Publisher's Synopsis
Matroids, first defined in 1935, are an abstract generalization of graphs and matrices. By now, there is a large body of matroid theory. The book covers the part of the theory dealing with composition and decomposition of matroids. The book is a revised version of the original publication of 1992. It does not assume any prior knowledge of matroid theory. Indeed, for the reader unfamiliar with matroid theory, the book may serve as an easy and intuitive introduction to that beautiful part of combinatorics. For the expert, the book is intended to provide a pleasant tour over familiar terrain.
