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This book has a cool cover (a firefly courting in the dark, leaving a glow-trail), reflecting the overall cool of this book (go ahead, read the book and judge for yourself). Second impression: the front cover and opening end paper both unfold to reveal a key to flash/glow patterns and colours of more than 60 species (who knew there were that many?). Very cool. This book is set up very much like many other family-level monographs; that is, several introductory chapters precede the species accounts. Terminating this book is not only an extensive references section (as in other monographs), but a glossary (not rare, but sadly not universal) and, uniquely in this book, The Selangor Declaration, which briefly explains the issues fireflies (and other species) face, and proposes to governments to encourage more understanding of fireflies and to take steps to protect them.

The first introductory chapter is an introduction to the genera. This is useful, but in my mind, should have ended with a key. The target audience of this book seems to be serious naturalists who may want to explore the fireflies more deeply, and to them a key to specimens would be necessary. In this chapter, we are also introduced to the railroad-worm, Phengodes: another glowing insect, but not a firefly. Yes, we are told what it is not, but never told what it is.(Just so you know, it is part of the glow-worm beetle family, Phengodidae, and they are closely related to the fireflies, Lampyridae.)