The Curves seminar at Queen's Book

Commutative algebra has been very rightly considered the most-difficult general field of math and thus is one that is in especial need of good texts for the advanced student. By "good", such a text needs to both be written in clear prose and able to address its topics head-on, but also must be able to inter-relate its topics to other issues in maths that could be germane to further inquiry on the part of the reader. This text meets all the above goals in a masterful manner.