The theory of invariance of modules under automorphisms of their
envelopes and covers has opened up a whole new direction in the study of
module theory. It offers a new perspective on generalizations of
injective, pure-injective and flat-cotorsion modules beyond relaxing
conditions on liftings of homomorphisms. This has set off a flurry of
work in the area, with hundreds of papers using the theory appearing in
the last decade. This book gives the first unified treatment of the
topic. The authors are real experts in the area, having played a major
part in the breakthrough of this new theory and its subsequent
applications. The first chapter introduces the basics of ring and module
theory needed for the following sections, making it self-contained and
suitable for graduate students. The authors go on to develop and explain
their tools, enabling researchers to employ them, extend and simplify
known results in the literature and to solve longstanding problems in
module theory, many of which are discussed at the end of the book.