The latest volume of “The Year in Evolutionary Biology” series of the Annals features six synthetic reviews and two perspectives.  Several of these contributions address issues related to speciation, ranging from a synthesis of research on two continents on the fascinating adaptive radiation of crossbills to an evaluation of how differences in gene expression affect the process of ecological speciation. Other papers featured papers include: a meta-analysis of publications on allopatric versus sympatric speciationan evaluation of patterns of adaptation to climatic variation focused on phenotypic plasticity in response to global climate changea look at the genetic controls of plant stress responses from an evolutionary viewpointnew perspectives on the evolution of life historiesan evolutionary analysis of the causes and consequences of persistent human diseases NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit www.blackwellpublishing.com/nyas. ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org). Members of the New York Academy of Science receive full-text access to the Annals online and discounts on print volumes. Please visit http://www.nyas.org/MemberCenter/Join.aspx for more information about becoming a member.