A History of Abstract Algebra: From Algebraic Equations to Modern Algebra

Provides a wide-ranging and up-to-date account on the history of abstract algebra Covers topics from number theory (especially quadratic forms) and Galois theory as far as the origins of the abstract theories of groups, rings and fields Develops the mathematical and the historical skills needed to understand the subject Presents material that is difficult to find elsewhere, including translations of Gauss’s sixth proof of quadratic reciprocity, parts of Jordan’s Traité and Dedekind’s 11th supplement, as well as a summary of Klein’s work on the icosahedron