This book was conceived in summer 2005. At that time, the mother (the Publisher) and the father (a designated Editor) had the ambition to highlight cutting-edge research and future potential of Pseudomonas genetics and molecular biology. This turned out to be an ambitious venture, as the comprehensive five-volume, 3,000-page series 'Pseudomonas' (edited by J.-L. Ramos et al.) was already well under way and, by the year 2007, covered really most aspects of these medically and environmentally important bacteria. So, after the sudden loss of the father, the stepfather (Pierre Cornelis) had the challenging job to edit a book that would still attract the Pseudomonas research community. Three chapters probably meet this goal best as they describe topics that are not dealt with by the Ramos series: the contribution by Fajardo & Martínez on antibiotic resistance provides a wealth of background information on this clinically relevant topic, whereas the contributions by Häussler and Klockgether et al. give insight into recent progress made in the areas of small colony variants and genome diversity of P. aeruginosa, respectively. Three other chapters provide useful complementary information: here I would cite the contributions on cell-surface polysaccharides (with a comprehensive overview of genes and pathways), quorum-sensing regulation of virulence (with a useful table of P. aeruginosa-host model systems) and iron-uptake (with an illuminating list of tonB-dependent receptors). In my opinion, the remaining three chapters do not entirely meet the original objectives. Unfortunately, the publisher seems to have paid little attention to obtaining a uniform quality of the illustrations; in particular, it would have been better to include the colour plates in the text, rather than in an Appendix. Institutions with an interest in Pseudomonas research should consider acquiring this book. However, its price may deter most individual researchers from buying it.