Here for the first time is a book that treats practically all aspects of modern research in interstellar matter astrophysics. 20 review articles and 40 carefully selected and refereed papers give a thorough overview of the field and convey the flavor of enthusiastic colloquium discussions to the reader. The book includes sections on: - Molecular clouds, star formation and HII regions - Mechanical energy sources - Discs, outflows, jets and HH objects - The Orion Nebula - The extragalactic interstellar medium - Interstellar matter at high galactic latitudes - The structure of the interstellar medium