This volume gathers lectures by 8 distinguished pioneers of automata theory, including two Turing Award winners. In each contribution, the early developments of automata theory are reminisced about and future directions are suggested. Although some of the contributions go into rather intriguing technical details, most of the book is accessible to a wide audience interested in the progress of the age of computers.The book is a must for professionals in theoretical computer science and related areas of mathematics. For students in these areas it provides an exceptionally deep view at the beginning of the new millennium.