P.R. Halmos - Böcker

From the reviews: "The theory is systematically developed by the axiomatic method that has, since von Neumann, dominated the general approach to linear functional analysis and that achieves here a high degree of lucidity and clarity...The book contains about 350 well placed and instructive problems, which cover a considerable part of the subject. All in all this is an excellent work, of equally high value for both student and teacher." --ZENTRALBLATT FAuR MATHEMATIK

IN 1959 I lectured on Boolean algebras at the University of Chicago. A mimeographed version of the notes on which the lectures were based circulated for about two years; this volume contains those notes, corrected and revised. Most of the corrections were suggested by Peter Crawley. To judge by his detailed and precise suggestions, he must have read every word, checked every reference, and weighed every argument, and I am lIery grateful to hirn for his help. This is not to say that he is to be held responsible for the imperfec­ tions that remain, and, in particular, I alone am responsible for all expressions of personal opinion and irreverent view­ point. P. R. H. Ann Arbor, Michigan ] anuary, 1963 Contents Section Page 1 1 Boolean rings ............................ . 2 Boolean algebras ......................... . 3 9 3 Fields of sets ............................ . 4 Regular open sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . 5 Elementary relations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . 6 Order. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . . . 7 Infinite operations. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 . . . . . 8 Subalgebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 31 . . . . . . 9 Homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 . . . . . . . 10 Free algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 . . . . . . . 11 Ideals and filters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 . . . . . . 12 The homomorphism theorem. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 52 . . 13 Boolean a-algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 . . . . . . 14 The countable chain condition . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 . . . 15 Measure algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 . . . . . . . 16 Atoms.. . . . .. . . . . .. .. . .. ... . . . . .. . . ... . . .. 69 17 Boolean spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 . . . . . . . 18 The representation theorem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 . . . 19 Duali ty for ideals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 81 . . . . . 20 Duality for homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 . . . . 21 Completion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 . . . . . . . . 22 Boolean a-spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 97 . . . . . 23 The representation of a-algebras . . . . . . . . .. . . 100 . 24 Boolean measure spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 104 . . . 25 Incomplete algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 109 . . . . . 26 Products of algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 115 . . . . 27 Sums of algebras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 119 . . . . . 28 Isomorphisms of factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 122 . . .

From the Preface: "This book was written for the active reader. The first part consists of problems, frequently preceded by definitions and motivation, and sometimes followed by corollaries and historical remarks... The second part, a very short one, consists of hints... The third part, the longest, consists of solutions: proofs, answers, or contructions, depending on the nature of the problem....This is not an introduction to Hilbert space theory. Some knowledge of that subject is a prerequisite: at the very least, a study of the elements of Hilbert space theory should proceed concurrently with the reading of this book."

“The theory is systematically developed by the axiomatic method that has, since von Neumann, dominated the general approach to linear functional analysis and that achieves here a high degree of lucidity and clarity. The presentation is never awkward or dry, as it sometimes is in other “modern” textbooks; it is as unconventional as one has come to expect from the author. The book contains about 350 well placed and instructive problems, which cover a considerable part of the subject. All in all this is an excellent work, of equally high value for both student and teacher.” Zentralblatt für Mathematik

A selection of the mathematical writings of Paul R. Halmos (1916 - 2006) is presented in two Volumes. Volume I consists of research publications plus two papers of a more expository nature on Hilbert Space. The remaining expository articles and all the popular writings appear in this second volume. It comprises 27 articles, written between 1949 and 1981, and also a transcript of an interview.