A course in functional analysis and measure theory. Translated from the Russian by Andrei Iacob (Q1649995)

The review of the original Russian version [A course in functional analysis. Textbook for students of mechanics and mathematics. Khar'kov: Khar'kovskij Natsional'nyj Universitet Im. V. N. Karazina (2006; Zbl 1128.46001)] starts like this: ``This is a capital textbook of functional analysis, measure theory and operator theory, excellently written by an experienced author. The book is based on undergraduate courses of functional analysis taught at the Department of Mathematics of Kharkov University by the author since 1990.'' There is little to add to this paragraph and, indeed, to the whole review where a detailed description of the contents of this wonderful book can be found. So I will just complement that review by a couple of remarks. In 2012, the book was translated into Ukrainian [A course in functional analysis and measure theory. Transl. from the Russian. L'viv: Chislo (2006; Zbl 1254.46001)]. By that time, the course was split into separate units on measure theory and functional analysis; hence the new title. (The fact that it used to be a compulsory course over several semesters might explain why reflexive spaces appear relatively late in the text.) There are several noteworthy features in the book, for example the definition of the Lebesgue integral of a measurable function by infinite Riemann-type sums -- an approach seldom found in textbooks. Also, the author is able to define the Banach space \(L_p\) without discussing the Hölder inequality first, and the proof of the open mapping theorem is conceptualised by the notion of a ball-like set. Most remarkable are his reader-friendly presentation and his personal tone, for example when he reminisces about the golden age of the Banach space seminar in Khar'kov and his first ever mathematical discovery (p.~465). Finally, the reviewer of the Russian edition notes the puns in footnotes ``that are probably nontranslatable''; the translator is to be commended for making them accessible to the English speaking world now, and the author is to be commended for writing this altogether remarkable and highly recommended book.