This is a very impressive and comprehensive single-authored treatise on many aspects of plant breeding in the genomics era. The author, Yunbi Xu, has extensive experience with the breeding of both rice and maize, and is to be congratulated on the major, and successful, effort required to produce this book.

The first chapter provides an effective introduction to the topic and is followed by comprehensive treatments of molecular tools (markers, maps, structural and functional genomics, populations (e.g. doubled haploids, recombinant inbred lines etc) and plant genetic resources (collection, characterisation etc).

Perhaps, the central and the most important sections of the book are chapters 6–9, which deal with the theory and practice of the molecular dissection of complex traits and of marker-assisted selection. The treatment here is clear and authoritative. Subsequent chapters deal with gene isolation and functional testing, transformation and transgenic crops and intellectual property issues in connection with plant variety protection.

The last two chapters are perhaps less expected but add considerable value to the book. Chapter 14 deals with ‘breeding informatics’: using an information-driven approach to plant breeding focusing on the integration of diverse data sets, from genome to Geographical Information System (GIS). The final chapter discusses decision support tools for breeding, including the role of modelling.

This book can be highly recommended to all those concerned with crop improvement and plant genetics.