From Thomas Hunt Morgan to the present day, the unassuming fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been at the center of genetic research. Brookes's lively book follows the fruit fly through the history of 20th-century biology, where it inspired the work of at least three Nobel laureates (Morgan, Muller, and Lewis), all the way to the Drosophila Genome Project. The reviewer for Amazon.com writes, "Brookes's enthusiasm is catching, and Fly will send readers running to their kitchens to catch a glimpse of these scientific superstars."