Topics in Commutative Ring Theory is a textbook for advanced undergraduate students as well as graduate students and mathematicians seeking an accessible introduction to this fascinating area of abstract algebra.

Commutative ring theory arose more than a century ago to address questions in geometry and number theory. A commutative ring is a set-such as the integers, complex numbers, or polynomials with real coefficients--with two operations, addition and multiplication. Starting from this simple definition, John Watkins guides readers from basic concepts to...

Who first presented Pascal's triangle? (It was not Pascal.)
Who first presented Hamiltonian graphs? (It was not Hamilton.)
Who first presented Steiner triple systems? (It was not Steiner.)
The history of mathematics is a well-studied and vibrant area of research, with books and scholarly articles published on various aspects of the subject. Yet, the history of combinatorics seems to have been largely overlooked. This book goes some way to redress this and serves two main purposes: 1) it constitutes the first book-length survey of the history of combinatorics; and 2) it assembles,...

Who first presented Pascal's triangle? (It was not Pascal.)
Who first presented Hamiltonian graphs? (It was not Hamilton.)
Who first presented Steiner triple systems? (It was not Steiner.)
The history of mathematics is a well-studied and vibrant area of research, with books and scholarly articles published on various aspects of the subject. Yet, the history of combinatorics seems to have been largely overlooked. This book goes some way to redress this and serves two main purposes: 1) it constitutes the first book-length survey of the history of combinatorics; and 2) it assembles,...