A specialist in cell and developmental biology, Wolpert (emeritus, U. College, London) describes for non-specialists embryonic development, that is, the processes by which a single cell--the fertilized egg--becomes an entire organism with hundreds of different kinds of cells. The 1991 edition was published by Oxford University Press, as was the 1992 corrected reprint, which is reproduced here with a new preface. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)