Daniel Quillen's definition of the higher algebraic K-groups of a ring emphasized the importance of computing the homology of groups of matrices. This text traces the development of this theory from Quillen's fundamental calculation. It presents the stability theorems and low-dimensional results of A. Suslin, W. van der Kallen and others are presented. Coverage also examines the Friedlander-Milnor-conjecture concerning the homology of algebraic groups made discrete.

Daniel Quillen's definition of the higher algebraic K-groups of a ring emphasized the importance of computing the homology of groups of matrices. This text traces the development of this theory from Quillen's fundamental calculation of the cohomology of GLn (Fq). The stability theorems and low-dimensional results of A. Suslin, W. van der Kallen and others are presented as well as recent results for rank one groups. A chapter on the Friedlander-Milnor-conjecture concerning the homology of algebraic groups made discrete is also included. This marks the first time that these results have been collected in a single volume. The book should prove useful to graduate students and researchers in K-theory, group cohomology, algebraic geometry and topology.