Karl J. Niklas is the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Plant Biology in the Department of Plant Biology at Cornell University. He is the author of Plant Biomechanics, Plant Allometry, and The Evolutionary Biology of Plants, all published by the University of Chicago Press. Hanns-Christof Spatz is professor emeritus of biophysics in the Faculty of Biology at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg in Germany.
Karl J. Niklas and Hanns-Christof Spatz have written a remarkable book, unique in the field of biomechanics. Starting from basic physical principles, it explains a wide range of phenomena in plants, from fluid transport to the dispersal of seeds in air and water to structural behavior. The experimental and theoretical tools described provide a useful primer. A valuable reference for researchers interested in how plants work from a physical perspective. --Lorna Gibson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology