From the reviews: "The book can be considered as a fundamental monograph on invariants of homology 3-spheres. Let us mention that while the topic may seem rather specialised, these investigations have proved to be extremely useful in the manifold topology... [...] Obviously, the book is designed for specialists in the field who will find there a practically complete survey of results and methods. On the other hand, it is written in such a clear style that I would like to recommend it strongly to postgraduate students starting to make themselves familiar with the field. The book will help them to learn basic notions and will gradually introduce them into contemporary research. [...]" European Mathematical Society Newsletter, Dec. 2004, p. 44 "This book is an excellent survey on invariants of homology 3-spheres. [...] This book is both a valuable resource for experts and a good introduction for newcomers. The author has exercised judicious restraint in his selection of topics, and the result is a well-organized and well-written book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in low-dimensional topology. [...]" Hans U. Boden, Mathematical Reviews Clippings from Issue 2004c "The book can be considered as a fundamental monograph on invariants of homology 3- spheres. ... the book is designed for specialists in the field who will find there a practically complete survey of results and methods. On the other hand, it is written in such a clear style that I would like to recommend it strongly to postgraduate students starting to make themselves familiar with the field." (EMS, December, 2004) "This book is an excellent survey on invariants of homology 3-spheres. ... This book is both a valuable resource for experts and a good introduction for newcomers. The author has exercised judicious restraint in his selection of topics, and the result is a well-organized and well-written book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in low-dimensional topology." (Hans U. Boden, Mathematical Reviews, 2004 c) "As suggested by the title of the book, its main subject are invariants of integer and rational homology 3-spheres ... . The book is written in a style in the middle between the text book and a report or encyclopaedia. ... on little more than 200 pages the book presents a wealth of material which will make it useful for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and theoretical physics looking for information and orientation in a field of considerable interest in the last decades." (Bruno Zimmermann, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 998 (23), 2002)

• 1 Homology 3-Spheres.- 2 Rokhlin Invariant.- 3 Casson Invariant.- 4 Invariants of Walker and Lescop.- 5 Casson Invariant and Gauge Theory.- 6 Instanton Floer Homology.- 7 The Homology Cobordism Group.- References.

From the reviews: "The book can be considered as a fundamental monograph on invariants of homology 3-spheres. Let us mention that while the topic may seem rather specialised, these investigations have proved to be extremely useful in the manifold topology... [...] Obviously, the book is designed for specialists in the field who will find there a practically complete survey of results and methods. On the other hand, it is written in such a clear style that I would like to recommend it strongly to postgraduate students starting to make themselves familiar with the field. The book will help them to learn basic notions and will gradually introduce them into contemporary research. [...]" European Mathematical Society Newsletter, Dec. 2004, p. 44 "This book is an excellent survey on invariants of homology 3-spheres. [...] This book is both a valuable resource for experts and a good introduction for newcomers. The author has exercised judicious restraint in his selection of topics, and the result is a well-organized and well-written book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in low-dimensional topology. [...]" Hans U. Boden, Mathematical Reviews Clippings from Issue 2004c "The book can be considered as a fundamental monograph on invariants of homology 3- spheres. ... the book is designed for specialists in the field who will find there a practically complete survey of results and methods. On the other hand, it is written in such a clear style that I would like to recommend it strongly to postgraduate students starting to make themselves familiar with the field." (EMS, December, 2004) "This book is an excellent survey on invariants of homology 3-spheres. ... This book is both a valuable resource for experts and a good introduction for newcomers. The author has exercised judicious restraint in his selection of topics, and the result is a well-organized and well-written book that will appeal to anyone with an interest in low-dimensional topology." (Hans U. Boden, Mathematical Reviews, 2004 c) "As suggested by the title of the book, its main subject are invariants of integer and rational homology 3-spheres ... . The book is written in a style in the middle between the text book and a report or encyclopaedia. ... on little more than 200 pages the book presents a wealth of material which will make it useful for graduate students and researchers in mathematics and theoretical physics looking for information and orientation in a field of considerable interest in the last decades." (Bruno Zimmermann, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 998 (23), 2002)

• 1 Homology 3-Spheres.- 2 Rokhlin Invariant.- 3 Casson Invariant.- 4 Invariants of Walker and Lescop.- 5 Casson Invariant and Gauge Theory.- 6 Instanton Floer Homology.- 7 The Homology Cobordism Group.- References.