Fundamental Concepts of Algebra (Dover Books on Mathematics)

Somewhere after the algebra most people know but before Real And Complex Analysis (another awesome Dover title), is this, the 'Fundamental Concepts Of Algebra'. What a stunning balance of a diamond-hard logical approach to dissecting number and a humane and readable book. I'm a musician who happens to love math so I'm not an expert or very widely read, but having encountered a plethora of books near and around this subject, I've found this one has kept my attention where others have made me want something more accessible and yet more gritty and fundamental. Because this book takes what is for me a rigorous step-by-step approach, I find along the way answers to questions I've had since my schooldays but suppressed because school wasn't about learning, but about trying not to be seen. I wish I'd had this back then. P.S. Dover books are sexy.

There is a golden idea in the first few pages. The rest of the book and the technical knowledge is just bonus.

This is the companion book to fundamental concepts of geometry by B. Meserve. It is well writtenand has an historical viewpoint of the subject. Many excellent topics.

Just kidding about the title. This book is about algebra - more about the concepts and the "language" of mathematics and in fact is written basically in usual math book format.Thats really important since it lets the novice see what goes where in the structure of typical "math problems." The first 4 chapters are about the basic arithmetic functions (up to polynomials) and the rest of the book gets into much more advanced topics - trig, derivatives, linear equations, and many other parts of the algebras.Keep in mind: this book is really from the early '50s from U. Ill. courses (stated in preface). Going from start to finish doesnt require calculus but its not enough to replace a formal calculus course. Also all excercises are "without solutions" - states so on back of book.

I've enjoyed reading this book. Coverage is fairly broad and is presented as an advanced treatment of the typical topics in Algebra. While there is much overlap with texts on mathematical analysis, the treatment here is more focused on basic number and polynomial theory. The book is a nice recap of advanced precalculus topics and can be used as a refresher if you've been away from math for a while.Overall, it's a good, lightweight read. There are no solutions to problems but the exercises are pretty easy so I don't think this is a substantial problem.

First of all, I should say that I have just finished the first chapter of the book (including many of the exercises), which is called "Our Number System." I'm no expert, but I think this books gives a very interesting and rigorous account of various topics in algebra.

school book

There is a certain amount of grade inflation from many reviewers of math and science textbooks, sometimes balanced by people who go to the other extreme and hand out one star reviews because the book was on too high a level for them.The content of the book is fascinating, but I gave it three stars, because there aren’t enough worked out example problems. I doubt many people who don’t already know the topics covered could do the proofs assigned in the problem sets. I had to go to YouTube to see some of the tricks used. It would be better to see one such example in each section.