  Hubble's view that the Local Group (LG) is "a typical, small group of nebulae
which is isolated in the general field" is confirmed by modern data. The total
number of certain and probable Group members presently stands at 35. The half-
mass radius of the LG is Rh = 350 kpc, and the zero-velocity surface has a
radius Ro = 1.18 +/- 0.15 Mpc. The total mass and mass-to-light ratio (in solar
units) of the LG are MLG = (2.3 +/- 0.6) x 10^12 Msol and 44 +/- 12, respect.
The solar motion with respect to the LG is 306 +/- 18 km/s, directed towards an
apex at (l,b)=(99 +/-5, -4 +/- 4). The velocity dispersion within the LG is
sigma = 61 +/- 8 km/s. The luminosity distribution of the LG has a slope -1.1
+/- 0.1. This value is significantly less negative than that for rich galaxy
clusters. The luminosity distribution of the dwarf spheroidal galaxies is
steeper than that for dwarf irregulars. Furthermore the dSph galaxies are
strongly concentrated within the Andromeda and Milky Way sub-clusters of the
LG, whereas the majority of dIr galaxies appear to be free-floating members of
the LG as a whole. With the possible exception of Leo I and Leo A, most LG
members appear to have started forming stars simultaneously ~15 Gyr ago. Many
of the galaxies, for which evolutionary data are available, seem to have shrunk
with time. This result is unexpected because HST observations appear to show
galaxies at z ~3 to be smaller than they are at z=0. In the LMC the rate of
cluster formation was low for a period that extended from ~12 Gyr to ~4 Gyr
ago. The rate of cluster formation may have increased more rapidly 3-5 Gyr ago,
than did the rate of star formation. The reason for the sudden burst of cluster
formation in the LMC ~4 Gyr ago remains obscure. [abridged]
