Polarized heavy ion beams (Li-6, Li-7, Na-23) have been in use as tools for the investigation of nuclear scattering and nuclear reactions for almost two decades. This review attempts to survey the research activities in this field with reference to nuclear structure, nuclear dynamics and reaction mechanisms. Besides reviewing the results from full quantum mechanical coupled channels analyses of data, special attention is paid to handwaving arguments and semiclassical pictures as a complementary way of obtaining a better understanding of the relevant physics.