内容简介

　　This book is intended to complement my Elements of Algebra, and it is similarly motivated by the problem of solving polynomial equations.However, it is independent of the algebra book, and probably easier. In Elements of Algebra we sought solution by radicals, and this led to theconcepts of fields and groups and their fusion in the celebrated theory of Galois. In the present book we seek integer solutions, and this leads to the concepts of rings and ideals which merge in the equally celebrated theo of ideals due to Kummer and Dedekind.
Solving equations in integers is the central problem of number theory,so this book is truly a number theory book, with most of the results found in standard number theory courses. However, numbers are best understood through their algebraic structure, and the necessary algebraic concepts--rings and ideals--have no better motivation than number theory.