Much has been written on the theory of discontinuous groups and automorphic functions since 1880, when the subject received its first formulation. The purpose of this book is to bring together in one place both the classical and modern aspects of the theory, and to present them clearly and in a modern language and notation. The emphasis in this book is on the fundamental parts of the subject.

The book is directed to three classes of readers: graduate students approaching the subject for the first time, mature mathematicians who wish to gain some knowledge and understanding of automorphic function theory, and experts.