"Spontaneous generation is the term used to describe the theory that inanimate material can, under appropriate conditions, generate life forms by completely natural processes, not requiring or involving divine intervention. Although there were always some doubters, the idea held sway from Aristotle until the seventeenth century - even such noted experimentalists as William Harvey were believers. From the seventeenth century onwards, attempts were made to test the idea by experiment - to see, for example, if flies or fungi could be generated in sealed containers. The experiments initially gave conflicting results, but with the development of better methods, the idea was whittled away, although it survived in some minds until the end of the nineteenth century. Figures as eminent as Leeuwenhoek, Pasteur, and Darwin were drawn into the controversy." The question of whether spontaneous generation really existed occupied not only scientists, but also philosophers, historians, and theologians. It engaged the interest of many different religious groups and many social classes, and was debated with great acrimony. Things Come to Life deals with the social and religious context of the debate, and the personalities of the protagonists, but it is the first work to examine also the experimental evidence and its probative value.