| Classical algebraic geometry, inseparably connected with the names of Abel, Riemann, Weierstrass, Poincaré, Clebsch, Jacobi and other outstanding mathematicians of the last century, was mainly an analytical theory. In our century the methods and ideas of topology, commutative algebra and Grothendieck's schemes enriched it and seemed to have replaced once and forever the somewhat naive language of classical algebraic geometry. This classic book, written in 1897, covers the whole of algebraic geometry and associated theories. Baker discusses the subject in terms of transcendental functions, and theta functions in particular. Many of the ideas put forward are of continuing relevance today, and some of the most exciting ideas from theoretical physics draw on work presented here. |
