"The MacLane–Birkhoff": an introduction to algebra
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The two authors’ names were sometimes reversed, but they always remained linked. How many American—and French—students learned the foundations of modern algebra by studying the books they wrote together!
Saunders MacLane (1909–2005) was the son of a minister. He immersed himself in the foundations of algebra and topology at the University of Göttingen, where he earned his doctorate in 1933. Back in the United States, he taught at Yale, then Harvard, and finally Chicago, devoting himself to the study of these subjects.
Garrett Birkhoff (1911–1996) was the son of mathematician George Birkhoff. He too developed a passion for algebra, set theory, and logic. He taught in the United States, first at Princeton and then at Harvard.
