  Physicists have pondered the origin of cosmic rays for over a hundred years.
However the last few years have seen an upsurge in the observation, progress in
the theory and a genuine increase in the importance attached to the topic due
to its intimate connection to the indirect detection of evidence for dark
matter. The intent of this talk is to set the stage for the meeting by
reviewing some of the basic features of the entire cosmic ray spectrum from GeV
to ZeV energy and some of the models that have been developed. The connection
will also be made to recent developments in understanding general astrophysical
particle acceleration in pulsar wind nebulae, relativistic jets and gamma ray
bursts. The prospects for future discoveries, which may elucidate the origin of
cosmic rays, are bright.
