Intuitive Topology (Mathematical World, Vol 4)

This book is an introduction to elementary topology presented in an intuitive way, emphasizing the visual aspect. Examples of nontrivial and often unexpected topological phenomena acquaint the reader with the picturesque world of knots, links, vector fields, and two-dimensional surfaces. The book begins with definitions presented in a tangible and perceptible way, on an everyday level, and progressively makes them more precise and rigorous, eventually reaching the level of fairlysophisticated proofs. This allows meaningful problems to be tackled from the outset. Another unusual trait of this book is that it deals mainly with constructions and maps, rather than with proofs that certain maps and constructions do or do not exist. The numerous illustrations are an essentialfeature. The book is accessible not only to undergraduates but also to high school students and will interest any reader who has some feeling for the visual elegance of geometry and topology.V.V. Prasolov is the author of 'Intuitive Topology (Mathematical World, Vol 4)', published 1995 under ISBN 9780821803561 and ISBN 0821803565.