Complex macromolecular machinery is responsible for gene-specific and cell-type selective patterns of gene expression. How it works is being revealed by increasingly sophisticated molecular dissection of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. This volume reviews the results and conclusions of recent studies in gene transcription. It covers events ranging from activation, through promoter recognition, repression, chromosome structure, chromatin remodelling, initiation and elongation, and the regulation of stopping and starting.