It has not been possible to rewrite the entire book for this Second Edition.It would have been gratifying to resurvey the theory of topo—logical groups in the light of progress made in the
period 1962——1978, to amplify some sections and curtail others, and in general to profit from our experience since the book was published.Market conditions and other commitments incurred by the
authors have dictated otherwise.We have nonetheless taken advantage of the kindness of Springer—Verlag to make a number of improvements in the text and of course to correct misprints and
mathematical blunders.