Alain Bonjean and William Angus, together with their co-authors who are all internationally prominent scientists, have collated a worldwide synthesis on the origins, genetic diversity and selection mechanisms for wheat. This is the first such work since "Les meilleurs blés" written by the famous French "gentleman-breeder" Charles-Henry de Vilmorin and published in 1880. Both Alain Bonjean and William Angus have considerable experience in wheat breeding and wheat genetics, and are leading international wheat genetic resources programmes. Currently, Alain Bonjean is Scientific Development Vice-President at Limagrain Agro-Industry in charge of field crops. William Angus, also a member of Groupe Limagrain, is the senior wheat breeder in the UK for the Nickerson GEIE Wheat Programme, having previously spent 12 years at the world famous Cambridge Plant Breeding Institute.