This 22nd volume in the series contains 15 invited reviews and highlight contributions from outstanding speakers presented during the 2009 annual meeting of the Astronomical Society on the subject of «Deciphering the Universe through Spectroscopy», held in Potsdam, Germany. Topics range from the measurements of magnetic fields on the surface of the sun via detailed measurements of abundances in stellar atmospheres to the kinematics of the universe at its largest scales. The result is a systematic overview of the latest astronomical and cosmological research.