Basic Algebraic Geometry, Volume I, is a revised and expanded new edition of the first four chapters of Shafarevich's well-known introductory book on algebraic geometry. The author has added plenty of new, mostly concrete geometrical material such as Grassmannian varieties, plane cubic curves, the cubic surface, degenerations of quadrics and elliptic curves, the Bertini theorems, normal surface singularities. There are also some new number-theoretical applications. Shafarevich succeeds in making algebraic geometry accessible to non-specialists and beginners and his two-volume book will remain one of the most popular introductions to this field. The book is suitable for third-year undergraduates in mathematics and also for students of theoretical physics.

Contents

• Basic Notions
• Local Properties
• Divisors and Differential Forms
• Intersection Numbers
• Algebraic Appendix
• References