This book reviews the subject of evolutionary phenomena in galaxies,
bringing together contributions by experts on all
the relevant physics and astrophysics necessary to understand galaxies and how they work.
The book is based on the proceedings of a conference held in July 1988
in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife which was timed to coincide with
the first year of operation of the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope.
The broad topics covered include formation of galaxies and their ages,
stellar dynamics, galactic scale gas and its role in star formation
and the production and distribution of the chemical elements within galaxies.
All the topics are dealt with by theorists as well as observers
so that it is possible to appreciate how successful is the confrontation between the two,
and where the major gaps in our understanding lie.
The book comprises some 25 review articles by leading practitioners in the field,
such as Rees, Renzini, Danziger, Matteucci, Pagel, Wielen, Arimoto, Beckman and Canal.
This is a comprehensive and didactic book which will be valuable to
researchers and students interested in the evolution of galaxies.