galois in this book, It's utterly devoid of historic comment.

I give this book two stars because it's a cheap Dover edition, and as such doesn't hurt the pocket book much. But trust me, there is no want of better books on the subject. Try the classics on Group Theory by Hall, Kurosh or Zassenhaus before you try this one.