Washington (U. of Maryland-College Park) introduces the theory of elliptic curves to readers with a background in elementary number theory and in groups and fields at about the level of a strong undergraduate or beginning graduate course in abstract algebra; in particular, he does not assume any knowledge of algebraic geometry. He also covers applications of elliptic curves in number theory and cryptography as currently popular instances of one abstract and one concrete use. No date is cited for the first edition; this second devotes more attention to elementary material. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)