About the Book

This text for a second course in linear algebra is aimed at math majors and graduate students. The novel approach taken here banishes determinants to the end of the book and focusses on the central goal of linear algebra: understanding the structure of linear operators on vector spaces. The author has taken unusual care
to motivate concepts and to simplify proofs. A variety of interesting exercises in each chapter helps students understand and manipulate the objects of linear algebra. No prerequisites are assumed other than the usual demand for suitable mathematical maturity. This second edition includes a new section on orthogonal projections and minimization problems. The sections on self-adjoint operators, normal operators, and the spectral theorem have been rewritten. New examples and new exercises have been added, several
proofs have been simplified, and hundreds of minor improvements have been made throughout the text.