Here, the eminent algebraist, Nathan Jacobsen, concentrates on those algebras that have an involution. Although they appear in many contexts, these algebras first arose in the study of the so-called "multiplication algebras of Riemann matrices". Of particular interest are the Jordan algebras determined by such algebras, and thus their structure is discussed in detail. Two important concepts also dealt with are the universal enveloping algebras and the reduced norm. However, the largest part of the book is the fifth chapter, which focuses on involutorial simple algebras of finite dimension over a field.

A classic text and standard reference for a generation, this volume and its companion are the work of an expert algebraist who taught at Yale for two decades. Nathan Jacobson's books possess a conceptual and theoretical orientation, and in addition to their value as classroom texts, they serve as valuable references.
Volume I explores all of the topics typically covered in undergraduate courses, including the rudiments of set theory, group theory, rings, modules, Galois theory, polynomials, linear algebra, and associative algebra. Its comprehensive treatment extends to such rigorous topics as Lie and Jordan algebras, lattices, and Boolean algebras. Exercises appear throughout the text, along with insightful, carefully explained proofs. Volume II comprises all subjects customary to a first-year graduate course in algebra, and it revisits many topics from Volume I with greater depth and sophistication.

Here, the eminent algebraist, Nathan Jacobsen, concentrates on those algebras that have an involution. Although they appear in many contexts, these algebras first arose in the study of the so-called "multiplication algebras of Riemann matrices". Of particular interest are the Jordan algebras determined by such algebras, and thus their structure is discussed in detail. Two important concepts also dealt with are the universal enveloping algebras and the reduced norm. However, the largest part of the book is the fifth chapter, which focuses on involutorial simple algebras of finite dimension over a field.

A classic text and standard reference for a generation, this volume and its companion are the work of an expert algebraist who taught at Yale for more than three decades. Nathan Jacobson's books possess a conceptual and theoretical orientation; in addition to their value as classroom texts, they serve as valuable references.
Volume II comprises all of the subjects usually covered in a first-year graduate course in algebra. Topics include categories, universal algebra, modules, basic structure theory of rings, classical representation theory of finite groups, elements of homological algebra with applications, commutative ideal theory, and formally real fields. In addition to the immediate introduction and constant use of categories and functors, it revisits many topics from Volume I with greater depth and sophistication. Exercises appear throughout the text, along with insightful, carefully explained proofs.

Emmy Noether (1882-1935) was one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century. The development of abstract algebra, which is one of the most distinctive innovations of 20th century mathematics, can largely be traced back to her - in her published papers, lectures and her personal influence on her contemporaries. By now her contributions have become so thoroughly absorbed into our mathematical culture that only rarely are they specifically attributed to her. This book presents an extensive collection of her work. Albert Einstein wrote in a letter to the New York Times of May 1st, 1935: "In the judgment of the most competent living mathematicians, Fraulein Noether was the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began. In the realm of algebra, in which the most gifted mathematicians have been busy for centuries, she discovered methods which have proved of enormous importance in the development of the present-day younger generation of mathematicians." Emmy Noether leistete grundlegende Arbeiten zur Abstrakten Algebra. Ihre Auffassung von Mathematik war sehr nutzlich fur die damalige Physik, aber wurde auch kontrovers diskutiert. Die Debatte ging darum, ob Mathematik eher konzeptuell und abstract (intuitionistisch) oder mehr physikalisch basiert und angewandt (konstruktionistisch) sein sollte. Noethers konzeptuelle Auffassung der Algebra fuhrte zu neuen Grundlagen, die Algebra, Geometrie, Lineare Algebra, Topologie und Logik vereinheitlichten."