Along with classic papers by Fowler, Hoyle, and the Burbidges, this work stands as a key foundation in the development of nuclear astrophysics. Long out of print and very hard to find, this remarkable work has been edited and re-typeset by an atomic expert. Now available in an affordable paperback edition for the very first time, it addresses interrelated questions – What are stars? How does the sun shine? Why is gold so rare, and Where did the elements come from? – that have puzzled observers from time immemorial. Edited and re-typeset reprint of the original Atomic Energy of Canada, Ltd., 1957 edition.