This beautiful compendium of work documents the state-of-play of the current fundamental debate on whether or not mantle plumes exist and the origin of “hot spot” volcanism on the surface of Earth, Mars, and Venus. The book is fully interdisciplinary and encompasses all branches of earth science, including geophysics, geochemistry, heat, temperature, tectonics, petrology, mantle dynamics, impacts, and syntheses reconciling several branches of earth science. Included are chapters that advocate the plume model as well as ones that advocate alternative models. Most chapters are designed to be accessible to students and scientists in different subdisciplines within the earth sciences, making them doubly valuable to specialists and nonspecialists alike. The book is designed to enjoy a long lifetime of usefulness, functioning as both a landmark document for the subject today and a valuable reference work for students, scholars, and informed lay people for the future. It will be equally valuable for supporting advanced undergraduate or postgraduate courses and research scientists working at the forefront of “hot spot” science, and is an essential addition to the bookshelves of every science library, earth science teacher, and research scientist who aspires to push back the frontiers of this exciting subject. With over 180 color plates, it will be a beautiful addition to the library of anyone fascinated by volcanoes—one of nature’s most exciting and extraordinary phenomena.