[Math] Best Algebraic Topology book/Alternative to Allen Hatcher free book

algebraic-topologybook-recommendationreference-request

Allen Hatcher seems impossible and this is set as the course text?

So was wondering is there a better book than this? It's pretty cheap book compared to other books on amazon and is free online.

Any good intro to Algebraic topology books?

I can find a big lists of Algebraic geometry books on here. On a very old thread on Maths overflow someone recommended that a person should read James Munkres Topology first, then you should read Allen Hatcher book.

It just seems like Rudin's book but crammed with ten times more material.

Best Answer

I'm with Jonathan in that Hatcher's book is also one of my least favorite texts. I prefer Bredon's "Topology and Geometry."

For all the people raving about Hatcher, here are some my dislikes:

  1. His visual arguments did not resonate with me. I found myself in many cases more willing to accept the theorem's statement as fact than certain steps in his argument.
  2. He uses $\Delta$ complexes, which are rarely used.
  3. I would have preferred a more formal viewpoint (categories are introduced kind of late and not used very much).
  4. There aren't many examples that are as difficult as some of the more difficult problems.