The theory of normal families is more than 100 years old. It has played a seminal role in the function theory of complex variables. It was used in the first rigorous proof of the Riemann mapping theorem. It is used to study automorphism groups of domains, geometric analysis, and partial differential equations.

The theory of normal families led to the idea, in 1957, of normal functions as developed by Lehto and Virtanen. This is the natural class of functions for treating the Lindelof principle. The latter is a key idea in the boundary behavior of holomorphic functions.

This book treats normal families, normal functions, the Lindelof principle, and other related ideas. Both the analytic and the geometric approaches to the subject area are offered. The authors include many incisive examples.

The book could be used as the text for a graduate research seminar. It would also be useful reading for established researchers and for budding complex analysts.