The author presents the fundamentals of the ergodic theory of point transformations and several advanced topics of intense research. The study of dynamical systems forms a vast and rapidly developing field even when considering only activity whose methods derive mainly from measure theory and functional analysis. Each of the basic aspects of ergodic theory--examples, convergence theorems, recurrence properties, and entropy--receives a basic and a specialized treatment. The author's accessible style and the profusion of exercises, references, summaries, and historical remarks make this a useful book for graduate students or self study.