From the reviews: "... This is one of the few mathematical books, the reviewer has read from cover to cover ...The main merit is that nearly on every page you will find some unexpected insights... " Zentralblatt für Mathematik

"... There are few proofs in full, but there is an exhilarating combination of sureness of foot and lightness of touch in the exposition... which transports the reader effortlessly across the whole spectrum of algebra...Shafarevich's book - which reads as comfortably as an extended essay - breathes life into the skeleton and will be of interest to many classes of readers; certainly beginning postgraduate students would gain a most valuable perspective from it but... both the adventurous undergraduate and the established professional mathematician will find a lot to enjoy..." Math. Gazette