Monster Group Talk: Recommended Books for 1st Year Math Grads

[shaggymoods]

So, let's suppose for a moment that I was interested in giving an informative but not-too-technical expository talk to fellow first-year math graduate students on the Monster Group. What books would you recommend I get my hands on to help achieve such a goal? Thanks in advance.

 

[awkward]

So, let's suppose for a moment that I was interested in giving an informative but not-too-technical expository talk to fellow first-year math graduate students on the Monster Group. What books would you recommend I get my hands on to help achieve such a goal? Thanks in advance.

It may be too late to help you, but I recommend "Symmetry and the Monster" by Mark Ronan. It may be a little less technical than you are looking for-- it does not assume any mathematical background on the part of the reader-- but it's still a good read and includes some technical details, as well as insights into the personalities of many of the mathematicians involved in the classification of finite groups.