Bass's Work in Ring Theory and Projective Modules

The early papers of Hyman Bass in the late 50s and the early 60s leading up to his pioneering work in algebraic K-theory have played an important and very special role in ring theory and the theory of projective (and injective) modules. In this article, we give a general survey of Bass's fundamental contributions in this early period of his work, and explain how much this work has influenced and shaped the thinking of subsequent researchers in the area.