This is BMBP2, the newly-published successor to BMBP1, which came out in 2000. It’s pretty much the standard work on plant science and has finally arrived after blood, sweat and not a few tears. Chapter 20, titled ‘Senescence and cell death’ is by your humble and obedient servant, together with Helen Ougham, Luis Mur and Stefan Jansson. I wonder whether this substantial and beautifully produced volume will turn out to be one of the last generation of sliced-tree textbooks. The chances are that BMBP3 will be in e-book form only, though I doubt whether I’ll be around to see it.