The present book strives for clarity and transparency. Rightfrom the begin-ning, it requires from the reader a willingness todeal with abstract concepts, as well as a considerable measure ofself-initiative. For these e&,rts, the reader will be richlyrewarded in his or her mathematical thinking abilities, and willpossess the foundation needed for a deeper penetration intomathematics and its applications.
This book is the first volume of a three volume introduction toanalysis. It de- veloped from. courses that the authors have taughtover the last twenty six years at the Universities of Bochum, Kiel,Zurich, Basel and Kassel. Since we hope that this book will be usedalso for self-study and supplementary reading, we have included farmore material than can be covered in a three semester sequence.This allows us to provide a wide overview of the subject and topresent the many beautiful and important applications of thetheory. We also demonstrate that mathematics possesses, not onlyelegance and inner beauty, but also provides efficient methods forthe solution of concrete problems.