In 1994, when the International Cell Death Society was founded, programmed cell death and apoptosis had just recently been recognized as major factors in medicine, important in diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune diseases, and developmental anomalies. The biomedical world had accepted the idea that most cells do not die by accident: under specific conditions, they commit suicide, leading either to protection of the organism or damage to it. In the last 20 years, we have come to understand a great deal about cell death. It is a major research field, and one that is considered in all medical research. In this book, many of the pioneers and leading researchers recount, in often personal terms, how their particular specialties developed, where the field is today, and what it promises for the future, both in our understanding of human and animal development and for our control of these diseases and even of viral infection. The authors address apoptosis, programmed cell death, necroptosis, autophagy, and many other versions of cell death. This comprehensive work presents the state of the art in the field, yet is written in language that makes it accessible to specialists, to students, and to non-specialists interested in understanding the field. As a resource for the history of the field as well as for its current status and the direction into which research is heading, it serve as a standard for many years.