Skip to main content
  • Textbook
  • © 2021

Algebraic Topology

  • Assumes no background in abstract algebra or real analysis

  • Contains a number of examples and exercises

  • Is based on years of classroom testing

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (15 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
  2. Surface Preliminaries

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 1-18
  3. Surfaces

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 19-30
  4. The Euler Characteristic and Identification Spaces

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 31-49
  5. Classification Theorem of Compact Surfaces

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 51-62
  6. Introduction to Group Theory

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 63-76
  7. Structure of Groups

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 77-90
  8. Cosets, Normal Subgroups, and Quotient Groups

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 91-103
  9. The Fundamental Group

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 105-113
  10. Computing the Fundamental Group

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 115-126
  11. Tools for Fundamental Groups

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 127-140
  12. Applications of Fundamental Groups

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 141-150
  13. The Seifert–Van Kampen Theorem

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 151-164
  14. Introduction to Homology

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 165-180
  15. The Mayer–Vietoris Sequence

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages 181-191
  16. Correction to: The Seifert–Van Kampen Theorem

    • Clark Bray, Adrian Butscher, Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo
    Pages C1-C1
  17. Back Matter

    Pages 193-209

About this book

Algebraic Topology is an introductory textbook based on a class for advanced high-school students at the Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC) that the authors have taught for many years. Each chapter, or lecture, corresponds to one day of class at SUMaC. The book begins with the preliminaries needed for the formal definition of a surface. Other topics covered in the book include the classification of surfaces, group theory, the fundamental group, and homology.

This book assumes no background in abstract algebra or real analysis, and the material from those subjects is presented as needed in the text. This makes the book readable to undergraduates or high-school students who do not have the background typically assumed in an algebraic topology book or class. The book contains many examples and exercises, allowing it to be used for both self-study and for an introductory undergraduate topology course.

Reviews

“Algebraic topology provides a self-contained introduction to the field … . the book thus provides a particularly well-organized, interesting, and smooth exposition of its subject. … This particular book unique is that it provides a clear, elementary, but mathematically solid introduction to algebraic topology that keeps the subject interesting throughout. … provides a clear, readable, and detailed treatment of the ideas and proofs in the subject … .” (Thomas Mack, Mathematical Reviews, July, 2022)


“The book could easily be used in an undergraduate course or read by a bright high school student. It should certainly be in any high school library.” (Jonathan Hodgson, zbMATH 1481.55001, 2022)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Mathematics, Duke University, Durham, USA

    Clark Bray

  • Autodesk Research, Toronto, Canada

    Adrian Butscher

  • Euler Circle, Palo Alto, USA

    Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo

About the authors

Clark Bray is an Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Mathematics at Duke University. He graduated from Rice University in 1993, cum laude, with majors in Mathematics and Physics, and finished his Ph.D. in Mathematics at Stanford University in 1999, studying algebraic topology with Professor Gunnar Carlsson. While subsequently a Lecturer at Stanford, he created and taught a program in algebraic topology for talented high school math students at the Stanford University Mathematics Camp (SUMaC) in 2001-2003. 


Adrian Butscher received his B.Sc. in mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. in mathematics at Stanford University.  After a fifteen-year period in academia, conducting research in pure and applied differential geometry and teaching at all levels of the undergraduate and graduate curricula, Adrian now works as a research scientist with Autodesk, Inc., a global software company that creates digital design tools for the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, media, and entertainment industries.  While at Stanford, Adrian served as a counsellor and instructor for SuMAC, the Stanford University Mathematics Camp, a month-long, immersive educational experience for mathematically gifted high school students.


Simon Rubinstein-Salzedo received his PhD in mathematics from Stanford University in 2012. Afterwards, he taught at Dartmouth College and Stanford University. In 2015, he founded Euler Circle, a mathematics institute in the San Francisco Bay Area, dedicated to teaching college-level mathematics classes to advanced high-school students, as well as mentoring them on mathematics research. His research interests include number theory, algebraic geometry, combinatorics, probability, and game theory.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 34.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 44.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access