Additional Editor Is Paul R. Halmos. The University Series In Undergraduate Mathematics.

Geared toward undergraduate and beginning graduate students, this study explores natural numbers, integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and complex numbers. Numerous exercises and appendixes supplement the text. 1973 edition.

Concise but thorough and systematic, this categorical discussion presents a series of step-by-step axioms. The highly accessible text includes numerous examples and more than 300 exercises, all with answers. 1962 edition.

This book is devoted to an analysis of the way that structures must enter into a serious study of any subject, and the term ?structuralism? refers to the general method of approaching a subject from the viewpoint of structure. A proper appreciation of this approach requires a deeper understanding of the concept of structure than is provided by the simple intuitive notion of structures that everyone posseses to some degree. Therefore, a large part of the discussion is devoted directly or indirectly to a study of the nature of structures themselves. A formal definition of a structure, plus some basic general properties and examples, is given early in the discussion. Also, in order to clarify the general notions and to see how they are used, the later chapters are devoted to an examination of how structures enter into some special fields, including linguistics, mental phenomena, mathematics (and its applications), and biology (especially in the theory of evolution). Because the author is a mathematician, certain mathematical ideas have influenced greatly the choice and approach to the material covered. In general, however, the mathematical influence is not on a technical level and is often only implicit. Even the chapter on mathematical structures is nontechnical and is about rather than on mathematics. Only in the last chapter and earlier in three short sections does one find any of the expected ?formal? mathematics. In other words, the great bulk of the material is accessible to someone without a mathematical background.

The subject of this book is the successive construction and development of the basic number systems of mathematics: positive integers, integers, rational numbers, real numbers, and complex numbers. This second edition expands upon the list of suggestions for further reading in Appendix III. From the Preface: ``The present book basically takes for granted the non-constructive set-theoretical foundation of mathematics, which is tacitly if not explicitly accepted by most working mathematicians but which I have since come to reject. Still, whatever one's foundational views, students must be trained in this approach in order to understand modern mathematics. Moreover, most of the material of the present book can be modified so as to be acceptable under alternative constructive and semi-constructive viewpoints, as has been demonstrated in more advanced texts and research articles.''

"The text is suitable for a typical introductory algebra course, and was developed to be used flexibly. While the breadth of topics may go beyond what an instructor would cover, the modular approach and the richness of content ensures that the book meets the needs of a variety of programs."--Page 1.

This text is formulated on the fundamental idea that much of mathematics, including the classical number systems, can best be based on set theory. 1961 edition.