About the Book

This textbook on elementary topology contains a detailed introduction to general topology and an introduction to algebraic topology via its most classical and elementary segment centered at the notions of fundamental group and covering space.

The book is tailored for the reader who is determined to work actively. The proofs of theorems are separated from their formulations and are gathered at the end of each chapter. This makes the book look like a pure problem book and encourages the reader to think through each formulation. A reader who prefers a more traditional style can either find the proofs at the end of the chapter or skip them altogether. This style also caters to the expert who needs a handbook and prefers formulations not overshadowed by proofs. Most of the proofs are simple and easy to discover.

The book can be useful and enjoyable for readers with quite different backgrounds and interests. The text is structured in such a way that it is easy to determine what to expect from each piece and how to use it. There is core material, which makes up a relatively small part of the book. The core material is interspersed with examples, illustrative and training problems, and relevant discussions.

The reader who has mastered the core material acquires a strong background in elementary topology and will feel at home in the environment of abstract mathematics. With almost no prerequisites (except real numbers), the book can serve as a text for a course on general and beginning algebraic topology.