Book excerpt: The harvest of Alaska king crabs in the North Pacific and Bering Sea reaches about 18 million pounds per year, one-tenth of the bonanza 1980s catch. While king crab stocks are recovering from the crash, efforts such as this book on standardizing data collection promise to further improve fishery management. Geared to fishery observers, shoreside samplers, shellfish researchers, and fishermen, the book is illustrated with line drawings, maps, and numerous color photos, and it is printed on waterproof paper. Topics include taxonomy, life history, distribution, anatomy, and diseases. The authors are expert crab biologists at Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the agency responsible for managing the crab fishery.