Joseph A. Gallian

This may be the best mathematics text I have ever learned from. The exploration of topics is very succinct and easily understood (still takes some serious thought to understand). It leads with examples and diagrams. It derives main results logically and they stand out from the rest of the text. The layout, font, and formatting are excellent and easy on the eyes. It also has many Beatles quotes -- a nice touch of levity. I've had many false starts with other texts, but this one drew me in show more completely. I judge other math books with this as a standard bearer now.

A small knock against this text is that the Hungerford book on Abstract Algebra does a better job of relating integer congruence to quotient groups. That text also has a nice chart relating integer, polynomial, ring, and group concepts. show less

This text was an excellent first pass at abstract algebra. There's a lot of exposition and a tremendous quantity of useful examples. There's a lot packed into the exercises. It's exceedingly readable.

I found this one very helpful in my study of this topic in grad school.