Includes bibliographical references (p. 867-881) and indexes.

Observations of black hole engines: Recognizing black holes ; Macroquasars : supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies ; Microquasars : black holes (and neutron stars) of stellar mass in our galaxy ; Miniquasars : elusive black holes of intermediate mass -- Physics of black hole engines: Physics in everyday life : a review of Newtonian mechanics ; Geometry and physics without gravity : special relativity ; Physics in curved spacetime : general relativity and black holes ; Four-dimensional evolving geometry : gravitational waves and gravitational collapse ; Nuts and bolts of the black hole engine : general relativistic mechanics -- Astrophysics of black hole engines: Assembling the engine block : formation of black holes in the universe ; Fueling and carburetion : breakup and accretion of stars and gas clouds ; The combustion chamber : energy generation by gravitational accretion ; The thermal exhaust system : radiation- and thermally-driven winds and jets ; The non-thermal exhaust system I : rotating magnetospheres that drive the turbo exhaust ; The non-thermal exhaust system II : magnetic winds and jets -- Putting it all together : Black hole engines of all sizes -- Appendices.