Open algebraic surfaces are a synonym for algebraic surfaces that are not necessarily complete. An open algebraic surface is understood as a Zariski open set of a projective algebraic surface. There is a long history of research on projective algebraic surfaces, and there exists a beautiful Enriques-Kodaira classification of such surfaces. The research accumulated by Ramanujan, Abhyankar, Moh, and Nagata and others has established a classification theory of open algebraic surfaces comparable to the Enriques-Kodaira theory. This research provides powerful methods to study the geometry and topology of open algebraic surfaces. The theory of open algebraic surfaces is applicable not only to algebraic geometry, but also to other fields, such as commutative algebra, invariant theory, and singularities. This book contains a comprehensive account of the theory of open algebraic surfaces, as well as several applications, in particular to the study of affine surfaces. Prerequisite to understanding the text is a basic background in algebraic geometry. This volume is a continuation of the work presented in the author's previous publication, Algebraic Geometry, Volume 136 in the AMS series, Translations of Mathematical Monographs.

From the reviews: "The author's book [...] saw its first edition in 1935. [...] Now as before, the original text of the book is an excellent source for an interested reader to study the methods of classical algebraic geometry, and to find the great old results. [...] a timelessly beautiful pearl in the cultural heritage of mathematics as a whole." Zentralblatt MATH

This is an English translation of the book in Japanese, published as the volume 20 in the series of Seminar Notes from The University of Tokyo that grew out of a course of lectures by Professor Kunihiko Kodaira in 1967. It serves as an almost self-contained introduction to the theory of complex algebraic surfaces, including concise proofs of Gorenstein's theorem for curves on a surface and Noether's formula for the arithmetic genus. It also discusses the behavior of the pluri-canonical maps of surfaces of general type as a practical application of the general theory. The book is aimed at graduate students and also at anyone interested in algebraic surfaces, and readers are expected to have only a basic knowledge of complex manifolds as a prerequisite.

Developed over more than a century, and still an active area of research today, the classification of algebraic surfaces is an intricate and fascinating branch of mathematics. In this book Professor BeauviIle gives a lucid and concise account of the subject, following the strategy of F. Enriques, but expressed simply in the language of modern topology and sheaf theory, so as to be accessible to any budding geometer. This volume is self contained and the exercises succeed both in giving the flavour of the extraordinary wealth of examples in the classical subject, and in equipping the reader with most of the techniques needed for research.