Holomorphic curves in algebraic varieties of maximal albanese dimension

We prove a second main theorem type estimate in Nevanlinna theory for holomorphic curves f : Y → X from finite covering spaces Y → ℂ of the complex plane ℂ into complex projective manifolds X of maximal albanese dimension. If X is moreover of general type, then this implies that the special set of X is a proper subset of X. For a projective curve C in such X, our estimate also yields an upper bound of the ratio of the degree of C to the geometric genus of C, provided that C is not contained in a proper exceptional subset in X.