This book explores the history of abstract algebra. It shows how abstract algebra has arisen in attempting to solve some of these classical problems, providing a context from which the reader may gain a deeper appreciation of the mathematics involved.

This textbook provides an accessible account of the history of abstract algebra, tracing a range of topics in modern algebra and number theory back to their modest presence in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and exploring the impact of ideas on the development of the subject. Beginning with Gauss’s theory of numbers and Galois’s ideas, the book progresses to Dedekind and Kronecker, Jordan and Klein, Steinitz, Hilbert, and Emmy Noether. Approaching mathematical topics from a historical perspective, the author explores quadratic forms, quadratic reciprocity, Fermat’s Last Theorem, cyclotomy, quintic equations, Galois theory, commutative rings, abstract fields, ideal theory, invariant theory, and group theory. Readers will learn what Galois accomplished, how difficult the proofs of his theorems were, and how important Camille Jordan and Felix Klein were in the eventual acceptance of Galois’s approach to the solution of equations. The book also describes the relationship between Kummer’s ideal numbers and Dedekind’s ideals, and discusses why Dedekind felt his solution to the divisor problem was better than Kummer’s. Designed for a course in the history of modern algebra, this book is aimed at undergraduate students with an introductory background in algebra but will also appeal to researchers with a general interest in the topic. With exercises at the end of each chapter and appendices providing material difficult to find elsewhere, this book is self-contained and therefore suitable for self-study.

Accessible but rigorous, this outstanding text encompasses all of the topics covered by a typical course in elementary abstract algebra. Its easy-to-read treatment offers an intuitive approach, featuring informal discussions followed by thematically arranged exercises. This second edition features additional exercises to improve student familiarity with applications. 1990 edition.

Presents modern algebra. This book includes such topics as affine and projective spaces, tensor algebra, Galois theory, Lie groups, and associative algebras and their representations. It is suitable for independent study for advanced undergraduates and graduate students.

Praise for the First Edition "Stahl offers the solvability of equations from the historicalpoint of view...one of the best books available to support aone-semester introduction to abstract algebra." —CHOICE Introductory Modern Algebra: A Historical Approach, SecondEdition presents the evolution of algebra and provides readerswith the opportunity to view modern algebra as a consistentmovement from concrete problems to abstract principles. With a fewpertinent excerpts from the writings of some of the greatestmathematicians, the Second Edition uniquely facilitates theunderstanding of pivotal algebraic ideas. The author provides a clear, precise, and accessibleintroduction to modern algebra and also helps to develop a moreimmediate and well-grounded understanding of how equations lead topermutation groups and what those groups can inform us about suchdiverse items as multivariate functions and the 15-puzzle.Featuring new sections on topics such as group homomorphisms, theRSA algorithm, complex conjugation, the factorization of realpolynomials, and the fundamental theorem of algebra, the SecondEdition also includes: An in-depth explanation of the principles and practices ofmodern algebra in terms of the historical development from theRenaissance solution of the cubic equation to Dedekind'sideals Historical discussions integrated with the development ofmodern and abstract algebra in addition to many new explicitstatements of theorems, definitions, and terminology A new appendix on logic and proofs, sets, functions, andequivalence relations Over 1,000 new examples and multi-level exercises at the end ofeach section and chapter as well as updated chapter summaries Introductory Modern Algebra: A Historical Approach, SecondEdition is an excellent textbook for upper-undergraduatecourses in modern and abstract algebra.

Excellent textbook provides undergraduates with an accessible introduction to the basic concepts of abstract algebra and to the analysis of abstract algebraic systems. Features many examples and problems.

Lucid coverage of the major theories of abstract algebra, with helpful illustrations and exercises included throughout. Unabridged, corrected republication of the work originally published 1971. Bibliography. Index. Includes 24 tables and figures.