Luis Ho received his undergraduate education at Harvard University and his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently a Staff Astronomer at the Carnegie Observatories, where he conducts research on black holes, accretion physics in galactic nuclei, and star formation processes.

Review of the hardback: 'Anyone seriously considering research in this field would do well to make this their starting point, while those like me, who work in neighbouring ones, will certainly benefit from dipping into it. Go and ask your library to order one. Better still, ask them to order all four volumes!' The Observatory

• 1. The stellar-dynamical search for supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei John Kormendy; 2. Black holes in active galaxies Aaron J. Barth; 3. Intermediate-mass black holes in the universe: a review of formation theories and observational constraints Roeland P. Van den Marel; 4. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Andrea M. Ghez; 5. The first nonlinear structures and the reionization history of the universe Zoltan Haiman; 6. Adiabatic growth of massive black holes Steinn Sigurdsson; 7. Formation of supermassive black holes: simulations in general relativity Stuart L. Shapiro; 8. Gas-dynamical processes in dense nuclei Cathie J. Clarke; 9. Formation of massive black holes in dense star clusters Frederic A. Rasio, Marc Freitag and M. Atakan Gürkan; 10. Accretion onto black holes Roger D. Blandford; 11. QSO lifetimes Paul Martini; 12. Fueling gas to the central region of galaxies Keiichi Wada; 13. The AGN-disk dynamics connection J. A. Sellwood and Juntai Shen; 14. Black holes and the central structure of early-type galaxies Tod R. Lauer; 15. The inner properties of late-type galaxies C. Marcella Carollo; 16. Influence of black holes on stellar orbits Karl Gebhardt; 17. Single and binary black holes and their influence on nuclear structure David Merritt; 18. Supermassive black holes: demographics and implications Douglas Richstone; 19. Black hole demography from nearby active galactic nuclei Luis C. Ho; 20. The evolution of quasars Patrick S. Osmer; 21. Quasar hosts and the black hole-spheroid connection James S. Dunlop; 22. Star formation in active galaxies Timothy M. Heckman; 23. AGN feedback mechanism Mitchell C. Begelman; 24. Pieces of the galaxy formation puzzle: where do black holes fit in? Rachel S. Somerville; 25. Joint formation of supermassive black holes and galaxies Martin G. Haehnelt; 26. The formation of spheroidal stellar systems Andreas Burkert and Thorsten Naab; 27. Massive black holes, gravitational waves and pulsars Donald C. Backer, Andrew H. Jaffe and Andrea N. Lommen; 28. Obscured active galactic nuclei and obscured accretion Andrew C. Fabian; 29. Conference summary P. Tim de Zeeuw.

Luis Ho received his undergraduate education at Harvard University and his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently a Staff Astronomer at the Carnegie Observatories, where he conducts research on black holes, accretion physics in galactic nuclei, and star formation processes.

Review of the hardback: 'Anyone seriously considering research in this field would do well to make this their starting point, while those like me, who work in neighbouring ones, will certainly benefit from dipping into it. Go and ask your library to order one. Better still, ask them to order all four volumes!' The Observatory

• 1. The stellar-dynamical search for supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei John Kormendy; 2. Black holes in active galaxies Aaron J. Barth; 3. Intermediate-mass black holes in the universe: a review of formation theories and observational constraints Roeland P. Van den Marel; 4. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Andrea M. Ghez; 5. The first nonlinear structures and the reionization history of the universe Zoltan Haiman; 6. Adiabatic growth of massive black holes Steinn Sigurdsson; 7. Formation of supermassive black holes: simulations in general relativity Stuart L. Shapiro; 8. Gas-dynamical processes in dense nuclei Cathie J. Clarke; 9. Formation of massive black holes in dense star clusters Frederic A. Rasio, Marc Freitag and M. Atakan Gürkan; 10. Accretion onto black holes Roger D. Blandford; 11. QSO lifetimes Paul Martini; 12. Fueling gas to the central region of galaxies Keiichi Wada; 13. The AGN-disk dynamics connection J. A. Sellwood and Juntai Shen; 14. Black holes and the central structure of early-type galaxies Tod R. Lauer; 15. The inner properties of late-type galaxies C. Marcella Carollo; 16. Influence of black holes on stellar orbits Karl Gebhardt; 17. Single and binary black holes and their influence on nuclear structure David Merritt; 18. Supermassive black holes: demographics and implications Douglas Richstone; 19. Black hole demography from nearby active galactic nuclei Luis C. Ho; 20. The evolution of quasars Patrick S. Osmer; 21. Quasar hosts and the black hole-spheroid connection James S. Dunlop; 22. Star formation in active galaxies Timothy M. Heckman; 23. AGN feedback mechanism Mitchell C. Begelman; 24. Pieces of the galaxy formation puzzle: where do black holes fit in? Rachel S. Somerville; 25. Joint formation of supermassive black holes and galaxies Martin G. Haehnelt; 26. The formation of spheroidal stellar systems Andreas Burkert and Thorsten Naab; 27. Massive black holes, gravitational waves and pulsars Donald C. Backer, Andrew H. Jaffe and Andrea N. Lommen; 28. Obscured active galactic nuclei and obscured accretion Andrew C. Fabian; 29. Conference summary P. Tim de Zeeuw.

Luis Ho received his undergraduate education at Harvard University and his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently a Staff Astronomer at the Carnegie Observatories, where he conducts research on black holes, accretion physics in galactic nuclei, and star formation processes.

Review of the hardback: 'Anyone seriously considering research in this field would do well to make this their starting point, while those like me, who work in neighbouring ones, will certainly benefit from dipping into it. Go and ask your library to order one. Better still, ask them to order all four volumes!' The Observatory

• 1. The stellar-dynamical search for supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei John Kormendy; 2. Black holes in active galaxies Aaron J. Barth; 3. Intermediate-mass black holes in the universe: a review of formation theories and observational constraints Roeland P. Van den Marel; 4. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Andrea M. Ghez; 5. The first nonlinear structures and the reionization history of the universe Zoltan Haiman; 6. Adiabatic growth of massive black holes Steinn Sigurdsson; 7. Formation of supermassive black holes: simulations in general relativity Stuart L. Shapiro; 8. Gas-dynamical processes in dense nuclei Cathie J. Clarke; 9. Formation of massive black holes in dense star clusters Frederic A. Rasio, Marc Freitag and M. Atakan Gürkan; 10. Accretion onto black holes Roger D. Blandford; 11. QSO lifetimes Paul Martini; 12. Fueling gas to the central region of galaxies Keiichi Wada; 13. The AGN-disk dynamics connection J. A. Sellwood and Juntai Shen; 14. Black holes and the central structure of early-type galaxies Tod R. Lauer; 15. The inner properties of late-type galaxies C. Marcella Carollo; 16. Influence of black holes on stellar orbits Karl Gebhardt; 17. Single and binary black holes and their influence on nuclear structure David Merritt; 18. Supermassive black holes: demographics and implications Douglas Richstone; 19. Black hole demography from nearby active galactic nuclei Luis C. Ho; 20. The evolution of quasars Patrick S. Osmer; 21. Quasar hosts and the black hole-spheroid connection James S. Dunlop; 22. Star formation in active galaxies Timothy M. Heckman; 23. AGN feedback mechanism Mitchell C. Begelman; 24. Pieces of the galaxy formation puzzle: where do black holes fit in? Rachel S. Somerville; 25. Joint formation of supermassive black holes and galaxies Martin G. Haehnelt; 26. The formation of spheroidal stellar systems Andreas Burkert and Thorsten Naab; 27. Massive black holes, gravitational waves and pulsars Donald C. Backer, Andrew H. Jaffe and Andrea N. Lommen; 28. Obscured active galactic nuclei and obscured accretion Andrew C. Fabian; 29. Conference summary P. Tim de Zeeuw.