As a way to learn a lot of useful math, this book is right up there with Edelstein-Keshet's classic "Mathematical Models in Biology." The many problems are embedded in the text, so you can do them as you read, which builds confidence and makes you feel like an active participant. Moreover, by having the reader fill in some of the details of each derivation the author makes space for more discussion. An especially nice touch is that the problems are labeled for difficulty (easy, medium or hard) and the labels are nearly always accurate. At the end of each chapter there is a detailed guide to the research literature. I haven't read the whole book, just Chapters 7 & 8, on stochastic models and their applications, and parts of chapter 6 on fisheries science and marine reserves. As I worked my way through chapters 7 & 8, doing each problem by scribbling in the conveniently wide margins, I began to like the book so much I ordered a second copy to keep at work. For a book of this length and depth, there are surprisingly few typos and errors.Note added Jan 6, 2012:** The title of this review honors Richard Shewchuk whose unpublished (but freely available) 1994 tutorial on conjugate gradients has earned him the undying gratitude of thousands of numerical analysts.