An introduction to homotopy theory

Abstract

Since the introduction of homotopy groups by Hurewicz in 1935, homotopy theory has occupied a prominent place in the development of algebraic topology. This monograph provides an account of the subject which bridges the gap between the fundamental concepts of topology and the more complex treatment to be found in original papers. The first six chapters describe the essential ideas of homotopy theory: homotopy groups, the classical theorems, the exact homotopy sequence, fibre-spaces, the Hopf invariant, and the Freudenthal suspension. The final chapters discuss J. H. C. Whitehead’s cell-complexes and their application to homotopy groups of complexes.