T Tauri stars - Wild as dust

T Tauri stars (TTSs), their surroundings, and their common evolution toward the main sequence are discussed. The photospheric properties of TTSs and their solar-type outer atmospheres, recent evidence for circumstellar disks around classical TTSs (CTTSs), and CTTS mass outflows are examined. TTSs are depicted as complex systems whose properties depend mostly on the initial conditions of star formation and on their rotation rates, which appear to control the magnetodynamic activity in the stars. The most exotic traits of CTTSs are primarily due to the disk and its interaction with the star, and the properties of weak-line TTSs (WTTSs) are mainly manifestations of the enhanced solar-type magnetic activity expected from their rotation rates. CTTSs are expected to become WTTSs when their disks dissipate. 217 refs