Galois Theory (Graduate Texts in Mathematics) Book

The new book on basic Galois theory by Jean-Pierre Escofier is refreshingly different from the many books on the same subject already on the market. The book covers the standard basic material -- symmetric polynomials, field extensions, normal and Galois extensions, the Galois correspondence, cyclotomic extensions, solvable groups, finite fields and separable and non-separable extensions. However, it also contains the following original features: a sketch of the early history of the subject from a very human viewpoint, containing a large number of excerpts from original works and a discussion of the problems of notation, discovery, mathematical habits and disputes of former times, a complete chapter on explicit constructions with ruler and compass, a chapter on the life of Evariste Galois and a chapter on recent developments which attempts to give an idea of what researchers in Galois theory are working on today. The book requires only standard algebra (groups, rings, fields) as background, and is eminently suitable for an undergraduate text on Galois theory. It contains a large number of useful exercises, mostly with their solutions. Because of its exciting and very human approach, it should attract even students who are not mathematics majors to the beautiful subject of Galois theory.