As befits one of the most common and popular tree fruits, the peach has in this volume been accorded a comprehensive and detailed coverage of the various aspects of its botany, breeding and cultivation.

The book consists of over 20 chapters written by international experts in the field, covering the botanical details and taxonomy of peach, breeding and cultivar development, rootstock development, crop management, propagation, nutrition and carbon assimilation, pathology and entomology, and pre-and post-harvest fruit quality. The breeding chapters cover both fresh and processing fruit, using both classical and molecular-based breeding. The latter chapter describes the use of peach as a model species for genomics research in the Rosaceae, and the significant progress in mapping, marker development and gene discovery that clearly will have an impact on future cultivar development. A fascinating chapter is devoted to the history of peach cultivation in its site of origin, China, from 6000–7000 bc to the present day as the world's largest producer. Overall, the chapter topics are well chosen, and their compilation gives a comprehensive overview.

The production is of a high standard although there is an anomaly with the figures – the book contains over 240 colour plates, of generally very good quality that repeat identical monochrome versions throughout the text. This is a minor quibble as the editors have produced a unique and valuable reference work containing a wealth of information across all key areas of this fruit. It will be of great use to specialist researchers and libraries, although the high price may put it beyond the reach of all but the most committed individuals.