The birth of Louise Joy Brown - the world’s first baby born following in-vitro fertilization - heralded a medical revolution. Forty years later, many thousands of babies are born each year following IVF. Assisted reproduction is a global industry with a multi-billion dollar turnover. It is a complex mix of science, clinical management, bioethics, and commercial imperatives. Many of the pioneers of IVF are still with us and have a fascinating tale to tell. Here, they relate the story of the development of IVF and related technologies in a way that will prove invaluable to future generations of practitioners seeking to understand the genesis of the specialty. This is not an academic history: rather it takes an informal and anecdotal approach; informing and entertaining for generations of past, present and future medical and scientific specialists of IVF, alongside the millions of parents, who celebrated the successes of IVF treatment worldwide.