  This is the first in a series of papers giving a proof of the Kepler
conjecture, which asserts that the density of a packing of congruent spheres in
three dimensions is never greater than $\pi/\sqrt{18}\approx 0.74048...$. This
is the oldest problem in discrete geometry and is an important part of
Hilbert's 18th problem. An example of a packing achieving this density is the
face-centered cubic packing.
  This paper has a historical overview and a synopsis of the rest of the
series. The other papers in the series are math.MG/9811072, math.MG/9811073,
math.MG/9811074, math.MG/9811075, math.MG/9811076, math.MG/9811077, and
math.MG/9811078.
