Reviews and integrates the many theories, perspectives and approaches in the field of autobiographical memory.

1. Introduction Dorthe Berntsen and David C. Rubin; Part I. Approaches to the Study of Autobiographical Memory: 2. The basic systems model of autobiographical memory David C. Rubin; 3. Identity, emotion, and the social matrix of autobiographical memory: a psychoanalytic narrative view Tilmann Habermas; 4. On the nature of autobiographical memory Martin A. Conway and Laura Jobson; 5. Reflections on autobiographical memory Alan Baddeley; Part II. Neural Studies of Autobiographical Memory: 6. The contribution of research on autobiographical memory to past and present theories of memory consolidation Morris Moscovitch; 7. Functional neuroimaging of autobiographical memory Peggy L. St Jacques; Part III. Social and Cultural Aspects of Autobiographical Memory: 8. Of sins and virtues: memory and collective identity William Hirst, Alexandra Cuc and Dana Wohl; 9. Historically defined autobiographical periods: their origins and implications Norman R. Brown, Tia G. B. Hansen, Peter J. Lee, Sarah A. Vanderveen and Fredrick G. Conrad; 10. Directive functions of autobiographical memory: theory and method David B. Pillemer and Kie J. Kuwabara; Part IV. Development of Autobiographical Memory from Infancy to Old Age: 11. The life I once remembered: the waxing and waning of early memories Patricia J. Bauer; 12. Subjective perspective and personal timeline in the development of autobiographical memory Robyn Fivush; 13. Theory and research in autobiographical memory: a life-span developmental perspective Joseph M. Fitzgerald and Carissa L. Broadbridge; Part V. Evolution and Basic Processes of Autobiographical Memory: 14. Evolutionary origins of autobiographical memory: a retrieval hypothesis Merlin Donald; 15. Spontaneous recollections: involuntary autobiographical memories are a basic mode of remembering Dorthe Berntsen; 16. Autobiographical memory and future thinking Arnaud D'Argembeau; Part VI. Discussion: 17. Understanding autobiographical memory: an ecological theory Dorthe Berntsen and David C. Rubin.