This graduate-level text is intended for initial courses in algebra that begin with first principles but proceed at a faster pace than undergraduate-level courses. It employs presentations and proofs that are accessible to students, and it provides numerous concrete examples.

Exercises appear throughout the text, clarifying concepts as they arise; additional exercises, varying widely in difficulty, are included at the ends of the chapters. Subjects include groups, rings, fields and Galois theory, modules, and structure of rings and algebras. Further topics encompass infinite Abelian groups, transcendental field extensions, representations and characters of finite groups, Galois groups, and additional areas.

Based on many years of classroom experience, this self-contained treatment breathes new life into abstract concepts.