If you want to learn algebraic topology, immerse yourself in the subject. He coinvented spanierwhitehead duality and alexanderspanier cohomology, and wrote what was for a long time the standard textbook on algebraic topology spanier 1981. On the structure and applications of the steenrod algebra, 1958. Duality in the general course of human a airs seems to be a juxtaposition of complementary or opposite concepts. The basic goal is to find algebraic invariants that classify topological spaces up to homeomorphism, though usually most classify up to homotopy equivalence. Free algebraic topology books download ebooks online textbooks. This frequently leads to poetical sounding uses of language, both in the common language and in the precision of mathematical.
Edwin weiss, algebraic number theory jacobowitz, ronald, bulletin of the american mathematical society, 1966. Djvu file this copy of the book includes coles appendix on the. Shastri characterizes algebraic topology as a set of answers, so to speak, to the basic question when are two topological spaces homeomorphic. Algebraic topology homotopy and homology, robert m. Jul 04, 2007 project euclid mathematics and statistics online. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. I think the treatment in spanier is a bit outdated. Spanier is a very helpful passion as well as doing that could be gone through at any time. Basic algebraic topology mathematical association of america. Although some books on algebraic topology focus on homology, most of them offer a good introduction to the homotopy groups of a space as well. It is very rare that the right way to learn a new mathematical topic is to just read a book.
Spanier, 9780387944265, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. The collected mathematical papers ii1889,cambridge,630s, djvu,170867. Spanier s book is a wonderful treatment of many important ideas in algebraic topology, from covering spaces to cech cohomology. Bringing together researchers across the world to develop and use applied algebraic topology. Starting with general topology, it discusses differentiable manifolds, cohomology, products and duality, the fundamental group, homology theory, and homotopy theory. Bredons sheaf theory, spaniers algebraic topology, or the original papers of steenrod and spanier prove continuity for cech cohomology on the category of compact hausdorff spaces. Elements of algebraic topology, 1984, 454 pages, james r. Carlfriedrich b odigheimer ws 201718 the lecture course algebraic topology i is not an introduction into homology and cohomology theory, but a master course on classical homotopy theory.
Jun 09, 2018 a first course in algebraic topology, with emphasis on visualization, geometric intuition and simplified computations. Hatcher, algebraic topology cambridge university press, 2002. A history of duality in algebraic topology james c. Algebraic topology ii mathematics mit opencourseware. He coinvented spanier whitehead duality and alexander spanier cohomology, and wrote what was for a long time the standard textbook on algebraic topology spanier. The first third of the book covers the fundamental group, its definition and its application in the study of covering spaces. Teubner, stuttgart, 1994 the current version of these notes can be found under. Whitehead, spanier developed the new algebraic tool of duality in homotopy theory 5. Spanier now outdated or is it still advisable for a person with taste for category theory to study algebraic topology from this book. Topological resolutions in k2local homotopy theory at the prime 2.
Since algebraic topology is still developing rapidly any attempt to cover the whole. As the title suggests, this short book is not designed to go into all the details but gives an introduction to the basic ideas. In all, spanier published more than forty papers in algebraic topology, contributing to most of the. Springer graduate text in mathematics 9, springer, new york, 2010 r. It is a very economical and also reachable thing to buy. Topological quantum field theory and four manifolds, 2005. However, in my comment i was a bit too hasty about the continuity for cech cohomology. Intended for use both as a text and a reference, this book is an exposition of the fundamental ideas of algebraic topology.
The hopf fibration shows how the threesphere can be built by a collection of circles arranged like points on a twosphere. However, the going is difficult for those not initiated into the basic ideas. This book is intended as a textbook for a firstyear graduate course on algebraic topology, with as strong flavoring in smooth manifold theory. May is professor of mathematics at the university of chicago. You can get a good impression of the subject, for example, from the following references. From the answers to other questions on this site as well as mo, i learnt about the book algebraic topology by tammo tom dieck. Be part of this community and help us grow this network.
The proofs are correct, but often too terse for graduate students. Hatcher, algebraic topology, cambridge university press 2002. Textbooks in algebraic topology and homotopy theory. In this second term of algebraic topology, the topics covered include fibrations, homotopy groups, the hurewicz theorem, vector bundles, characteristic classes, cobordism, and possible further topics at the discretion of the instructor. This is a basic note in algebraic topology, it introduce the notion of fundamental groups, covering spaces, methods for computing fundamental groups using seifert van kampen theorem and some applications such as the brouwers fixed point theorem, borsuk ulam theorem, fundamental theorem of algebra. Welcome to the applied algebraic topology research network. But one can also postulate that global qualitative geometry is itself of an algebraic nature. The first comprehensive modern treatment of the subject, it is still a fundamental source. Theres a great book called lecture notes in algebraic topology by davis and kirk which i highly recommend for advanced beginners, especially those who like the categorical viewpoint and homological algebra. Translations of mathematical monographs, issn 00659282. A concise course in algebraic topology university of chicago. Ghrist, elementary applied topology, isbn 9781502880857, sept. The course will cover more advanced topics in algebraic topology such as. Spanier intended for use both as a text and a reference, this book is an exposition of the fundamental ideas of algebraic topology.
Should i read elements of algebraic topology by munkres or. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Simplicial objects in algebraic topology chicago lectures in. The basic notions of homotopy, the fundamental group and covering spaces are assumed to be well understood. The applied algebraic topology research network promotes and enables collaboration in algebraic topology applied to the sciences and engineering by connecting researchers through a virtual institute. Jun 03, 2016 this is a continuation course to algebraic topology i. School on algebraic topology at the tata institute of fundamental research in 1962.
Algebraic topology math875 fall2005 soren hansen department of mathematics kansas state university email. As a corollary, the best place to learn category theory is in a good algebra textbook together with a good topology textbook and, for optimal rsults, a good algebraic topology textbook. The audience consisted of teachers and students from indian universities who desired to have a general knowledge of the subject, without necessarily having the intention of specializing it. Building on rudimentary knowledge of real analysis, pointset topology, and basic algebra, basic algebraic topology provides plenty of material for a twosemester course in. Classical algebraic topology consists in the construction and use of functors from some category of topological spaces into an algebraic category, say of groups. Algebraic topology i mathematics mit opencourseware. This is a frame from an animation of fibers in the hopf fibration over various points on the twosphere. Handbook of algebraic topology school of mathematics. Algebraic topology is a branch of mathematics that uses tools from abstract algebra to study topological spaces. Hatcher, algebraic topology, cambridge university press, cambridge, 2002. In 1966 his longawaited book algebraic topology 3 was published. Aug 17, 1990 intended for use both as a text and a reference, this book is an exposition of the fundamental ideas of algebraic topology. It suggests that reading a publication will certainly not restrict your activity, will not force the moment to spend over, and also will not invest much cash.
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