Numbers and Symmetry: An Introduction to Algebra

This textbook presents modern algebra from the ground up using numbers and symmetry. Designed for a typical one-semester undergraduate course in modern algebra, it provides a gentle introduction to the subject by allowing students to see the ideas at work in accessible examples, rather than plunging them immediately into a sea of formalism. The student is involved at once with interesting algebraic structures, such as the Gaussian integers and the various rings of integers modulon, and is encouraged to take the time to explore and become familiar with those structures.