Arranged in a modular fashion, this text offers the opportunity to explore any of several areas in detail; topics include canonical extensions, completions, representations, varieties, and atom structures. Each chapter offers a complete account of one such avenue of development, including a historical section and substantial number of exercises. The clarity of exposition and comprehensive nature of each module make this an ideal text for the independent reader entering the field, while researchers will value it as a reference for years to come. weiterlesen