Ball traces the history of scientific thought about natural patterns, showing how common presumptions -- for example, that complex form must be guided by some intelligence or that form always follows function -- are erroneous and continue to mislead scientists today. He investigates specific patterns in depth, revealing that these designs are self-organized and that simple, local interactions between component parts produce motifs like spots, stripes, branches, and honeycombs. In the process, he examines the mysterious phenomenon of symmetry and why it appears -- and breaks -- in similar ways in different systems. Finally, he attempts to answer this profound question -- why are some patterns universal? Illustrations throughout the text, many in full color, beautifully illuminate Ball's ideas.