This book provides a concrete description of the identity connected components of the real and complex exceptional Lie groups. The constructions are elementary and improve on those of H. Freudenthal.

The complex simple Lie algebras were classified into classical (An, Bn, Cn, Dn) and exceptional (G2, F4, E6, E7, E8) types at the end of the 19th century by W. Killing and E. Cartan. These simple Lie algebras and the corresponding compact simple Lie groups arise in many settings in mathematics and physics. The exceptional Lie groups form an especially interesting class of objects that have attracted the attention of numerous mathematicians. Requiring no prior knowledge of composition algebras or Jordan algebras, the book will be valuable to anyone who wants to learn about the structure and realizations of these fascinating groups.