This update of the 1989 textbook by Osterbrock (emeritus, astrophysics, Lick Observatory, U. of California, Santa Cruz) adds Ferland (physics and astronomy, U. of Kentucky) as coauthor and new data in the field of ionized-gas astrophysics. Emphasizing the observation and analysis of data over a wide range of spectral regions, coverage includes the fundamentals plus new observations from infrared astronomy and X-ray astronomy and new images from the Hubble Space Telescope and large ground-based telescopes. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)