Customer Reviews

Bailey & Scott's Diagnostic Microbiology, 12e (Diagnostic Microbiology (Bailey & Scott's))

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This edition of Bailey & Scott is the best so far. The tables included in each chapter are well organized. They present the data in an easy to look up manner. Information on individual organisms is better organized in contrast to earlier editions. One complaint is that older names and test procedures are not included. I suppose the authors wish to present the most current information but it would be nice to have a reference to an older name or test when a physician inquires.

I own this book plus buying a copy for the lab, the book is not as thorough as the manual of clinincal microbiology by the ASM and edited by Murray. But is thorough enough for most routine bench work and is not as bulky as Murray. Murray and or Bergeys would be required for the more difficult organisms, but for everything else, or the student studying diagnostic Clinical microbiology I would rate this book highly.

The great pictures and tables in this book keep it interesting, the only bad thing about it is that there are no end-of-chapter reviews or questions.

The eleventh edition is good in many aspects. But it cannot be denied that it is not as good as Koneman's book. Bailey and Scott is more suitable only for the bench technicians and not for researchers and graduate students. The book churns out table after table, in the name of comparative analysis. A student's mind will have difficulty in memorising and reproducing tables in the exam. In that sense, the lucid style of presentation in Koneman is commendable. Probably, the author of B&S did not have 'the student' in their mind when they wrote it. Another grossly lacking area is Parasitology. When compared to books written by Indian authors like SC Parija and Chatterjea, Bailey and Scott lags far behind. Probably, it is because parasitic infections are less in the US, which is why this area has been under emphasised.
As a gradute student in India, I would strongly encourage my friends and fellow microbiologists to singularly follow Koneman alone. Trying to use Koneman with Bailey and Scott or trying to substitute Koneman with Bailey and Scott is an exercise in futility.
These are my personal views only. Perhaps, students who want to finish studying clinical microbiology quickly because of the proximity of the exam dates, can go for Bailey and Scott. For MD students like me, we all in our college unanimously vote for the
Koneman.

This book holds a lot of useful information from safety to bacteria. Some of the parasitology was lacking and all of the tables can be useful or a menace depending on how well you can learn from them. The pictures were very useful and everything is easy to understand.

This book was a very useful tool in the class that I took.The pictures were very helful in determining different parasites and understanding how species are very related,but different.

It still is a good book, but lots of identification tables are missing. It is a shame, because some automated methods of identifications need to be review manually.

I was extremely pleased with the book. It came in only a couple days. the book was in great shape. thank you

I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist and this book is very useful. It provides helpful flow charts and basic descriptions of biochemical, molecular, and automated differential testing technologies. What this book does not offer is a comprehensive survey of environmental microorganisms and their biotechnology applications. The book does not provide extensive review of emperical treatment strategies. The book is most appropriate for medical technologists who manage a steady stream of patient samples that they inoculate growth media with. It discusses techniques used to isolate single organisms, describe colony and growth characteristics, perform biochemical testing and practical identification. Discussion is provided on the steps preceding the identification sufficient for selecting an appropriate antibiotic suceptability card. After they test the battery of antibiotics contained in the card against the isolated organism, they can provide susceptibility data to physicians who can then choose acceptable therapy. This book is most useful for the individuals who work in the laboratory.

It is a good book- New but is a little over priced as many of my friends got it for a little less like around 10 dollars. It is a well maintained one but I think is over priced at that price. But was delivered on time as promised.