Topology Topology by James Munkres | Prerequisites, Level & TOC

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    Munkres Topology
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James Munkres' "Topology" is a comprehensive undergraduate textbook that requires familiarity with proofs and rigorous mathematics, ideally including calculus or analysis. The book covers essential topics in general topology, such as set theory, topological spaces, continuous functions, connectedness, compactness, and separation axioms. It also delves into algebraic topology, addressing concepts like the fundamental group, covering spaces, and the classification of surfaces. The text is praised for its clarity and thoroughness, particularly in the first four chapters, which lay a strong foundation in topology. Some readers note that sections on metric topology can be challenging without recent analysis coursework, suggesting supplementary materials like Bert Mendelson's "Introduction to Topology" for additional clarity. Overall, Munkres' work is considered an excellent resource for students seeking a deep understanding of topology.

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Table of Contents:
Code:
[LIST]
[*] Preface
[*] A Note to the  Reader
[*] General Topology
[LIST]
[*] Set Theory and Logic
[LIST]
[*] Fundamental Concepts
[*] Functions
[*] Relation
[*] The Integers and the Real Numbers
[*] Cartesian Products
[*] Finite sets
[*] Countable and Uncountable Sets
[*] The Principle of Recursive Definition
[*] Infinite Sets and the Axiom of Choic
[*] Well-ordered Sets
[*] The Maximum Principle
[*] Supplementary Exercises: Well-Ordering
[/LIST]
[*] Topological Spaces and Continuous Functions
[LIST]
[*] Topological Spaces
[*] Basis for a Topology 
[*] The Order Topology
[*] The Product Topology on [itex]X\times Y[/itex]
[*] Th  Subspace Topology
[*] Closed Sets and Limit Points 
[*] Continuous Functions
[*] The Product Topology
[*] The Metric Topology
[*] The Metric Topology (continued)
[*] The Quotient Topology
[*] Supplementary Exercises: Topological Groups
[/LIST]
[*] Connectedness and Compactness
[LIST]
[*] Connected Spaces
[*] Connected Subspaces of the Real Line
[*] Components and Local Connectedness
[*] Compact Spaces
[*] Compact Subspaces of the Real Line
[*] Limit point compactness
[*] Local Compactness
[*] Supplementary Exercises: Nets
[/LIST]
[*] Countability and Separation Axioms
[LIST]
[*] The Countability Axioms
[*] The Separation Axioms
[*] Normal Spaces
[*] The Urysohn Lemma
[*] The Urysohn Metrization Theorem
[*] The Tietze Extension Theorem
[*] Imbeddings of Manifolds
[*] Supplementary Exercises: Review of  the Basics
[/LIST]
[*] The Tychonoff Theorem
[LIST]
[*] The Tychonoff Theorem
[*] The stone-cech Compactification
[/LIST]
[*] Metrization Theorems and Paracompactness
[LIST]
[*] Local Finiteness
[*] The Nagata-Smirnov Metrization Theorem
[*] Paracompactness
[*] The Smirnov Metrization Theorem
[/LIST]
[*] Complete Metric Spaces and Function Spaces
[LIST]
[*] Complete Metric Spaces
[*] A Space-Filling Curve 
[*] Compactness in Metric Spaces
[*] Pointwise and Compact Convergence
[*] Ascoli's Theorem
[/LIST]
[*] Baire Spaces and Dimension Theory
[LIST] 
[*] Baire Spaces
[*] A Nowhere-Differentiable Function
[*] Introduction to Dimension Theory
[*] Supplementary Exercises: Locally Euclidean Spaces
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
[*] Algebraic Topology
[LIST]
[*] The Fundamental Group
[LIST]
[*] Homotopy of Paths
[*] The Fundamental Group
[*] Covering Spaces
[*] The Fundamental Group of the Circle
[*] Retractions and Fixed Points
[*] The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra
[*] The Borsuk-Ulam Theorem
[*] Deformation Retracts and Homotopy Type
[*] The Fundamental Group of [itex]S^n[/itex
[*] Fundamental Groups of Some Surfaces
[/LIST]
[*]  Separation Theorems in the Plane
[LIST]
[*] The Jordan Separation Theorem
[*] Invariance of Domain
[*] The Jordan Curve Theorem
[*] Embedding Graphs in the Plane 
[*] The Winding Number of a Simple Closed Curve
[*] The Cauchy Integral Formula
[/LIST]
[*] The Seifert-van Kampen Theorem
[LIST]
[*] Direct Sums of Abelian Groups 
[*] Free Products of Groups
[*] Free Groups
[*] The Seifert-van Kampen Theorem
[*] The Fundamental Group of a Wedge of Circles
[*] Adjoining a Two-cell 
[*] The Fundamental Groups of the Torus and the Dunce Cap
[/LIST]
[*] Classification of surfaces
[LIST]
[*] Fundamental Groups of Surfaces
[*] Homology of Surfaces
[*] Cutting and Pasting
[*] The Classification Theorem
[*] Constructing Compact Surfaces
[/LIST]
[*] Classification of Covering Spacs 
[LIST]
[*] Equivalence of Covering Spaces
[*] The Universal Covering Space
[*] Covering Transformations
[*] Existence of Covering Spaces
[*] Supplementary Exercises: Topological Properties and [itex]\pi_1[/itex]
[/LIST]
[*] Applications to Group Theory
[LIST]
[*] Covering Spaces of a Graph
[*] The Fundamental Group of a Graph
[*] Subgroups of Free Groups
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
[*] Bibliography
[*] Index
[/LIST]
 
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This textbook is fantastic! It is well-written and very expository. The first four chapters, coupled with a few chapters from Part II (in particular chapters 9 and 11), provide you with an extremely solid foundation in general topology and a taste of algebraic topology.
It is hard to find a weakness, but without a recent course in Analysis (I took Real Analysis 5 years ago), I would say that the two sections on the Metric Topology can be a bit tedious.To remedy this issue, I supplemented these sections with Bert Mendelson's coverage of metric spaces in his book "Introduction to Topology," which is also absolutely fantastic.
 
Many years ago, as the internet was coming of age, I burned over 500 pounds of technical manuals. I realized I can look things up on the internet faster than I can find something in a technical manual. And just about anything I might need could be found online. But letting go of my several shelves worth of college text and other science books is another matter. I can't bring myself to get rid of them but there is very little if anything I can't find online now. Books are heavy and a pain...

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