Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 33
 The Best Math Book I've Ever Read August 19, 2000
Chris Moore (Plano, TX USA)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I have a fairly large library of mathematical litterature, and the Munkres book is, by far, the best book in my collection. If I were stranded on a desert island and could only have one book with me, it would be this one. The writing is always clear and the examples illuminating. An effort is also made to name theorems and lemmas in a useful way. It's much easier to remember things like "the tube lemma" and "the pasting lemma" than "theorem 3.4.553" My only qualm with the book is that the (excellent) exercises have no solutions - but then again, that is a failing of most topology texts.
Greatest math textbook I've read December 2, 1999
31 out of 33 found this review helpful
This has to be the best textbook I've ever had for a class. Munkres is very clear and *detailed* in his proofs. Sadly, many authors skimp the details or brush aside technical difficulties, leaving the reader to fend for themselves. Even in chapter 8, when he actually relaxes and does a few 'picture proofs', he fills in more of the gaps than other authors, like Massey, do when covering homotopy, fundamental group etc. His detailed proofs provide a good role model for when you're doing the exercises.But this detail does not obfuscate matters. Munkres remains understandable. On the harder proofs he usually breaks things up into several steps, which keeps things readable. His examples are interesting, and his exercises range from easy to extremely difficult; actually most of them are of medium difficulty/somewhat hard variety. I really feel that I'm getting a good understanding of topology in my topology class, mainly because of this book. The challenging exercises give me confidence that my feeling is based on some actual fact. All in all, a good experience. Hmmm...I guess I better finish reading the proof of the Jordan Curve Theorem. And get cracking on those homework problems.
Excellent introduction: makes point set topology fun December 23, 1998
Kevin M. Iga (Pepperdine University (Malibu, CA))
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
This was my first introduction to point set topology as an undergraduate, and I enjoyed reading it even before taking the course.Although not a hot research topic (compared to the rest of topology), it is foundational and as such many have assumed that point set topology could only be presented as a dull prerequisite for more interesting mathematics. Munkres' book, though, treats it as a goal of itself, as a fun world to play in, and as such, has attracted many students to topology. It is recommended that a student first learn about metric spaces in a first-year undergraduate analysis class before learning about point set topology. Although the material is self-contained, the motivations for the definitions are hard to understand without knowing the more mundane examples.
Comprehensive book for General Topology October 19, 2006
anonymous
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is the text that my first graduate level topology class is using. Over all I find it very well written. The author uses good examples for motivation and explaination of the topics he covers. The exercises are also well thought out and instructive. They're challenging enough to make you really learn the material, but not so hard as to sway the only average mathematician from the subject. I highly recommend this book, even if it's not for your class. It'll be a welcome reference book to add to your math text collection!
Quite possibly the best text book written on any subject eve September 9, 2000
David Rudel (Charlottesville, VA)
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
I would give this book 10 stars if I could!Many books, especially those in the more theoretic regions of upper level mathematics are difficult to read, let alone use as a self-study text. The truth is that there is no real need for an instructor when using this book. The only book that I think may be its equal or better is Griffith's book on Electro-Magnetics. I have studied a great deal of mathematics, and I wish all the books I have laerned from (or tried!) were written HALF as well as this one. The content includes most, if not all, regions of fundamental point-set topology. There is next to know differential or algebraic topology, but there are other texts for that. The illustrations are extremely helpful (and I am not even a visual learner!). It would be difficult to give too much praise to this book, which is as comprehensive as it is lucid.
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