Customer Reviews

Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Second Edition

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a great book! I am not an expert in the field, but follow the Stem Cell field, as do many of us. I bought 10 more copies, to give to relatives and friends who are also keen to understand this new science area. The examples are clear, and those of us with moderate biology background can follow the whole book. This book should be mailed to every governor and member of congress.

If you had only one text to learn about stem cells, this is it. From the cutting edge of the biology known by the world's top scientists to broad ethical concerns this text covers it all. If you aren't in the field the reading will soon be challenging but the text has an excellent glossary which is guaranteed to be well worn by the time you finish. The first edition of this text was very well received. The second is even better.

After trying a few alternatives - this has been the best resource I've found for CLEAR information. I recently had to write some articles on this subject and with all the info out there - I was really struggling to find something like this book. It's a combination of a primer, a text book and an essay on the current political / ethical debate. It gives the overview I was looking for - and in some places I certainly got lost in the science - but there's a ton of diagrams and photos that are extremely useful. It's also heavily cited as well as having a thorough glossary.

With a quick look at Dr. Kiessling's private foundation website - I can see why this book is so well done, she's a veteran in the field, at Harvard and serves on a bunch of state advisory and ethics committees. And in addition to the science, the stem cells and society section breaks the debate into: religious, legal, ethical, scientific and future - and covers it all in just 16 pages - a very worthwhile section to read. I highly recommend this book.

I am well acquainted with the basics and background of Stem Cell Biology, and I found Dr. Kiessling's book to be both an excellent review of the basics, and an interested roadmap for what will be happening in the future (and right now!) in the field of Stem Cell technologies. I believe that the discoveries that come out of this new branch of science will fundamentally change the way that we treat people and manage diseases. Dr. Kiessling provides a clear description and understanding of the facts (both biology and legislatively) to give a beginner a place to start, and an expert more information and resources to continue their work. Read this book if you have an interest in this type science, want to have an interest in this type of science, or just want to know why this is such a revolutionary time in the life sciences because of Stem Cell technology.

From start to finish, this book was informative and brilliantly written. I couldn't wait to see what was on the next page! Seriously, Dr. Kiessling knows her Stem Cells. I wish I could have her over for dinner. Can't wait for the third edition!

The second edition of Human Embryonic Stem Cells provides all of the information that we need now to understand not only the science and great potential behind stem cell research, but also the complexities of the ongoing legislative and ethical debates. As a PhD student (not in biological sciences!), I highly recommend this book as an interesting read for anyone who wants a better understanding of stem cells. It would also be an excellent undergraduate textbook.

I read the entire book in a couple evenings and felt I had a grasp of what has been done in the stem cell field and where we are going. I loved the format with the historical inserts, these broke up the technical bits into bite size chunks and added meaning to the discoveries. I don't usually visit author's websites but looked up Dr. Kiessling (www.bedfordresearch.org) and its neat; she is independent of industry and institutional influence; perhaps that is why she has such a clear view of stem cell research. I hope President Obama reads this book!

As a high school English teacher, I live well outside of the Sciences but, nonetheless, am constantly on the prowl for details of current debates and resultant controversies. On a tip from a good friend in the field, I picked up the second edition of Human Embryonic Stem Cells and found exactly what I was looking for. The authors give a comprehensive history of embryonic stem cell research and delve into the intricacies of the science behind it without keeping the reader at a distance with complicated jargon or tortuous complexity. Most fascinating for me is Kiessling's clear treatment of the often thorny legislative and ethical concerns surrounding embryonic stem cell research. Overall, I found the text to be a rewarding read and have recommended it to many of my colleagues.

In my opinion this book is poorly written -- grammatical errors, convoluted sentences, poor organisation -- and in places appears to be just plain wrong. For example, the first paragraph on page 11 (!!) seems wrong -- egg cells also contain half the number of chromosomes -- and it gets worse. I should have been tipped off by the fact that the book is published by a no-name press, and definitely by the grovelling introduction by the professor touted on page 9 -- but it was too late by then, I had already bought the thing.