From the reviews: "The book is well written. We find here many examples. Each chapter is followed by exercises, and at the end of the book there are outline solutions to some of them. [...] I especially appreciated the lively style of the book; [...] one is quickly able to find necessary details." EMS Newsletter

The landscape of homological algebra has evolved over the last half-century into a fundamental tool for the working mathematician. This book provides a unified account of homological algebra as it exists today. The historical connection with topology, regular local rings, and semi-simple Lie algebras are also described. This book is suitable for second or third year graduate students. The first half of the book takes as its subject the canonical topics in homological algebra: derived functors, Tor and Ext, projective dimensions and spectral sequences. Homology of group and Lie algebras illustrate these topics. Intermingled are less canonical topics, such as the derived inverse limit functor lim1, local cohomology, Galois cohomology, and affine Lie algebras. The last part of the book covers less traditional topics that are a vital part of the modern homological toolkit: simplicial methods, Hochschild and cyclic homology, derived categories and total derived functors. By making these tools more accessible, the book helps to break down the technological barrier between experts and casual users of homological algebra.

Homological algebra first arose as a language for describing topological prospects of geometrical objects. As with every successful language it quickly expanded its coverage and semantics, and its contemporary applications are many and diverse. This modern approach to homological algebra, by two leading writers in the field, is based on the systematic use of the language and ideas of derived categories and derived functors. Relations with standard cohomology theory (sheaf cohomology, spectral sequences, etc.) are described. In most cases complete proofs are given. Basic concepts and results of homotopical algebra are also presented. The book addresses people who want to learn about a modern approach to homological algebra and to use it in their work.

Homological algebra, because of its fundamental nature, is relevant to many branches of pure mathematics, including number theory, geometry, group theory and ring theory. Professor Northcott's aim is to introduce homological ideas and methods and to show some of the results which can be achieved. The early chapters provide the results needed to establish the theory of derived functors and to introduce torsion and extension functors. The new concepts are then applied to the theory of global dimensions, in an elucidation of the structure of commutative Noetherian rings of finite global dimension and in an account of the homology and cohomology theories of monoids and groups. A final section is devoted to comments on the various chapters, supplementary notes and suggestions for further reading. This book is designed with the needs and problems of the beginner in mind, providing a helpful and lucid account for those about to begin research, but will also be a useful work of reference for specialists. It can also be used as a textbook for an advanced course.

From the reviews: "The book is well written. We find here many examples. Each chapter is followed by exercises, and at the end of the book there are outline solutions to some of them. [...] I especially appreciated the lively style of the book; [...] one is quickly able to find necessary details." EMS Newsletter

When this book was written, methods of algebraic topology had caused revolutions in the world of pure algebra. To clarify the advances that had been made, Cartan and Eilenberg tried to unify the fields and to construct the framework of a fully fledged theory. The invasion of algebra had occurred on three fronts through the construction of cohomology theories for groups, Lie algebras, and associative algebras. This book presents a single homology (and also cohomology) theory that embodies all three; a large number of results is thus established in a general framework. Subsequently, each of the three theories is singled out by a suitable specialization, and its specific properties are studied. The starting point is the notion of a module over a ring. The primary operations are the tensor product of two modules and the groups of all homomorphisms of one module into another. From these, "higher order" derived of operations are obtained, which enjoy all the properties usually attributed to homology theories. This leads in a natural way to the study of "functors" and of their "derived functors." This mathematical masterpiece will appeal to all mathematicians working in algebraic topology.

This textbook, set for a one or two semester course in commutative algebra, provides an introduction to commutative algebra at the postgraduate and research levels. The main prerequisites are familiarity with groups, rings and fields. Proofs are self-contained.The book will be useful to beginners and experienced researchers alike. The material is so arranged that the beginner can learn through self-study or by attending a course. For the experienced researcher, the book may serve to present new perspectives on some well-known results, or as a reference.