Review Contemporary Abstract Algebra By Joseph Gallian
I have been looking for a book to review some algebra I studied over 20 years ago, and after comparing hundreds of books (yes literally!) I am glad I finally discovered this one.
Why is this book so great?
1. It covers abstract algebra from basics to Galois theory including solvability by radicals, so you should not need any other book to cover the basics before Masters level
2. The book does not assume any prerequisite and is easy to follow even if you did not touch abstract Algebra for a while
3. The book is full of examples, basic groups had like over 20 of them making sure you really get them
4. All theorems have a proof, and the proofs are well explained
5. The material is split in over 30 chapters in nearly 600 pages, making each chapter the right size to make progress and not too long to discourage others
6. Each chapter has around 50/60 exercises with the solution for half of them, making it a practical training book
7. The book size is like 3 ipads stacked together, making it practical to take anywhere at the contrary of other references like the calculus books from salas and hille
Anyways, I am a big fan of this book. The price is really crazy though, so I recommend you get a used copy of the 5th edition instead. The content is almost identical, and in absolute mathematical value identical. Nothing is missing, just some different exercises and some different examples. And for around $30 there is nothing better you can get.
Why is this book so great?
1. It covers abstract algebra from basics to Galois theory including solvability by radicals, so you should not need any other book to cover the basics before Masters level
2. The book does not assume any prerequisite and is easy to follow even if you did not touch abstract Algebra for a while
3. The book is full of examples, basic groups had like over 20 of them making sure you really get them
4. All theorems have a proof, and the proofs are well explained
5. The material is split in over 30 chapters in nearly 600 pages, making each chapter the right size to make progress and not too long to discourage others
6. Each chapter has around 50/60 exercises with the solution for half of them, making it a practical training book
7. The book size is like 3 ipads stacked together, making it practical to take anywhere at the contrary of other references like the calculus books from salas and hille
Anyways, I am a big fan of this book. The price is really crazy though, so I recommend you get a used copy of the 5th edition instead. The content is almost identical, and in absolute mathematical value identical. Nothing is missing, just some different exercises and some different examples. And for around $30 there is nothing better you can get.
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