Theory of Groups

This book is designed to be used as a one-semester text. It evolved from a set oflectures that was to bridge the gap between the group theory presented in an introductory graduate algebra course and a serious pursuit of the subject.
The book should be suitable for independent study. The overall approach and the methods of proof are varied
but standard, and no novelties are introduced. Students have had little adjustment in the transition from this treatment to either special topics or reference works. Exercises are included with the original intent of the book in mind. For the most part, they are not difficult. In particular, this is true of the proofs of theorems and corollaries that have been left to the reader to complete. Most of the notation is standard. Since tensor products are not introduced in this text, the symbol used for the direct product should not cause confusion.