Recent work has shown the previous conceptions of the mass and radius of the Milky Way Galaxy to be significantly in error. The present paper discusses various aspects of the current efforts to understand the Milky Way Galaxy which have resulted in new values for the galactic radius and mass. Consideration is given to theoretical and observational evidence for an extended and massive halo or galactic corona, observations of the central bulge of the galaxy, the structure and stellar composition of the spiral arms at optical and radio wavelengths, examinations of the ages and evolution of globular clusters, investigations of star formation in molecular complexes, and star formation in dark globules. Finally, the work remaining to be done is illustrated by the question of the formation of the stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud in the absence of molecular hydrogen and cosmic dust.