Review
"The material is arranged as a series of entries which allow the user to look up, in alphabetical order, virtually any virus of animals, plants, or bacteria. The authors provide precise reviews of various aspects of each virus....The software offers many benefits, such as structural photographs and diagrams cross-referenced to the text. It also offers a section on virus visualization with 3-D, high-resolution images and animations. The software has quick and advanced searching capabilities and has a synonym list to facilitate searching. A pathway feature allows a route to be recorded through the book to be played back later. This can be an effective teaching tool in the classroom....This encyclopedia will provide a superb supplement to virology textbooks. It is well worth the rice and no microbiologist should be without a copy."
--Nehad El-Sawi, University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, in ASM NEWS
"The most impressive advantage that the CD-ROM has over a conventional encyclopedia is the extent of cross-referencing and the speed with which references can be located....This CD-ROM would be a healthy asset to any library where I am certain it would be of almost equal value and appeal to undergraduates or established research workers alike...It forms a very good starting point for obtaining information on a diverse range of viruses, and gives suggested further reading material at the end of each section....I can thoroughly recommend
Encyclopedia of Virology plus<$>: it is crammed with almost everything you need to know about virology, at whatever stage you are in your career."
--Jeff Drew, Royal Holloway University of London, in THE BIOCHEMIST
"This CD-ROM expedition into cyberspace takes the full text of the three volume Encyclopedia of Virology and converts it into a user friendly computer-based reference of virological information.... If computerized learning is the wave of the future, then this CD-ROM version for the Encyclopedia of Virology is at its leading edge."
--Ronald B. Luftig in VIRUS RESEARCH
"For a long time there has been a gap in the virological literature...the Encyclopedia of Virology<$> aims to fill this gap, and does so admirably."
--THE TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT
"I consider this encyclopedia to be a valuable addition to my own virology library. I believe the readership which will most benefit by this work includes basic scientists in virology and microbiology. If clinicians, students, and others need access to this information, they will find it on the shelves of libraries which choose to house this compilation, and I hope that many libraries will make that choice."
--HARLEY A. ROTBART, University of Colorado School of Medicine, in ASM NEWS
"Recent advances in virological research have been extraordinary, but the finding of new strains has also kept abreast of them. In June, 1993, a new strain of hantaviru was uncovered in the four-corners area of the U.S. (14 states were found to have hadcases in the latest count), leading virologists to scramble to isolate the virus. This was accomplished in November of the same year, when it was found in the excreta of deer mice.
This and many other virus results are reported in the just-published Encyclopedia of Virology.<$> Over 250 articles examine all phases of animal, insect, plant, and bacteriophage viruses....The Encyclopedia of Virology<$> is recommended for reference departments of academic, medical, and corporate libraries."
--MEDICAL LIBRARIES DISCUSSION GROUP ON INTERNET
"The Encyclopedia<$> is user friendly...The print is large and legible and frequent subheadings direct the reader to the appropriate material. The many photographs, figures, and tables enhance the text...The Encyclopedia<$> would be a valuable addition to the reference libraries of medical schools, veterinary schools, graduate schools, and hospitals."
--NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
"No other source allows the reader to look up, in alphabetical organization, virtually any virus of animals, plants, or bacteria."
--AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MICROBIOLOGY NEWS
About the Author
Dr. Robert Webster has worked in the field of Virology for over 30 years, first in New Zealand and then at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Australia. He has spent the past 25 years at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the Department of Virology & Molecular Biology. In addition to his position as Chairman at St. Jude, Dr. Webster is Director of the U.S. Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization dealing with the ecology of animal influenza viruses. He has served on numerous national and international advisory boards and is a Fellow of the Royal Society. Dr. Webster has published extensively on influenza in areas covering the origin of pandemic strains, genetic variation, structure and function of virus and, in conjunction with Graeme Laver, was responsible for the development of influenza subunit vaccines.
Dr. Allan Granoff carried out virology research for over 36 years, first at the Public Health Research Institute of New York and then at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where he was also Chairman of the Department of Virology & Molecular Biology for 26 years. In 1988, he stepped down from the Chair to devote full-time as Deputy Director of the institution. Since July 1992, he has served as the interim Director of St. Jude. Dr. Granoff is highly published in the areas of influenza virus, paramyxovirus, herpesvirus, and iridovirus research. He has also served on national and international advisory committees and on a number of editorial boards.
