Fly: The Unsung Hero of 20th-Century Science by Martin Brookes

Martin Brookes’s Fly is a lighthearted romp through a serious subject. (Doc Smartypants, that terminology is just for you!)

As a genetics major, I did my share of raising, drugging, and examining fruit flies. Brookes puts this ubiquitous educational workhorse into the context of weighty advances in our understanding of genetics, speciation, embryonic development, and several human health concerns. And he does it with a wink and a nudge, while he’s at it.