Inverse Galois Theory is concerned with the question of which finite groups occur as Galois Groups over a given field. In particular, this includes the question of the structure and the representations of the absolute Galois group of K and also the question about its finite epimorphic images, the so-called inverse problem of Galois theory. In all these areas important progress was made in the last few years. The aim of the book is to give a consistent and reasonably complete survey of these results, with the main emphasis on the rigidity method and its applications. Among others the...