Book excerpt: "For any region, understanding historical botanical exploration, plant collection, and preserved specimens is critically important for research and conservation. In this book, Estrela Figueiredo and Gideon F. Smith, both botanists with expertise on the taxonomy of African plants, provide the first thorough and comprehensive account of plant collecting in Angola, a large country in south-tropical Africa. An essential book for anyone concerned with the biodiversity and history of Africa, this authoritative work offers insights on the lives, times, and endeavors of 358 collectors. In addition, the authors present analyses of the records that accompanied the collectors' preserved specimens. Illustrated in color throughout, the result fills a serious void in the current knowledge of the botanical and exploration history of Africa"--