Handbook of Maize: Its Biology centers on the past, present and future of maize as a model for plant science research and crop improvement. The book includes brief, focused chapters from the foremost maize experts and features a succinct collection of informative images representing the maize germplasm collection.

Jeff Bennetzen, Ph.D. is the Norman and Doris Giles Professor of Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics at the University of Georgia, and is also a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar. He has studied the structure and evolution of the maize genome for the last 28 years.

Sarah Hake, Ph.D. is the Center Director of the Plant Gene Expression Center of the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service and University of California, Berkeley. She is also an adjunct Professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at U. C. Berkeley. She has worked on maize throughout her scientific career.