Circumstellar media in the late stages of stellar evolution

the long version

In the last throes of their lives, how do low- and high-mass stars interact with their immediate surroundings? How do asymmetric stellar winds and the circumstellar medium affect the shape of a nebula? How are supernovae affected by a dense medium? And what do we understand of how stellar winds interact with their environments? These and many other exciting issues are addressed in these proceedings, from the 34th Herstmonceux conference, held in Cambridge. Highlights of developments covered include the latest observations (including those with the Hubble Space Telescope) of stellar ejecta in planetary nebulae, novae, ring nebulae and supernovae, and a unified view of the physical processes involved; as well as the latest results on the media around supernovae 1987A and 1993J. This timely volume provides review articles that serve both as an excellent introduction for graduate students, and a handy reference for researchers; and up-to-date research papers for those who want to keep abreast of developments in the field.