Although the title implies that broad aspects of crop protection will be covered, the authors focus on the difficulties and progress over a 50-year period in the management and control of major insect pests of cotton in different countries. Bacterial, viral and fungal diseases of cotton are mentioned only in passing, without providing key references, and they are not even listed in the index, though weeds are featured to some extent. To be fair to the authors, they admit to this bias in the Preface.

The book is arranged in seven chapters, each presented in essay-style, with only a few references after each chapter. Chapter 3 ‘Stepping off the pesticide treadmill’ gives a good historical account of the evolution of chemical resistance in target pests treated repeatedly with insecticides, and the effects this has often had on secondary insect pests and their predators. Later chapters deal with the concepts of integrated control, biological control, optimizing varietal selection and the introduction of genetically modified crops carrying entomotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis with varying specificities. There then follow the concepts of ecologically based management of insect populations by natural predators, leading to agro-ecosystems that need to be economically and environmentally sustainable.

The book is described as of interest to ‘citizens of the 21^st century’, as well as students, practitioners, crop protection specialists and researchers, but priced at £55 it will probably not reach this wide readership.