Color transparency: Past, present and future

We review a unique prediction of Quantum Chromo Dynamics, called color transparency (CT), where the final (and/or initial) state interactions of hadrons with the nuclear medium must vanish for exclusive processes at high momentum transfers. We retrace the progress of our understanding of this phenomenon, which began with the discovery of the J/psi meson, followed by the discovery of high energy CT phenomena, the recent developments in the investigation of the onset of CT at intermediate energies and the directions for future studies. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.