A basic theory of auctions

In these pages I will give some overview (and in some cases with details) of what is often known as Auction Theory. 

Given my history and the way I understood auctions, there are lot of things that are non-standard. In fact, auction theorists who have published in top journals will dismiss as theoretically unsound. However, at this point in life I have realized that the practical use of auctions is much more of an art than science (I think I picked up from what Paul Milgrom once said, but I cannot remember for sure). The mathematical theory is all good, but it is only means to an end. My understanding was clarified by looking through simple examples that my ordinary brain could visualize. So, in what unfolds (and this is a 5-year project for me so the unfolding will happen slowly) I will sometimes take the intuitive approach that helped me see things more clearly.