Introducing M 87 -- The virgo cluster — home of M 87 -- M 87 as a galaxy -- M 87 as a younger progenitor galaxy in the virgo cluster -- The surface brightness fluctuations and globular cluster populations of M87 and its companions -- The large-scale structure of virgo A -- Spectral analysis of the large-scale radio emission of M 87 -- The structure of the radio halo -- The outer radio halo: Typical of atypical radio sources? -- The intracluster medium in the X-ray halo of M 87 -- ASCA observation of M 87 -- The large scale X-ray emission from M 87 -- Cluster turbulence -- M 87 and cooling flows -- The inner lobes of M 87 -- Magnetic fields and turbulence in the center of M 87 -- Extended emission-line gas in M 87 -- Radio observations of the M 87 jet -- VLA 7mm images of the M 87 jet -- High-frequency observations and spectrum of the jet in M 87 -- HST observations of the M 87 jet -- The synchrotron emission from the M87 jet -- Theory of the M 87 jet -- Kelvin-helmholtz instabilities and particle acceleration in jets -- On disks and jet(s) in the defunct quasar M 87 -- Motion and structure of relativistic jets -- The nuclear disk in M 87: A review -- The supermassive black hole of M 87 and the kinematics of its associated gaseous disk -- Morphology of the nuclear disk in M 87 -- The nuclear spectrum of M 87 -- The inner accretion disk in M 87 -- X-ray variability in M 87: 1992 – 1998 -- Closing comments.

This book gives both a comprehensive and detailed account of the current theoretical and observational investigations of the radio galaxy M87 in the Virgo cluster. A number of introductory chapters provide a general overview, which makes the book accessible also to non-specialists in the field. The remaining chapters are devoted to a detailed treatment of special topics covering all relevant aspects of the galactic structure and jet.