A Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the University of Illinois, Robert Ash is the author of two other Dover books: Basic Probability Theory, and Complex Variables and Information Theory.

Geared toward upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, this text surveys fundamental algebraic structures and maps between these structures. Its techniques are used in many areas of mathematics, with applications to physics, engineering, and computer science as well. Author Robert B. Ash, a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Illinois, focuses on intuitive thinking. He also conveys the intrinsic beauty of abstract algebra while keeping the proofs as brief and clear as possible.
The early chapters provide students with background by investigating the basic properties of groups, rings, fields, and modules. Later chapters examine the relations between groups and sets, the fundamental theorem of Galois theory, and the results and methods of abstract algebra in terms of algebraic number theory, algebraic geometry, noncommutative algebra, and homological algebra, including categories and functors. An extensive supplement to the text delves much further into homological algebra than most introductory texts, offering applications-oriented results. Solutions to all problems appear in the text.