This book is construed broadly to include scientists from other disciplines whose work was important for plant pathologists. Some microbiologists who did not work with plant disease are hence included, and even a plant anatomist and a crystallographer. The quality of the writing varies with author, and the interest of the stories with the scientist, but many chapters tell of major achievements by remarkable people. About half the subjects worked with fungi, which is to be expected given their importance in plant disease, and the rest with viruses, bacteria or nematodes. Two-thirds lived in the USA, and the others in Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Canada. The earliest were born in the first half of the 19th century and the most recent are still alive. The book is an appropriate one for university libraries and institutes concerned with microbiology, and for plant pathologists with historical interests.