Theory of Algebraic Integers

Richard Dedekind; John Stillwell; John Stillwell
Cambridge University Press
 9780521565189
0-521-56518-9

The invention of ideals by Dedekind in the 1870s was well ahead of its time, and proved to be the genesis of what today we would call algebraic number theory. His memoir "Sur la Theorie des Nombres Entiers.

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Algebriques" first appeared in installments in the Bulletin des sciences mathematiques in 1877. This book is a translation of that work by John Stillwell, who adds a detailed introduction giving historical background and who outlines the mathematical obstructions that Dedekind was striving to overcome. Dedekind's memoir offers a candid account of the development of an elegant theory and provides blow by blow comments regarding the many difficulties encountered en route. This book is a must for all number theorists.