Book excerpt: The comprehensive history of yeast research. • Traces the growing understanding of yeasts and their role in the evolution of microbiology, biochemistry, cytology, and genetics. • Details how findings in yeast research were used to overcome complex problems and to develop currently accepted scientific concepts and methods. • Emphasizes experimental evidence, by reproducing many figures from the original researchers’ work as well as illustrations of the equipment they used. The book is enlivened with images of many of the scientists and offers accounts of notable incidents in the lives of some of them. • Serves as a resource for microbiology, biochemistry, or general biology students.