"Taking a direct route, Essential Topology brings the most important aspects of modern topology within reach of a second-year undergraduate student. Based on courses given at the University of Wales Swansea, it begins with a discussion of continuity and, by way of many examples, leads to the celebrated "Hairy Ball theorem" and on to homotopy and homology: the cornerstones of contemporary algebraic topology." "Essential Topology contains enough material for two semester-long courses, and offers a one-stop-shop for undergraduate-level topology, leaving students motivated for postgraduate study in the field, and well prepared for it."--Jacket