Topology; A First Course [Hardcover]

James Munkres (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A concise, detailed introduction to topology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 413 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall College Div (June 1974)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0139254951
• ISBN-13: 978-0139254956
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #321,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best math textbooks I know, June 3, 1998

By 

Timothy Chow - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Topology; A First Course (Hardcover)

This is probably the best textbook on point-set topology (or general topology) ever written. Munkres is an excellent expositor. The book does demand a certain maturity; the definitions of a topology, a compact set, and a continuous function are quite unintuitive, and Munkres gives only a limited amount of motivation for them. Students with no experience with topological concepts in the context of, say, metric spaces will likely get lost quickly. But the more difficult theorems (e.g., Urysohn's Lemma, the Tychonoff theorem, and the Jordan curve theorem) are explained and proved very carefully in a "student-friendly" way. The book is also great as a reference, although some basic topics of importance to analysts are skimped on or omitted (Kelley's book "General Topology" will most likely have anything you can't find in Munkres). This book does not really discuss algebraic or geometric topology (besides a discussion of the fundamental group and covering spaces), which for most people are the really interesting parts of topology. Luckily, Munkres has written another book, "Elements of Algebraic Topology," which at least partially meets that need.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest math textbook I've read, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Topology; A First Course (Hardcover)

This has to be the best textbook I've ever had for a class. Munkres is very clear and *detailed* in his proofs. Sadly, many authors skimp the details or brush aside technical difficulties, leaving the reader to fend for themselves. Even in chapter 8, when he actually relaxes and does a few 'picture proofs', he fills in more of the gaps than other authors, like Massey, do when covering homotopy, fundamental group etc. His detailed proofs provide a good role model for when you're doing the exercises.

But this detail does not obfuscate matters. Munkres remains understandable. On the harder proofs he usually breaks things up into several steps, which keeps things readable. His examples are interesting, and his exercises range from easy to extremely difficult; actually most of them are of medium difficulty/somewhat hard variety.

I really feel that I'm getting a good understanding of topology in my topology class, mainly because of this book. The challenging exercises give me confidence that my feeling is based on some actual fact. All in all, a good experience. Hmmm...I guess I better finish reading the proof of the Jordan Curve Theorem. And get cracking on those homework problems.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction: makes point set topology fun, December 22, 1998

By 

Kevin M. Iga (Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Topology; A First Course (Hardcover)

This was my first introduction to point set topology as an undergraduate, and I enjoyed reading it even before taking the course.

Although not a hot research topic (compared to the rest of topology), it is foundational and as such many have assumed that point set topology could only be presented as a dull prerequisite for more interesting mathematics. Munkres' book, though, treats it as a goal of itself, as a fun world to play in, and as such, has attracted many students to topology.

It is recommended that a student first learn about metric spaces in a first-year undergraduate analysis class before learning about point set topology. Although the material is self-contained, the motivations for the definitions are hard to understand without knowing the more mundane examples.