Introduction to Piecewise-Linear Topology

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-VIII

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2. Polyhedra and P.L. Maps

   • Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

   Pages 1-10

3. Complexes

   • Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

   Pages 11-30

4. Regular Neighbourhoods

   • Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

   Pages 31-49

5. Pairs of Polyhedra and Isotopies

   • Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

   Pages 50-59

6. General Position and Applications

   • Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

   Pages 60-73

7. Handle Theory

   • Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

   Pages 74-90

8. Applications

   • Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

   Pages 91-96

9. Back Matter

   Pages 97-126

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The first five chapters of this book form an introductory course in piece­ wise-linear topology in which no assumptions are made other than basic topological notions. This course would be suitable as a second course in topology with a geometric flavour, to follow a first course in point-set topology, andi)erhaps to be given as a final year undergraduate course. The whole book gives an account of handle theory in a piecewise­ linear setting and could be the basis of a first year postgraduate lecture or reading course. Some results from algebraic topology are needed for handle theory and these are collected in an appendix. In a second appen­ dix are listed the properties of Whitehead torsion which are used in the s-cobordism theorem. These appendices should enable a reader with only basic knowledge to complete the book. The book is also intended to form an introduction to modern geo­ metric topology as a research subject, a bibliography of research papers being included. We have omittedacknowledgements and references from the main text and have collected these in a set of "historical notes" to be found after the appendices.

• algebra
• theorem
• topology

• The University of Warwick, England

  Colin P. Rourke, Brian J. Sanderson

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