This is a book of "impressions" of a journey through the theory of com- plex algebraic curves. It is neither self-contained, balanced, nor particularly tightly organized. As with any notebook made on a journey, what appears is that which strikes the writer's fancy. Some topics appear because of their compelling intrinsic beauty. Others are left out because, for all their impor- tance, the traveler found them boring or was too dull or lazy to give...