Smith (emeritus, mathematics, U. of Illinois-Chicago) has created a textbook from a graduate course he has taught several times in different universities. The course would typically be for second-year students who have completed first-year graduate algebra and are familiar with some basics of algebraic topology and combinatorics. The book should also be useful as a general reference, he says, though it is neither comprehensive or detailed. His topics include subgroup complexes as geometries for simple groups, homotopy equivalence, group cohomology and decompositions, spheres in homology and Quillen's conjecture, and local-coefficient homology and representation theory. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
