Includes bibliographical references (p. [125]-133) and indexes.

1. The cosmological framework. Large-scale structure: how homogeneous is the universe? High-redshift objects. Pre-galactic history. Status of the hot-big-bang hypothesis -- 2. Galaxies and dark matter. What are galaxies? What is special about galactic dimensions? Dark matter. What can the dark matter be? How to discriminate among dark-matter options -- 3. Emergence of cosmic structure. Gravitational instability. The fluctuation spectrum at t[subscript rec]. Is the universe flat? Classical methods for determining [Omega]. Clues from the microwave background. Dissipative effects for the baryon component. Is any simple hypothesis compatible with all the data? -- 4. Quasars and their demography. Quasars and the epoch of galaxy formation. How many quasars have there been? Quasar masses and efficiencies. Dead quasars: massive black holes in nearby galaxies. Binary black holes? Cosmogonic interpretations of quasar evolution - some speculations --

5. Some probes and relics of the high-redshift universe. Quasars as probes of intervening gas. The epoch z > 5. Magnetic fields. Cosmic strings -- 6. Some fundamental questions. Gravity. The ultra-early universe. Flatness and the horizon problem. Inflationary models.