Interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes, edited by D. T. J. Littlewood and R. A. Bray. Taylor and Francis Publishing, New York, New York. 2001. $125.00. ISBN 0-7484-0903-3.
This is an ambitious work that is designed and organized well, bringing together 49 contributors from 18 countries, including both veterans of the discipline and relative newcomers. There are 27 chapters divided into 4 major sections: the origins of the phylum, the free-living groups, the parasitic groups, and characters/techniques. This is not a textbook, but an expert's reference work. There is no gigantic cladogram that puts to rest, at least temporarily, the classification of members of this phylum. There is no long list of classes, orders, families, and genera, together with descriptions and diagnostics. This is more a state-of-the-union speech than a victory speech. There will be few, if any, people who need or appreciate all chapters equally, but one of the real accomplishments...