Volker Runde obtained his Diplom at Münster (Germany), his PhD at UC Berkeley, and the Habilitation at Saarbrücken (Germany). Since 1999, he has been a professor of mathematics at the University of Alberta. His research centers around Banach algebras, their rôle in abstract harmonic analysis and, in particular, the phenomenon of amenability. Among his previous books are the popular Lectures on Amenability, of which the present volume is a greatly expanded update.

Preface.- List of Symbols.- Introduction.- 0 Paradoxical Decompositions.- 1 Amenable, Locally Compact Groups.- 2 Amenable Banach Algebras.- 3 Examples.- 4 Amenability-Like Properties.- 5 Dual Banach Algebras.- 6 Banach Homological Algebra.- 7 Operator Algebras on Hilbert Spaces.- 8 Operator Amenability.- A Banach Spaces.- B Banach Algebras.- C C*- and Neumann Algebras.- D Abstract Harmonic Analysis.- E Operator Spaces.- F Fourier and Fourier-Stieltjes Algebras.- References.- Index¿ of Names.- Index.