Book excerpt: When Biology of the Red Algae was first published in 1990, it was the first comprehensive monograph to be written on the Rhodophyta in over fifteen years. This book presents an authoritative review on the state of knowledge on the biology of the red algae. Written by a group of 26 internationally renowned experts, the eighteen chapters of Biology of the Red Algae range from molecular and cellular to biochemical, physiological, organismal, and ecological aspects of this important group of algae. Together they will be of interest for students of oceanography and plant evolution.