This book is a comprehensive survey of the current research in the field of cataclysmic variables and low-mass X-ray binaries. These compact binaries contain a Roche-lobe filling low-mass star and an accreting white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole. In the turbulent process of accretion, a broad and highly variable spectrum of radiation is produced. The interpretation of the behaviour of these binaries is the present work of hundreds of astronomers, many of whom contributed to this volume. Among the topics covered here are observations and theories of low-mass neutron star and black hole...