by Gilbert Chauvet (Ecole Pratique des Hautes Études & CHU Angers, France)

The topic of the book — a theory of functional biology that incorporates the fundamental principles underlying the functioning of living organisms — is clearly appropriate as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery by Watson and Crick of the structure of the DNA molecule. 'The Mathematical Nature of the Living World: The Power of Integration' is here to remind us that the world of biology is anchored in the world of mathematics and physics, and that, to understand the living world, we need to incorporate the laws of the nonliving matter. In particular, an important emphasis of the book concerns the relationships between structure and function, a point so well illustrated by the work of Watson and Crick. A nice aspect of Chauvet's book is that he does place his work and his approach in a general framework and historical background of the work performed by pioneers in a variety of fields ranging from physics to biology. As such, the book should be of general interest to a wide range of readers, from college students interested in integrating biology with physics and mathematics, to general readers curious to know more about the differences between the living world and the nonliving matter, to professional scientists and teachers concerned with more specific questions regarding relationships between structure and function in biology.