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It focuses on two fundamental questions in the theory of semisimple Lie groups: the geometry of Riemannian symmetric spaces and their compactifications; and branching laws for unitary representations, i.e., restricting unitary representations to (typically, but not exclusively, symmetric) subgroups and decomposing the ensuing representations into irreducibles.Ji's introductory chapter motivates the subject of symmetric spaces and their compactifications with carefully selected examples. A discussion of Satake and Furstenberg boundaries and a survey of the geometry of Riemannian symmetric spaces in general provide a good background for the second chapter, namely, the Borel–Ji authoritative treatment of various types of compactifications useful for studying symmetric and locally symmetric spaces. Borel–Ji further examine constructions of Oshima, De Concini, Procesi, and Melrose, which demonstrate the wide applicability of compactification techniques. Kobayashi examines the important subject of branching laws. Important concepts from modern representation theory, such as Harish–Chandra modules, associated varieties, microlocal analysis, derived functor modules, and geometric quantization are introduced. Concrete examples and relevant exercises engage the reader.