Finite groups I. Translated from the German by Christopher A. Schroeder (Q6979710)

When the author, a major authority in twentieth-century group theory, published the first volume [Endliche Gruppen. I. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer-Verlag (1967; Zbl 0217.07201)], it soon became one of the most important books in the theory of finite groups. Later, together with \textit{N. Blackburn}, they published the second and third volumes, [Finite groups. II. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer-Verlag (1982; Zbl 0477.20001); Finite groups. III. Berlin-Heidelberg-New York: Springer-Verlag (1982; Zbl 0514.20002)] which appeared in English. At that time, the classification of finite simple groups was a central project and although Huppert's book was written in German, it was read and studied by group theorists all over the world.\N\NOn the other hand, until now, there had been no English translation of the first volume. This translation by Christopher A. Schroeder, finally makes this classic more widely accessible. The notation has been updated to match modern usage, replacing the older German symbols. The translation is of excellent quality and the text was also checked and updated by several well-known group theorists, including Gunter Malle, a leading expert in the field, who, according to the translator, carried out a ``heroic proofreading of the entire manuscript''.\N\NThe book is more than just a translation: It also includes footnotes updating the open problems listed in the first edition with references to recent work, which combines the text with the development of the theory of finite groups and representation theory in the last 60 years. Moreover, several errors in the original text are corrected in the footnotes. In addition, some footnotes provide references to papers published after the original edition, enriching the text with modern information on the current status of these problems. For example, some examples in the original book are now known to be the only ones of their kind after the classification of finite simple groups was completed and these are carefully noted in the footnotes. Such additions make the book especially valuable.\N\NThe chapters are organized as follows:\N\begin{itemize}\N\item Foundations\N\item Permutation groups and linear groups\N\item Nilpotent groups and \(p\)-groups\N\item Transfer and \(p\)-nilpotent groups\N\item Representation theory\N\item Solvable groups\N\end{itemize}\N\NSame as the original book, the translated manuscript is not only clear enough and very useful for graduate students who want to learn the subject, but very deep and detailed to serve as a standard reference for researchers in group theory as well.