Sorry to hear, that hits home. Yes, I meant Serge Lang's books. I think his linear algebra texts are pretty damn good and elegant. Shilov as well, in his own S

Sorry to hear, that hits home. Yes, I meant Serge Lang's books. I think his linear algebra texts are pretty damn good and elegant. Shilov as well, in his own Soviet math style. Check them out. I miss this simplicity and elegance in modern texts. Halmos is fantastic, but the typesetting is too antique and cramped. I would pay top Dollar for a newer version written in TeX, mimicking the style of mid 90s Springer Undergraduate Mathematics Series.