Kirjahaku

From the Preface: "This book was written for the active reader. The first part consists of problems, frequently preceded by definitions and motivation, and sometimes followed by corollaries and historical remarks... The second part, a very short one, consists of hints... The third part, the longest, consists of solutions: proofs, answers, or contructions, depending on the nature of the problem.... This is not an introduction to Hilbert space theory. Some knowledge of that subject is a prerequisite: at the very least, a study of the elements of Hilbert space theory should proceed concurrently with the reading of this book."

“The theory is systematically developed by the axiomatic method that has, since von Neumann, dominated the general approach to linear functional analysis and that achieves here a high degree of lucidity and clarity. The presentation is never awkward or dry, as it sometimes is in other “modern” textbooks; it is as unconventional as one has come to expect from the author. The book contains about 350 well placed and instructive problems, which cover a considerable part of the subject. All in all this is an excellent work, of equally high value for both student and teacher.” Zentralblatt für Mathematik

A selection of the mathematical writings of Paul R. Halmos (1916 - 2006) is presented in two Volumes. Volume I consists of research publications plus two papers of a more expository nature on Hilbert Space. The remaining expository articles and all the popular writings appear in this second volume. It comprises 27 articles, written between 1949 and 1981, and also a transcript of an interview.

This volume and its companion present a selection of the mathematical writings of P. R. Halmos. The present volume consists of research publications plus two papers which, although of a more expository nature, were deemed primarily of interest to the specialist ("Ten Problems in Hilbert Space" (1970d), and" Ten Years in Hilbert Space" (1979b)). The remaining expository and all the popular writings are in the second volume. The papers in the present volume are arranged chronologically. As it happens, that arrangement also groups the papers according to subject matter: those published before 1950 deal with probability and measure theory, those after 1950 with operator theory. A series of papers from the mid 1950's on algebraic logic is excluded; the papers were republished by Chelsea (New York) in 1962 under the title" Algebraic Logic." This volume contains two introductory essays, one by Nathaniel Friedman on Halmos's work in ergodic theory, one by Donald Sarason on Halmos's work in operator theory. There is an essay by Leonard Gillman on Halmos's expository and popular writings in the second volume. The editors wish to express their thanks to the staff of Springer-Verlag. They are grateful also for the help of the following people: C. Apostol, W. B. Arveson, R. G. Douglas, C. Pearcy, S. Popa, P. Rosenthal, A. L. Shields, D. Voiculescu, S. Walsh. Berkeley, CA Donald E. Sarason vii WORK IN OPERATOR THEORY P. R. Halmos's first papers on Hilbert space operators appeared in 1950.