Many patterns in nature are often overlooked. Haeckel captures the natural beauty of living creatures, presenting them in such a way as to spotlight their delicate forms. This black and white rendition of Haeckel's artwork is very impressive, adding a quality perhaps more pleasing to the modern eye than the color originals. Although no written text accompanies the plates, one still understands what the artist is conveying. Haeckel's grouping of the organisms in a very detailed, scientific manner is at the same time aesthetically pleasing to both scientists and nonscientists.

Gasman expands our understanding of fascism by demonstrating the importance of scientific ideas for the genesis of Fascism. His analysis of the influence of the German scientist Ernst Haeckel underscores the need to consider the "scientific" origins of fascism and, specifically, the debt many Fascists owed to Haeckel. The bibliographic discussion in the introduction is extremely helpful, and the chapters are well structured for a course on comparative Fascism or the origins of Fascism.