This book is written by international specialists on bipolar disorders. All fields of this topic are covered: the history and the evolution of concepts of bipolar disorders from ancient Greece to modern times. Original quotations of Hippocrates and Aretaeus of Cappadocia, the views of the European founders of modern psychiatry, and modern operational and biological data are considered. The role of personality, temperament, interactions, as well as of neurotransmitter, endocrinological factors and other biological parameters are extensively discussed together with genetic and epidemiological findings. Topics such as `soft spectrum disorders', mixed states, schizoaffective bipolars, and long-term prognosis are extensively considered, and the role of modern antipsychotics, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers is another main point of the book. Special aspects of children, adults, and women's disorders are also discussed. The costs of treatment of bipolar disorders are described in their own chapter. In this book can be found a combination of the classical use in literature of bipolar disorders with modern data-oriented use.