"The study of group actions on manifolds is the meeting ground of a variety of mathematical areas. In particular, interesting geometric insights can be obtained by applying measure-theoretic techniques. This book provides an introduction to some of the important methods, major developments, and open problems in the subject. It is slightly expanded from lectures given by Zimmer at the CBMS conference at the University of Minnesota. The main text presents a perspective on the field as it was at that time. Comments at the end of each chapter provide selected suggestions for further reading, including references to recent developments."--BOOK JACKET.