This book with 20 chapters and 34 contributors provides researchers and students with information arranged in sections on history and importance, botany, genetics and physiology, production, utilization and marketing and trade of soybean. Considering the global importance of this crop as number one in production among legumes, this is an ambitious book. It is largely well written/edited and is packed with valuable information for researchers. All the chapters are well supported by extensive lists of relevant references. The objectives have been achieved to a large extent with some very informative chapters such as Chapter 1: The origin and history of soybeans; chapter 6: Soybean yield physiology: principles and processes of yield production; and chapter 20: Global soybean marketing and trade: A situation and outlook analysis. However, some chapters tend to be more regional, such as Chapter 4: Soybean genetic resources. Others such as Chapter 12: Storage of soybean, place much more emphasis on a single point like ‘drying’.

Bridging traditional research on soybean with modern molecular investigations is the current thrust and areas where the coverage of this book could have provided more value and understanding are: genetics; management of abiotic stresses; breeding for biotic and abiotic stress adaptation; newly introduced varieties, and quality and modern tools for breeding and adaptation to global warming.