"He is beautiful and radiant with great splendor ... " St. Francis, from Cantico del sole Two decades have elapsed since the publication of Solar Prominences, 20 years that have seen a nearly phenomenal increase in the interest, as well as the infor mation, concerning these fascinating and beautiful manifestations of solar ac tivity. During this period many meetings have been held, and several books and proceedings have been published, all dealing with specific aspects of solar prominences. However, no unifying and comprehensive accord has appeared. Recently some of my colleagues suggested...

o beaute sans seconde SeuIe sembIabIe Ii toi SOLEIL pour tout Ie monde ...JEAN-FRANc;OIS SARASIN (1615-1654) The last decade has seen the publication of monographs covering most areas of solar activity: flares (Smith and Smith, 1963), sunspots (Bray and Loughhead, 1964) and the corona (Billings, 1966). Consequently, of all the major manifestations of solar activity only prominences are without a comprehensive and unified treatment in the current literature. The present book is written in an attempt to remedy this situation, and to furnish an account of some of the most spectacular and most...