The book is divided into four parts. The first is about the plants and their genomes with basic but comprehensive information describing how plants are exploited by humans, what makes a plant different from another organism and how the plant genome is structured and organized. The second part describes how plants function. The third part is about plant manipulation, including domestication, plant breeding and genetic modification (GM) with a well-balanced description of different techniques of biotechnology. The author quite rightly points out that transgenesis is only one of the many biotechnology techniques used to improve agricultural performances in plants. The last part deals with the current plant biotechnology developments, its social context and future challenges.

The book is very well written, easy to read and well structured. Each chapter starts with an overview and finishes with a summary. Although the book covers a wide range of subjects, from plant genomics to plant function and breeding, the focus is always on biotechnology. The author's views are well balanced between the importance of the new GM technology and the reasonable doubts with single gene approaches. I agree with the author that transgenesis is likely to become increasingly useful in crop breeding as more trait-regulating genes are identified, but this approach will complement rather than replace non-transgenic technologies.

This book is highly suitable for the intended readers: senior level undergraduates, postgraduates studying for a degree in biology, plant science, agriculture, biotechnology, crop science or breeding. I also recommend it for everybody interested in crop improvement as a future challenge.