Customer Reviews

Recombinant DNA: Genes and Genomes - A Short Course, Third Edition (Watson, Recombinant DNA)

5 star:		(3)
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This book is the most condensed, accessible discussion of genetic manipulation techniques and methods around. Armed with this, one can move on and understand any other text in the area.

This book is clearly NOT for everyone. It is not in the typical textbook format and seems to be a much more concise version of what could be a very difficult textbook. I find it an "easy read" (for a text) and love the use of actual experimentation to explain why certain conclusions were made. Past books I've had for classes tell you what something is, but don't always go into the details of how those conclusions were made.

My roommate, however, hates this book. She thinks it reads too much like a narrative and too little like a graduate-level textbook.

Basic overview: If you like textbooks that flow well and give background, this book is for you. If you prefer the traditional text with bulleted points that really just tell you what something is without the background, don't bother with this.

I used this book together with Lewin's Genes X in class. Figures and tables in the book are described in detail and are in a nice layout, too. They help a lot when you do not quite understand a specific mechanism or procedure only by reading a long paragrah of introduction.