Banach spaces and algebras are a key topic of pure mathematics. Graham Allan's careful and detailed introductory account will prove essential reading for anyone wishing to specialise in functional analysis and is aimed at final year undergraduates or masters level students. Based on the author's lectures to fourth year students at Cambridge University, the book assumes knowledge typical of first degrees in mathematics, including metric spaces, analytic topology, and complex analysis. However, readers are not expected to be familiar with the Lebesgue theory of measure and integration.
The text begins by giving the basic theory of Banach spaces, including dual spaces and bounded linear operators. It establishes forms of the theorems that are the pillars of functional analysis, including the Banach-Alaoglu, Hahn-Banach, uniform boundedness, open mapping, and closed graph theorems. There are applications to Fourier series and operators on Hilbert spaces.
The main body of the text is an introduction to the theory of Banach algebras. A particular feature is the detailed account of the holomorphic functional calculus in one and several variables; all necessary background theory in one and several complex variables is fully explained, with many examples and applications considered. Throughout, exercises at sections ends help readers test their understanding, while extensive notes point to more advanced topics and sources.
The book was edited for publication by Professor H. G. Dales of Leeds University, following the death of the author in August, 2007.

Super-real fields are a class of large totally ordered fields. These fields are larger than the real line. They arise from quotients of the algebra of continuous functions on a compact space by a prime ideal, and generalize the well-known class of ultrapowers, and indeed the continuous ultrapowers. These fields are of interest in their own right and have many surprising applications, both in analysis and logic. The authors introduce some exciting new fields, including a natural generalization of the real line R, and resolve a number of open problems. The book is intended to be accessible to analysts and logicians. After an exposition of the general theory of ordered fields and a careful proof of some classic theorems, including Kaplansky's embedding theorems , the authors establish important new results in Banach algebra theory, non-standard analysis, an model theory.

Based on lectures given at an instructional course, this volume enables readers with a basic knowledge of functional analysis to access key research in the field. The authors survey several areas of current interest, making this volume ideal preparatory reading for students embarking on graduate work as well as for mathematicians working in related areas.

Based on lectures given at an instructional course, this volume enables readers with a basic knowledge of functional analysis to access key research in the field. The authors survey several areas of current interest, making this volume ideal preparatory reading for students embarking on graduate work as well as for mathematicians working in related areas.