The problem of the formation and early evolutionof galaxiesis certainly one of the most excitingtopicsin astronomy today. With the recent
developments in observationalcapabilities a new generationof large telescopesand an increasedaccess to a wider range of the electromagneticspectrum, efficient detectors,Hubble Space Telescope, etc. - the directstudy of galaxiesin their firststagesofevolutionseems to come intoreach.But alsothe theoreticalbackground has evolved rapidlydue to model simulationson fastcomputers and constraintsset by important observationalfacts,such as the smoothness of the cosmic microwave background, deep galaxy counts and the detectionof quasars at very high redshift.