This text provides a modern introduction to a central part of mathematical analysis. It can be used as a self-contained textbook for beginner courses in functional analysis. In its last chapter recent results from the theory of Frechet spaces are presented.

This book was written for students of mathematics and physics who have a basic knowledge of analysis and linear algebra. It can be used as a textbook for courses and/or seminars in functional analysis. Starting from metric spaces, it proceeds quickly to the central results of the field, including the theorem of Hahn-Banach. The spaces (p Lp (X, (), C(X)' and Sebolov spaces are introduced. A chapter on spectral theory contains the Riesz theory of compact operators, basic facts on Banach and C-algebras, and the spectral representation for bounded normal and unbounded self-adjoint operators for Hilbert spaces. A discussion of locally convex spaces and their duality theory provides the basis for a comprehensive treatment of Frechet spaces and their duals.

The book can be warmly recommended to graduate students of mathematics and physics and also everybody interested in functional analysis.