An introduction to abstract algebraic geometry, with the only prerequisites being results from commutative algebra, which are stated as needed, and some elementary topology. More than 400 exercises distributed throughout the book offer specific examples as well as more specialised topics not treated in the main text, while three appendices present brief accounts of some areas of current research. This book can thus be used as textbook for an introductory course in algebraic geometry following a basic graduate course in algebra. Robin Hartshorne studied algebraic geometry with Oscar Zariski and David Mumford at Harvard, and with J.-P. Serre and A. Grothendieck in Paris. He is the author of "Residues and Duality", "Foundations of Projective Geometry", "Ample Subvarieties of Algebraic Varieties", and numerous research titles.

A self-contained introduction to logarithmic geometry, a key tool for analyzing compactification and degeneration in algebraic geometry.

From the reviews: "Although several textbooks on modern algebraic geometry have been published in the meantime, Mumford's "Volume I" is, together with its predecessor the red book of varieties and schemes, now as before one of the most excellent and profound primers of modern algebraic geometry. Both books are just true classics!" Zentralblatt