GALEX: Exploring Galaxy Evolution Far and Near

I review recent results from GALEX and complementary surveys, notably SDSS and Spitzer, on the properties and evolution of star forming galaxies. Key results include the UV-optical color magnitude diagram which clearly delineates the red and blue sequences, regularities in the UV properties of blue sequence galaxies and associated extinction, transition galaxies between the blue and red sequence, the nature of UV luminous galaxies that are local analogs to Lyman Break Galaxies, star formation in low mass environments, and the co-evolution of extinction and star formation over 0<z<1. I also will discuss a few exciting results from GALEX about stars, black holes, and the interstellar medium.