The study of nonunique factorizations of elements into irreducible elements in commutative rings and monoids has emerged as an independent area of research only over the last 30 years and has enjoyed a recent flurry of activity and advancement. This book presents the proceedings of two recent meetings that gathered key researchers from around the world to review recent major results. The first seven chapters demonstrate the diversity of approaches taken in studying nonunique factorizations and serve both as an introduction to factorization theory and as a survey of current trends and results....