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The purpose of this review is threefold: (a) to provide some of the background work and ideas on phage λ to enable the nonspecialist to follow current studies on λ; (b) to present a usable overview of λ—what is probably true, what may be true, and what remains to be determined or discovered; (c) to present general features of λ as an organism under molecular control—the features that make λ interesting and amenable to study. I feel that control of gene expression and cellular development in higher organisms will not simply be a rehash of λ control circuits. In fact different temperate phages such as P2, P1, and P22 have evolved mechanisms of gene control with varying differences from λ. I do, however, feel that the development of ideas concerning gene control in phages such as λ, and the rigor with which they have been put to test, make λ an intellectual model to emulate in studies of control of gene expression. This is a highly personalized account of λ, with accent on genetic aspects. As a complement, I suggest reading other papers with more emphasis on biochemical aspects. I have attempted to give credit to the appropriate workers who helped me formulate a view of λ. In many cases, these ideas developed in a number of laboratories in parallel, with the full picture being a fusion of different experiments. Apologies are offered in advance for leaving people out. In addition, I have tried to cite the most recent work on different topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]