The author Emil Artin is known as one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century. He is regarded as a man who gave a modern outlook to Galois theory. Original lectures by the master. This emended edition is with completely new typesetting and corrections. The free PDF file available on the publisher's website www.bowwowpress.org

Galois theory is the culmination of a centuries-long search for a solution to the classical problem of solving algebraic equations by radicals. This book follows the historical development of the theory, emphasizing concrete examples along the way. It is suitable for undergraduates and beginning graduate students.

This textbook, based on lectures given over a period of years at Cambridge, is a detailed and thorough introduction to Galois theory.

From the reviews: "This is a great book, which will hopefully become a classic in the subject of differential Galois theory. [...] the specialist, as well as the novice, have long been missing an introductory book covering also specific and advanced research topics. This gap is filled by the volume under review, and more than satisfactorily." Mathematical Reviews

Starting from the classical finite-dimensional Galois theory of fields, this book develops Galois theory in a much more general context, presenting work by Grothendieck in terms of separable algebras and then proceeding to the infinite-dimensional case, which requires considering topological Galois groups. In the core of the book, the authors first formalize the categorical context in which a general Galois theorem holds, and then give applications to Galois theory for commutative rings, central extensions of groups, the topological theory of covering maps and a Galois theorem for toposes. The book is designed to be accessible to a wide audience: the prerequisites are first courses in algebra and general topology, together with some familiarity with the categorical notions of limit and adjoint functors. The first chapters are accessible to advanced undergraduates, with later ones at a graduate level. For all algebraists and category theorists this book will be a rewarding read.

Assuming little technical background, the author presents the strong analogies between these two concepts starting at an elementary level.

This textbook offers a unique introduction to classical Galois theory through many concrete examples and exercises of varying difficulty (including computer-assisted exercises). In addition to covering standard material, the book explores topics related to classical problems such as Galois’ theorem on solvable groups of polynomial equations of prime degrees, Nagell's proof of non-solvability by radicals of quintic equations, Tschirnhausen's transformations, lunes of Hippocrates, and Galois' resolvents. Topics related to open conjectures are also discussed, including exercises related to the inverse Galois problem and cyclotomic fields. The author presents proofs of theorems, historical comments and useful references alongside the exercises, providing readers with a well-rounded introduction to the subject and a gateway to further reading. A valuable reference and a rich source of exercises with sample solutions, this book will be useful to both students and lecturers. Its original concept makes it particularly suitable for self-study.