I recently ordered this book, which was much thinner than I expected, only 230 pages (I didn't realize this information was already online!). When I study a math subject I like to understand it well, meaning that a lot of content is covered, and it looks like not a lot is covered in this book. The table of contents is:
- Things Familiar and Less Familiar (just reviewing some stuff required for the book)
- Groups
- The Symmetric Group
- Ring Theory
- Fields
- Special Topics (Optional)
As you can see, not much is covered as, say, A First Course in Abstract Algebra. I already did Calc 1, 2, and 3, and an intro-to-proofs book. I'm also studying linear algebra using a theory-based book right now, if that helps.
My question is: Is this book right for me? The only reason I chose it was because of the author's informal style, but as I'm typing this I'm realizing that I'm actually surviving a theory-based linear algebra textbook (which is indeed formal) so now I'm reconsidering the book before I decide to commit to it long-term (I don't know if "long-term" is the right term since it's so short ).
So should I go for it? If so, then what other book can I use after this one?