Includes bibliographical references (p. 250-266) and index.

1. Why (2+1)-dimensional gravity?; 2. Classical general relativity in 2+1 dimensions; 3. A field guide to the (2+1)-dimensional spacetimes; 4. Geometric structures and Chern-Simons theory; 5. Canonical quantization in reduced phase space; 6. The connection representation; 7. Operator algebras and loops; 8. The Wheeler-DeWitt equation; 9. Lorentzian path integrals; 10. Euclidian path integrals and quantum cosmology; 11. Lattice methods; 12. The (2+1)-dimensional black hole; 13. Next steps; Appendix A. The topology of manifolds; Appendix B. Lorentzian metrics and causal structure; Appendix C. Differential geometry and fiber bundles; References; Index.

A survey of (2+1)-dimensional quantum gravity. The book emphasizes the "quantum cosmology" of closed universes and the quantum mechanics of the (2+1)-dimensional black hole. It compares and contrasts a variety of approaches, and examines what they imply for a realistic theory of quantum gravity. (Cambridge Monographs on Mathematical Physics)