Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution? The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, it has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing, and here Timothy Winegard traces the untold story of the mosquito's reign through history and its continued impact on our modern world order.

"As wildly entertaining as any epic narrative out there…. Winegard masterfully weaves historical facts and science to offer a shocking, informative narrative that shows how who we are today is directly linked to the mosquito."—NPR