The unifying approach of functional analysis is to view functions as points in some abstract vector space and the differential and integral operators relating these points as linear transformations on these spaces. The author presents the basics of functional analysis with attention paid to both expository style and technical detail, while getting to interesting results as quickly as possible. The book is accessible to students who have completed first courses in linear algebra and real analysis. Topics are developed in their historical context, with accounts of the past - including biographies - appearing throughout the text. The book offers suggestions and references for further study, and many exercises.

Karen Saxe is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. Before joining the faculty at Macalester, she held a two-year FIPSE post-doctoral position at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. She currently serves on the editorial board of the MAA's College Mathematics Journal. This is her first book.