"When we think about stars, many of us imagine single points of light. Yet in fact, nearly all stars are members of binary systems - coupled systems in which two gravitationally bound stars orbit around a common center of mass - and thus they play a central role in modern astrophysics. The evolution of binary stars over time leads to the production of pairs of compact objects in tight orbits (such as double neutron stars and double black holes), and to the formation of different types of violent cosmic events, such as novae, supernova explosions, gamma-ray bursts, mass transfer and accretion processes in X-ray binaries, and the formation of exotic millisecond pulsars. In some cases, the binary systems terminate as spectacular collisions between neutron stars and/or black holes, leading to the emission of powerful gravitational waves (as recently detected by LIGO). The coming decade is expected to reveal many discoveries of binary compact systems, including their progenitors and merger remnants, from major observational instruments, making the need for a modern text on the physics of binary star evolution acute. In this book, students and researchers will learn about the physics of binary interactions, from stellar birth to compact objects, and relate this knowledge to the latest observations. They will also learn about stellar structure and evolution, and detailed binary interactions covering a broad range of phenomena, including mass transfer and orbital evolution, formation and accretion onto compact objects (white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes) and their observational properties. Exercises following each main chapter will also be provided"-- Provided by publisher.