This textbook on homology and cohomology theory is geared towards the beginning graduate student. Singular homology theory is developed systematically, avoiding all unnecessary definitions, terminology, and technical machinery. Wherever possible, the geometric motivation behind various algebraic concepts is emphasized. The only formal prerequisites are knowledge of the basic facts of abelian groups and point set topology. Singular Homology Theory is a continuation of t he author's earlier book, Algebraic Topology: An Introduction, which presents such important supplementary material as the theory of the fundamental group and a thorough discussion of 2-dimensional manifolds. However, this earlier book is not a prerequisite for understanding Singular Homology Theory.

The main purpose of this book is to give a systematic treatment of singular homology and cohomology theory. It is in some sense a sequel to the author's previous book in this Springer-Verlag series entitled Algebraic Topology: An Introduction. This earlier book is definitely not a logical prerequisite for the present volume. However, it would certainly be advantageous for a prospective reader to have an acquaintance with some of the topics treated in that earlier volume, such as 2-dimensional manifolds and the funda mental group. Singular homology and cohomology theory has been the subject of a number of textbooks in the last couple of decades, so the basic outline of the theory is fairly well established. Therefore, from the point of view of the mathematics involved, there can be little that is new or original in a book such as this. On the other hand, there is still room for a great deal of variety and originality in the details of the exposition. In this volume the author has tried to give a straightforward treatment of the subject matter, stripped of all unnecessary definitions, terminology, and technical machinery. He has also tried, wherever feasible, to emphasize the geometric motivation behind the various concepts.

This introduction to some basic ideas in algebraic topology is devoted to the foundations and applications of homology theory. After the essentials of singular homology and some important applications are given, successive topics covered include attaching spaces, finite CW complexes, cohomology products, manifolds, Poincare duality, and fixed point theory. This second edition includes a chapter on covering spaces and many new exercises.

The book is a continuation of the previous book by the author (Elements of Combinatorial and Differential Topology, Graduate Studies in Mathematics, Volume 74, American Mathematical Society, 2006). It starts with the definition of simplicial homology and cohomology, with many examples and applications. Then the Kolmogorov-Alexander multiplication in cohomology is introduced. A significant part of the book is devoted to applications of simplicial homology and cohomology to obstruction theory, in particular, to characteristic classes of vector bundles. The later chapters are concerned with singular homology and cohomology, and Cech and de Rham cohomology. The book ends with various applications of homology to the topology of manifolds, some of which might be of interest to experts in the area. The book contains many problems; almost all of them are provided with hints or complete solutions.

Algebraic Topology and basic homotopy theory form a fundamental building block for much of modern mathematics. These lecture notes represent a culmination of many years of leading a two-semester course in this subject at MIT. The style is engaging and student-friendly, but precise. Every lecture is accompanied by exercises. It begins slowly in order to gather up students with a variety of backgrounds, but gains pace as the course progresses, and by the end the student has a command of all the basic techniques of classical homotopy theory.