The first, long-awaited volume of a series that may become as important in our times as Engler & Prantl’s Pflanzenfamilien have been, if it can be finished within a reasonable time. Authors and especially editors must be congratulated. The authorship of this volume is shared by 29 collaborators: K.U. Kramer and 20 others produced the Pteridophyte families, C.N. Page the Conifers, L.A.S. Johnson & K.L. Wilson the Cycads, and K. Kubitzki the Gnetales. Chapters on Chemosystematics and on Conservation show another 4 authors.