Since its inception by von Neumann 70 years ago, the theory of operator algebras has become a rapidly developing area of importance for the understanding of many areas of mathematics and theoretical physics. Accessible to the non-specialist, this first part of a three volume treatise provides a clear, carefully written survey that emphasizes the theory's analytical and topological aspects.The book's unifying theme is the Banach space duality for operator algebras. This allows the reader to recognize the affinity between operator algebras and measure theory on locally compact spaces. Very technical sections are clearly labeled and there are extensive comments by the author, a good historical background and excercises.This book is part of the subseries of the EMS on Operator Algebras and Non-Commutative Geometry.
