The evolution of new species (speciation) is a central theme in evolution. How and why does one species split into another? How long does it take for a new species to be born? And what is a species anyway? Such is the importance of the problem that Charles Darwin himself dubbed it the mystery of mysteries. These questions, the focus of intense debate in biology and critical for any assessment of biodiversity, are all tackled in this work. The author uses academic debate to explore the meandering path of speciation research.m