A Course in Group Theory

• 1. Definitions and examples ; 2. Maps and relations on sets ; 3. Elementary consequences of the definitions ; 4. Subgroups ; 5. Cosets and Lagrange's Theorem ; 6. Error-correcting codes ; 7. Normal subgroups and quotient groups ; 8. The Homomorphism Theorem ; 9. Permutations ; 10. The Orbit-Stabilizer Theorem ; 11. The Sylow Theorems ; 12. Applications of Sylow Theorems ; 13. Direct products ; 14. The classification of finite abelian groups ; 15. The Jordan-Holder Theorem ; 16. Composition factors and chief factors ; 17. Soluble groups ; 18. Examples of soluble groups ; 19. Semi-direct products and wreath products ; 20. Extensions ; 21. Central and cyclic extensions ; 22. Groups with at most 31 elements ; 23. The projective special linear groups ; 24. The Mathieu groups ; 25. The classification of finite simple groups ; Appendix A Prerequisites from Number Theory and Linear Algebra ; Appendix B Groups of order < 32 ; Appendix C Solutions to Exercises ; Bibliography ; Index

The arguments are clear and full proofs are given. ... The whole text is actually built up around the idea of classification theorems. The inherent limitations of such an approach put aside, such glimpses of a distant horizon can do a lot towards stimulating the students to find more about the subject for themselves.