This book serves as a brief introduction to phylogenetic trees and molecular evolution for biologists and biology students. It does so by presenting the main concepts in a variety of ways: first visually, then in a history, next in a dice game, and finally in simple equations.

Methods and models of David R. Bickel have been published in Molecular Biology and Evolution and other journals specialized in molecular evolution and phylogenetics. He teaches an interactive course on the topic as an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.