Customer Reviews

Essential Cell Biology: An introducton to the Molecular Biology of the Cell

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I recently bought the book "Essential Cell Biology: An Introduction to the Molecular Biology of the Cell" and studied it from cover to cover, including all the questions and answers. It was one of the greatest and most well-organized textbooks I have ever encountered. The language was very fluent, and especially some of the example questions were quite entertaining and witty. I haven't had any education neither in biology nor in molecular biology nor in biochemistry (my major is chemical engineering), still I didn't have any difficulties in understanding all the concepts presented in the book. The knowledge I gained from the book was a great help to me during the "GRE Subject Test in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology" which I took just yesterday. I am applying to graduate schools in the US for a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biology or Bioengineering, and the test I took yesterday was crucial for my applications, in which (thanks to Essential Cell Biology) I believe I did quite well for a person without a background in the subject except a two-months-long self-study. This is a great and concise introductory textbook to the molecular biology of the cell, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in this subject with no or little background.

This is the "Baby Alberts," a condensed version of "Molecular Biology of the Cell by the same authors. It covers the basic premises well and the reader will not get bogged down in details that will only be useful to a senior student or graduate student. The CD that comes with it has some very nice videos and a few good animations of cell processes but it is not anywhere near as useful as the HyperCell 1998 CD, which has animations and explanations of all cell processes (Also from Garland Publishing). If you plan to make cell and molecular biology your major or career, however, you will be much better off buying the more comprehensive book; it has everything that is in this book and way beyond. It may save you money because you will probably buy it in the future anyway!

I read this book during the summer prior to me senior year in high school, and literally could not put it down. I read the whole work cover-to-cover in a week.

Going in, my background in biology was an introductory cell biology course and my background in chemistry was an introductory chemistry class. That I had little formal training in the sciences was irrelevant when reading this; it explains all the concepts so clearly that I think even a person with no background in science at all could understand it. The diagrams and photos are well-done and highly pertinent.

This is not to say that this book is only for non-scientists. Indeed, I even used knowledge gleaned from this fantastic book to teach my teachers a thing or two. Perhaps the section on muscle contraction is the best written of all - no other book I have ever seen comes close to this in clarity, and this section was one that I recommended to my Anatomy and Physiology teacher for clarification about a few concepts.

I am soon to be a sophomore in college, and this book continues to inspire me on my path to be a professor (I study chemistry with an emphasis on chemical biology). This book was invaluable even in a rigorous microbiology course, not to mention other introductory courses.

In summary, I rarely leave home for extended periods without this text (literally). If there is ONE BOOK that you should buy for studying cellular and molecular biology, let it be this one (or, if you are so inclined, its larger brother, Molecular Biology of the Cell).

A gem of a book. It puts at the hands of lay people the wonders of molecular biology. The best way of spending $65 I can think of.

The text is a most refined product distilled by an all-star team of leading scientists. Oriented towards the lay person or the would be specialist, it is simple, unpretentious, sometimes even funny, but always powerfully explanatory. The diagrams are exceptionally clear (a must for explaining such complex subjects) and the photographs are astounding. Love for their subject and passion for teaching are present all along. And mysticism is always around the corner...

If you have ever wondered things like "What are exactly chromosomes?", "How do exactly enzymes work in the cell?", or "How the hell does all this machinery work at a purely chemical level ?" and you are not quite satisfied with popular science books, this one is for you. It will answer these questions and much, much more.

An enjoyable, deeply satisfying tour the force through the molecular level of all living organisms.

Don't miss it!

I used this book as a studying supplement during the cell biology module of my first-year biology course. It explains key cell biology concepts clearly, thoroughly and concisely. The text is very well written and has wonderful photographs and diagrams throughout. Updated and recent biological and biomedical findings are used to further tie in the concepts of cell biology. Those that prefer a more detailed source of information should look to Molecular Biology of the Cell, but for beginners, Essential Cell Biology is an excellent place to start.

This is a beautifully presented book. My students like it enormously, because of the conversational style, the illustrations, and the overall readibility -and this is perhaps the highest aim a textbook can aspire to achieve.

However, I find that the authors have gone too far in their attempt to abridge and simplify their previous opus -Molecular Biology of the Cell (MBOC): some topics are insufficiently or superficially discussed. Also, the style is slightly verbose at times. Finally, I think that the book could benefit from some reorganization.

The following examples illustrate my point.

*Osmosis is given a very brief mention.(p 382).
*The repulsion for anything mathematic continues the tradition started by MBOC. The Nernst equation, is given just a little box in page 393. The Donnan effect doesn't even have a walk-on part.
*The discussion of action potential contains the usual story of the voltage gated K+ channels, when these channels are not found in myelinated mammalian neurons.
*Myelin itself is not even mentioned.
*The discussion on G protein-linked receptors -a key topic- is very superficial.
*Membrane potential is introduced in a rather convoluted fashion. Furthermore, the concept is used several times before it is finally explained.
*Certain sections may leave the reader confused. For example p53 is described as a gene regulatory protein which arrests the cycle when DNA damage occurs (p 580). But when tumor suppressor genes are discussed, only retinoblastoma is given as an example, which would tend to convey the mistaken idea that p53 is not a tumor suppressor gene.

I have used Essential Cell Biology for my one semester introductory cell biology and found it to be superb!! It's perfect for a one semester undergraduate course, as well as a terrific overview for laymen with a strong interest in how and why cells work. For introductory cell biology courses, nothing on the market comes even close to this text. Like its larger predecessor, Molecular Biology of the Cell, the text is clearly written, informative, and downright interesting, a rare commodity in textbook writing. Once again, James Watson's superb writing style shows through in this book. The numerous illustrations are a superb complement to the text, explaining and reinforcing the concepts presented in the text. In addition to its use as a text for one semester courses, I would also recommend this to interested laypersons who have an interest in how cells work at the molecular level and are not satisfied with the few popular-level books on the topic. Here they will find a gold mine of insights into the marvels of cell structure and function, all of it clearly written and accessable to anyone with a good high school or mediocre college background in basic chemistry and biology. The only drawbacks of this book is the limited suggestions for further readings and the sparse information on the techniques used to study cells. Otherwise, it is a terrific, attractivly presented, superbly written and illustrated book. It is a real asset to all who have an interest in the cell, except for publishers of competing texts, who are likely to lose most of their markets to this excellent book.

The book excells in didactic qualities by a systematic evolment of the main topic, by preceding each chapter with a keyword like abstract of the chapter topic, by ending each chapter with a list of the presented key concepts and questions which are propperly answered at the end of the book, by a clear print where text runs down on two thirds of the page while the remainder of the page shows an unbelievable number of color illustrations, and by a readable, understandable and precisely written style. Since the book is an introduction into it's field, it will necessarily not cover too intricate details. And certain things are still under research, even seemingly simple ones like: Does the myosion filament in muscle cells really "float" like on p.539? There was a different picture in the PROCNATL, some time ago.

The chapters are: 1.) Introduction to Cells, 2.) Chemical Components of Cells, 3.) Energy, Catalysis, and Biosynthesis, 4.) How Cells Obtain Energy from Food, 5.) Protein Structure and Function, 6.) DNA, 7.) From DNA to Protein, 8.) Chromosomes and Gene Regulation, 9.) Genetic Variation, 10.) DNA Technology, 11.) Membrane Structure, 12.) Membrane Transport, 13.) Energy Generation in Mitochondria and Chloroplasts, 14.) Intracellular Compartments and Transport, 15.) Cell Communication, 16.) Cytoskeleton, 17.) Cell Division, 18.) Cell-Cycle control and Cell Death, 19.) Tissues.

This book is definitely for students at the undergraduate level. It is easy to understand as the authors provide "real life" examples in each particular section. I kind of make this book analogous to the "Books for Dummies Series" in a positive connotation, mind you, since if you have absolutely no clue about cell biology, you ought to get this book. It also comes with a CD-ROM for the "tech savvy" individuals.

This textbook makes readings really easy for the student. The section headings are very detailed which keeps you from having to skim, read, re-read and highlight! You only have to read each section once for a change!

The "panels" are two page pictoral descriptions of key concepts. I could have done without these panels because I find it hard to sort of bounce around from one square to another, but all in all this textbook is excellent