Our ideas about black holes are most often based on popular myths and a few well-known scientific facts. Describing the history of black hole research, Chris Impey easily debunks the most common misconceptions and opens the door to the mysterious world of distant stars and their invisible but influential companions. The history of astrophysics appears as a series of stunning discoveries made by several generations of passionate and talented scientists who were able to describe the past, the present and future of outer space, calculate the approximate location of the nearest black holes and guess what awaits the Universe in millions of years. A lively, fascinating narrative and detailed explanations make the book understandable for any reader - from a physicist to a schoolchild.