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Rating: 
Summary: Not TOO complex
Review: A person with absolutely no knowledge of complex numbers could begin with page one of this book. However, I think that some exposure to analysis is helpful before finishing the first chapter, but not necessary. I found this book easier to read & understand than some real analysis books, yet it helped me further understand real analysis in the process. I'm sure this is due to mere repetition of some of those concepts over a different field. As the author mentions in his foreword, the first half of the book can be used as an undergraduate text (Jr/Sn years) and the second half can also, but I would NOT have enjoyed it in undergraduate studies. I found it worthy of a first course in complex numbers at the graduate level. I especially liked it after studying real numbers. The placement of the chapter subject matter can be altered (to some degree) to ones liking. I think Lang has provided good examples & problems. There's a solutions manual (by Rami Shakarchi) for this text somewhere. A brief discription of the chapters (some of them at least): Chp 1: basic definitions & operations, polar form, functions, limits, compact sets, differentiation, Cauchy-Riemann eqs, angles under holomorphic ("differentiable") maps. Chp 2: formal & convergent power series, analytic functions, inverse & open mapping thms., local maximum modulus principle Chp 3: connected sets, integrals over paths, primitives ("antiderivatives"), local Cauchy thm, etc Chp 4: winding numbers, global Cauchy Thm, Artin's proof Chp 5: Applications of Cauchy's integral formula, Laurent series Chp 6: Calculus of residues, evaluation of complex definate integrals, Fourier transforms, etc (fun stuff) Chp 7: Comformal mapping, Schwarz lemma, analytic automorphisms of the Disc Chp 8: Harmonic functions; Chp 9: Schwarz reflection; Chp 10: Riemann mapping theorem; (11): Analytic continuation along curves; (12) applications of Maximum Modulus Principle an Jensen's Formula; (13) Entire & Meromorphic functions; (14) elliptic functions; (15) Gamma & Zeta functions; (16) The Prime Number Theorem; and a handy appendix.
Rating:
Summary: Not TOO complex
Review: A person with absolutely no knowledge of complex numbers could begin with page one of this book. However, I think that some exposure to analysis is helpful before finishing the first chapter, but not necessary. I found this book easier to read & understand than some real analysis books, yet it helped me further understand real analysis in the process. I'm sure this is due to mere repetition of some of those concepts over a different field. As the author mentions in his foreword, the first half of the book can be used as an undergraduate text (Jr/Sn years) and the second half can also, but I would NOT have enjoyed it in undergraduate studies. I found it worthy of a first course in complex numbers at the graduate level. I especially liked it after studying real numbers. The placement of the chapter subject matter can be altered (to some degree) to ones liking. I think Lang has provided good examples & problems. There's a solutions manual (by Rami Shakarchi) for this text somewhere. A brief discription of the chapters (some of them at least): Chp 1: basic definitions & operations, polar form, functions, limits, compact sets, differentiation, Cauchy-Riemann eqs, angles under holomorphic ("differentiable") maps. Chp 2: formal & convergent power series, analytic functions, inverse & open mapping thms., local maximum modulus principle Chp 3: connected sets, integrals over paths, primitives ("antiderivatives"), local Cauchy thm, etc Chp 4: winding numbers, global Cauchy Thm, Artin's proof Chp 5: Applications of Cauchy's integral formula, Laurent series Chp 6: Calculus of residues, evaluation of complex definate integrals, Fourier transforms, etc (fun stuff) Chp 7: Comformal mapping, Schwarz lemma, analytic automorphisms of the Disc Chp 8: Harmonic functions; Chp 9: Schwarz reflection; Chp 10: Riemann mapping theorem; (11): Analytic continuation along curves; (12) applications of Maximum Modulus Principle an Jensen's Formula; (13) Entire & Meromorphic functions; (14) elliptic functions; (15) Gamma & Zeta functions; (16) The Prime Number Theorem; and a handy appendix.
Rating: 
Summary: sweet dude
Review: I dont like lang's algebra, ugrad linear algebra, or diff/riemannian manifolds books all that much, but i LOVED this one.
I think an undergrad with calculus and patience can read it.
there are characteristic lang-style things like research-oriented material, and he actually has examples. He covers topics towards the end of the book which arent common elsewhere, so i've never put it down. I am not a mathematician and I like this book. It's in one of my standard 8 books that I dont leave home without (4 physics 4 math)
Rating:
Summary: Wrong book!
Review: I have tried to tell you guys. My review you have published above is of the book of same name and publisher (but 2nd ed) by Bak and Newman! I did not review Serge Lang's book!
Rating:
Summary: Wrong book!
Review: I have tried to tell you guys. My review you have published above is of the book of same name and publisher (but 2nd ed) by Bak and Newman! I did not review Serge Lang's book!
Rating: 
Summary: A good book, but not for beginners.
Review: if you want an introduction to complex analysis, I advise you to pass on this book, and read Churchill and Brown's introductory book. Having said this, part I of Lang's book will seem mostly review if you follow my advice. Part II, on Geometric Function Theory, is more advance material that is presented reasonably well.
Rating:
Summary: A good book, but not for beginners.
Review: if you want an introduction to complex analysis, I advise you to pass on this book, and read Churchill and Brown's introductory book. Having said this, part I of Lang's book will seem mostly review if you follow my advice. Part II, on Geometric Function Theory, is more advance material that is presented reasonably well.
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