This is the first book to link the mod 2 Steenrod algebra, a classical object of study in algebraic topology, with modular representations of matrix groups over the field F of two elements. The link is provided through a detailed study of Peterson's 'hit problem' concerning the action of the Steenrod algebra on polynomials, which remains unsolved except in special cases. The topics range from decompositions of integers as sums of 'powers of 2 minus...