These volumes are based on lecture courses and seminars given at the LMS Durham Symposium on the geometry of low-dimensional manifolds. This area has been one of intense research recently, with major breakthroughs that have illuminated the way a number of different subjects (topology, differential and algebraic geometry and mathematical physics) interact.

This volume is based on lecture courses and seminars given at the LMS Durham Symposium on the geometry of low-dimensional manifolds. This area has been one of intense research recently, with major breakthroughs that have illuminated the way a number of different subjects interact (for example: topology, differential and algebraic geometry and mathematical physics). The workshop brought together a number of distinguished figures to give lecture courses and seminars in these subjects; the volume that has resulted is the only expository source for much of the material, and will be essential for all research workers in geometry and mathematical physics.

This monograph gives a thorough exposition of Floer's seminal work during the 1980s from a contemporary viewpoint. The material contained here was developed with specific applications in mind. However, it has now become clear that the techniques used are important for many current areas of research. An important example would be symplectic theory and gluing problems for self-dual metrics and other metrics with special holonomy. The author writes with the big picture constantly in mind. As well as a review of the current state of knowledge, there are sections on the likely direction of future research. Included in this are connections between Floer groups and the celebrated Seiberg-Witten invariants. The results described in this volume form part of the area known as Donaldson theory. The significance of this work is such that the author was awarded the prestigious Fields Medal for his contribution.

This book, now available in paperback for the first time, provides the first lucid and accessible account of the modern study of the geometry of four-manifolds. In its hardback form it sold over 3000 copies and it has become required reading for postgraduates and research workers whose research touches on this topic. Pre-requisites are a firm grounding in differential topology and geometry, as may be gained from the first year of a graduate course.