37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent content, but needs editing and is slightly confusing, February 1, 2003
This review is from: Development of the Nervous System (Hardcover)
"Development of the Nervous System" is a textbook which appears to be an introductory text to the field. The textbook is supposed to be appropriate for undergraduates, however, as a biology graduate student with some previous exposure to neurobiology, I had some difficulties with the text because of some of the reasons mentioned below.
It was difficult not to be distracted by the numerous grammatical and spelling errors. There were so many of them (for example, 'roll' when the authors meant 'role' and 'spacial' instead of 'spatial'), I wondered if the text were ever edited.
Even without the mistakes in English, the textbook suffers from other flaws. One major problem is that the authors do not bother to explain basic terms or concepts before using them when describing experiments. For example, the authors never define the difference between 'afferent' and 'efferent' neuronal projections, but refer to the terms profusely. Ironically, one of the most common grammatical errors in the textbook was the use of 'effect' when the authors meant 'affect.'
A colleague of mine who borrowed the book from me remarked that the index was not very useful; I also noticed some mistakes in the index.
Having said that, one of the major strengths of the text is the organization of the chapters, which proceed logically from the earliest neural induction events to the behavior of a whole organism. The introductory paragraphs of each chapter are also well written; they relate the topics to something that should be tangible to everyone.
Another major strength is the introduction of concepts by discussing the experiments behind them. Importantly, the text describes experiments from many different model organisms and using a variety of techniques. Abundant figures accompany the text and sufficiently illustrate concepts and experiments.
The content of the textbook is decent, but to be more useful (especially as an introductory text), this textbook would benefit from:
1) editing for English
2) an improved, more thorough and accurate index
3) a glossary or definitions and explanations within the text
4) and perhaps side "boxes" explaining some of the experimental techniques discussed.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Second edition, September 4, 2006
As an author of this book I appreciate Suzanne Nguyen's review of the first edition from February, 2003. When preparing the second edition, we took her suggestions into account. I think she would find that if she took a look at the second edition (the one that is now sold here), she would find that most of her previous criticisms have been addressed. We still did not provide a glossary, but we felt this was not necessary for an advanced text like this one. However, as we make plans for a third edition, it would be useful for us to hear from additional readers so that we can produce the best text possible.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
rich and detailed with beautiful illustrations, November 15, 2006
I purchased the second edition of this book and am thrilled with it.
The illustrations are some of the most beautiful and helpful that I have seen in any neuroscience textbook. The descriptions are clear, the mechanisms are systematically laid out, and research anecdotes are sprinkled throughout.
What is great about the developmental perspective is it helps you understand at an intuitive level that the brain is not a set of compartmentalized "brain areas" wired together like a digital computer. Instead, the brain is a complex 3-dimensional organ with a continuous structure that is the result of cell proliferation, tissue folding, and self-wiring.
The research anecdotes are helpful because they give you a sense for how dynamic and new developmental neuroscience is as a field, and they show just how indirect the methods often need to be to uncover the processes of cellular differentiation and axonal wiring.
This book, especially with the illustrations and attached CDROM, truly seems to be a labor of love.
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