No label defined (Q4510219)

The book under review may serve as a (good and solid) base for an undergraduate course in Algebra. It includes most of the topics usually given in such a course. An interesting feature of the book is that it contains a lot of examples and problems where the use of a good computer algebra system (CAS) is desirable and/or recommended. The exposition is clear and rigorous, the proofs of the statements are given in appropriate form for the students. The examples given are carefully chosen (and clearly indicated whether CAS is needed or a further topic uses it). The book is divided into 21 chapters. The first of them recalls the basics of congruences and divisibility. The next chapters, up to 6, introduce permutations and the elementary concepts for groups. Until Chapter 10, the author considers symmetry groups, group actions, and quotient groups. In Chapter 11, Sylow groups are discussed, and in the next chapter, some ideas on simple groups are given. The part about group theory ends with abelian groups and their properties and applications. Chapters 14 and 15 introduce polynomials in one and several variables and symmetric polynomials. Chapter 16 considers roots of polynomials, splitting fields, and finite fields. Chapters 17 to 21 are devoted to Galois theory. The author introduces the Galois correspondence, gives an algorithm for the group of quartics; discusses the solvability by radicals. The exposition ends with constructions with ruler and compass. Every chapter is equipped with a list of exercices that are carefully chosen and illustrate the material in the chapter. The book will be useful for undergraduates in Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science and for their teachers as well.