Book excerpt: Though the basic statistical theory behind modern genetics is not that difficult, most statistical genetics papers are not easy to read for beginners, and fitting formulae to a particular area of application quickly becomes very tedious. Introduction to Statistical Methods in Modern Genetics makes a clear distinction between the necessary and unnecessary complexities. The author keeps the derivations of methods simple without losing the mathematical details. He also provides the necessary background in modern genetics for newcomers to the field, including discussion ranging from biological and molecular experiments to gene hunting and genetic engineering.