Preface; Introduction: Comparison of ionic and radical polymerizations; Developments of ionic polymerization; Living and dormant polymers; Polymerizability and the monomer--living polymer equilibria; Ionic species: Formation of ions; Ionophores and ionogens, ion-pairs and covalent species; Free ions and ion-pairs; Different types of ion-pairs; Equilibria between free ions and ion-pairs: conductance studies; Heat and entropy of dissociation of ion-pairs; Triple ions; Higher ionic aggregates; Dynamics of interconversions between ionic species; Initiation and propagation of ionic polymerization: General remarks; Initiation and propagation induced by salts; Initiation and propagation involving lithium alkyls; Initiation of cationic polymerization by protonic acids: role of esters (including halides); Initiation of polymerization by Lewis bases and acids: problem of Zwitterions; Initiation of cationic polymerization by Friedel-Crafts reagents with co-initiators; Initiation of polymerization by electron-transfer and related topics; Polymerization initiated by high energy radiation; Initiators involving Al, Fe, Zn, and other metallo-organics; Activated monomer mechanism; Elementary steps of polymerization other than initiation or propagation: Termination; Intramolecular proton or hydride ion transfer and other isomerizations; ``Wrong'' monomer addition; Chain-transfer; Proton traps; Polymerization of isobutane initiated by cumyl chloride and its analogues; ring-chain competitions; Ionic copolymerization: General schemes of copolymerization and the crossover constants; Reactivity and basicity of monomers; Reactivity ratios: composition of copolymer and feed; Copolymerization and homopolymerization; System Li-polystyryl and Li-polybutadienyl in hydrocarbon solvents; Consequences of equilibria between unreacted aggregates and reactive nonassociated polymers: mixed dimerizations; Reversible co-polymerization: system 2-vinyl naphthalene-styrene; Cationic co-polymerizations; Index.