A Taste of Jordan Algebras

Rezensionen / Stimmen

From the reviews:

"This is an excellent book, masterly written and very well organized, a real compendium of Jordan algebras offering all the relevant notions and results of the theory - and not only a 'taste'. . is written as a direct mathematical conversation between the author and a reader, who has no knowledge of Jordan algebras. Thus more heuristic and explanatory comment is provided than is usual in graduate texts. . An exceptional book!" (H. Mitsch, Monatshefte für Mathematik, Vol. 144 (3), 2005)

"As mentioned in the preface, 'this book tells the story of one aspect of Jordan structure theory . . The author proceeds to tell this fascinating story with a lovely and lively style . . concentrates explicitly on the structure theory of linear Jordan algebra . . It can be used in many different ways to teach graduate courses and also for self-study . . graduate students will have at their disposal a very well organized, motivating and engaging textbook." (Alberto Elduque, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1044 (19), 2004)

"The book . is intended, according to the author, to serve as an accompaniment to a graduate course in Jordan algebras. In fact the exposition goes far beyond this goal, resulting in a book much richer than the typical textbook. . The book is well written, and I enjoyed reading it. . The style is lively . . In my opinion this book will be indispensable for all mathematicians . . a great book and I believe it will serve the mathematical community well." (Plamen Koshlukov, Mathematical Reviews, 2004i)

"Read 'A Taste of Jordan Algebras' by K. McCrimmon, where, for the first time, a full account of both the mathematical development of Jordan algebra theory and its historical aspects is given. . Thanks to the very clever organization of the book . it is suited both to the very beginner and to the specialist . . Unlike all other monographs on Jordan algebras . McCrimmon'sbook will be the fundamental textbook in this domain for many years to come." (Wolfgang Bertram, SIAM Reviews, Vol. 47 (1), 2005)

"McCrimmon is a pioneer in the subject of Jordan algebras . . 'The reader should see isomorphisms as cloning maps, isotopes as subtle rearrangements of an algebra's DNA . . The book is written in this marvellous style . very thorough, and very strong on (the right kind of) pedagogy. The reader will learn a lot of wonderful algebra well, if he takes care to follow McCrimmon's plan: read carefully, do the problems, meditate on what's going on, follow and absorb the analogies . ." (Michael Berg, MAA online, November, 2004)