Margulis, Lynn and Karlene V. Schwartz. 1997. Five Kingdoms: An Illustrated Guide to the Phyla of Life on Earth, 3rd Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York. Paperback. 520 pages.

This is a one of a kind reference book. According to its authors, " It is a comprehensive reference to both microbes and macroscopic organisms, serving as a guidebook to living organisms- what they look like, where they dwell, how they are related to one another, and how scientists group them." In other words, a guidebook that covers every living thing. And what a book it is. The descriptions are arranged systematically using the five kingdom system of Prokaryota (bacteria), Protoctista (eukaryotic microorganisms such as algae, protozoans, slime molds etc.) , Animalia, Fungi, and Plantae. Each kingdom is broken down into phyla (96 in all). Each kingdom is accompanied by a phylogenetic chart showing relationships between phyla. The authors describe each phylum individually with many black and white photos and line drawings. Indeed, in his foreword Stephen Jay Gould describes it as a picture book and it is the pictures that make this book so hard to put down once you start leafing through it. However, the descriptive text is extensive and technical, not for the nomenclaturally challenged. A great and ambitious book by any standard, even though present day taxonomists seem to favor an eight kingdom system or a three domain system ( with kingdoms in each domain).