Good Algebra Textbook: Basic to Graduate Level

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    Algebra Textbook
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for algebra textbooks that cater to a range from basic to graduate-level topics. Participants share their experiences with various texts and suggest materials that align with advanced topics in algebra, including group theory, ring theory, and representation theory, as well as connections to equivariant dynamical systems.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about suitable algebra textbooks that cover topics from elementary to graduate levels, specifically mentioning interests in advanced group theory, commutative algebra, and Galois theory.
  • Another participant suggests "Dummit and Foote" as a potential recommendation for a comprehensive algebra textbook.
  • A different participant recommends starting with introductory texts by Gallian or Herstein before progressing to Rotman's "Group Theory," emphasizing that many graduate textbooks begin with foundational material.
  • One participant shares their positive experience with "A First Course in Abstract Algebra" by Fraleigh for undergraduate studies and mentions using "Algebra" by Steinberger for graduate studies, noting its readability and availability online.
  • A participant advises against using Hungerford's textbook, citing its lack of coverage on semidirect products, which they consider important for classifying groups.
  • Another participant offers their own notes on algebra, claiming they cover much of the desired material concisely, although they acknowledge the notes may not be what the original poster is looking for.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present various recommendations and experiences with different textbooks, but no consensus emerges regarding a single best choice. Multiple competing views on preferred texts and approaches to learning algebra are evident.

Contextual Notes

Some participants emphasize the importance of problem-solving in understanding algebraic concepts, while others suggest that one can progress through textbooks without solving every problem, indicating a range of study strategies and assumptions about learning styles.

Who May Find This Useful

Students and educators in mathematics, particularly those seeking resources for learning or teaching algebra at various levels, may find this discussion beneficial.

Cexy
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Can anyone recommend me a good algebra textbook that starts out quite basic and goes up to graduate level? I'm familiar with the following topics:

Elementary group theory e.g. normal subgroups and quotient groups, isomorphism theorems, group actions. Elementary ring theory, e.g. ideals, polynomial rings. Basic representation theory, e.g. characters. Differential geometry, e.g. basic properties of manifolds, Lie groups, curvature and connections, elementary properties of Lie algebras.

I'm looking to learn about:

More advanced group theory, e.g. Sylow theorems, simple groups. More advanced commutative algebra and theory of ideals, perhaps Noetherian rings? More about modules as a generalization of vector spaces. Group rings and connection to representation theory. Galois theory, number fields, more representation theory.

If any of it can be tied into equivariant dynamical systems (i.e. symmetric dynamics) then that would be great as that's what I'm doing my PhD in! Thanks a lot. :)
 
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Maybe Dummit and Foote?

Table of contents and preface can be found here.
 
I would suggest reading like the first half of a textbook by Gallian or the basic one by Herstein and then start from the beginning from Rotman's Group Theory (Graduate Series from Springer).

If you know the basics well, you heard of normal subgroups and such. Then go right into Rotman's. Surely, that is only group theory.

Then for Ring Theory, I would do something similar. Read half of an elementary textbook and jump into a full blown graduate textbook (they all start from the beginning anyways).

Also, you don't need to read all of Rotman's textbook. The first half will give you more then you generally need. It's an easy read such that you don't need to solve any problems to keep going. Although, if you don't solve problems, you miss out a lot on comprehending the stuff. The bright side is that if you can't solve the majority of the problems of one chapter, you can still keep going as long as you understood what you read. We all have a our "weak" chapters so it's completely reasonable to assume we will get stuck on a chapter at some point.
 
For my undergrad algebra course we used A First Course in Abstract Algebra by Fraleigh, and I liked it a lot. For my grad course we are using Algebra by Steinberger (who is also the prof). I find it very readable, and it's free online.

http://math.albany.edu/~mark/classes/520A/

One grad level book that I would avoid is Hungerford. He almost completely avoids semidirect products, which are extremely useful in classifying groups of a given order.
 
Tom Mattson said:
http://math.albany.edu/~mark/classes/520A/
Thanks, that's exactly what I'm looking for.
 
well if that's what you want, i don't suppose you want my notes on algebra, since they cover most of that material in only 100 pages. but i offer them anyway. see my webpage for math 8000 notes.http://www.math.uga.edu/~roy/
 

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