We very much hope that this book will be read by the interested student (and not just be parked on a shelf for occasional consultation). If you want a comprehensive reference book on Group Theory, do not buy this text. There are much better books available, some of which are mentioned below. We have a tale to tell; the absolute essentials of the theory of groups, followed by some entertainments and some more advanced material. The theory of groups is an enormous body of material which interacts with other branches of mathematics at countless frontiers. Some parts of the theory are essentially complete, but in other areas all we see are questions. People happily read novels, so why not mathematics books? When math ematics was studied by only a few people, there was less need to try to write attractively or encouragingly since the likely readership consisted of a small group of highly motivated individuals who needed little encouragement. Even so, many talented academic writers managed to write brilliantly because they knew no other way. As higher education has opened up in economically devel oped countries, a much more diverse collection of people is exploring advanced mathematics and science. The challenge for authors is to produce books which engage this wider community without compromising the content.
