Book excerpt: Biology has entered the age of Big Data. The technical revolution has transformed the field, and extracting meaningful information from large biological data sets is now a central methodological challenge. Algebraic topology is a well-established branch of pure mathematics that studies qualitative descriptors of the shape of geometric objects. It aims to reduce questions to a comparison of algebraic invariants, such as numbers, which are typically easier to solve. Topological data analysis is a rapidly-developing subfield that leverages the tools of algebraic topology to provide robust multiscale analysis of data sets. This book introduces the central ideas and techniques of topological data analysis and its specific applications to biology, including the evolution of viruses, bacteria and humans, genomics of cancer and single cell characterization of developmental processes. Bridging two disciplines, the book is for researchers and graduate students in genomics and evolutionary biology alongside mathematicians interested in applied topology.