Microbiology: An Evolving Science (Hardcover)

~ Joan L. Slonczewski (Author), John W. Foster (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Microbiology: An Evolving Science promotes a clear understanding of this rapidly advancing field in two distinctive ways. First, an emphasis on current research, genomics, and molecular genetics enables students to learn how microbiologists think as they master the discipline's foundational topics. Second, a stunning and consistently executed art program helps students visualize key microbiological processes and structures. .

About the Author

Joan L. Slonczewski received her B. A. from Bryn Mawr College, and her Ph. D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University, where she studied bacterial motility with Robert M. Macnab. After postdoctoral work at University of Pennsylvania, she has since taught undergraduate microbiology at Kenyon College, where she earned a Silver Medal in the National Professor of the Year program of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. She has published numerous research articles with undergraduate coauthors on bacterial pH regulation, and has published five science fiction novels including A Door into Ocean which earned the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. She serves as At-large Member representing Divisions on the Council Policy Committee of the American Society for Microbiology, and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.


John W. Foster received his B. S. from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia), and his Ph. D. from Hahnemann University (now Drexel University School of Medicine) also in Philadelphia, where he worked with Albert G. Moat. After postdoctoral work at Georgetown University, he joined the Marshall University School of Medicine in West Virginia and is currently teaching at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. Foster has coauthored three editions of the textbook Microbial Physiology and has published over 100 journal articles describing the physiology and genetics of microbial stress responses. He has served as Chair of the Microbial Physiology and Metabolism division of the American Society for Microbiology, and is a member of the editorial advisory board of the journal Molecular Microbiology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1280 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (February 20, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393978575
• ISBN-13: 978-0393978575
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,527 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!, September 29, 2008

By	Rivkah Krevsky - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love this book! It has a nice full glossary and section summaries. It has chapter review questions but doesn't give the answers. It has though questions (critical thinking) that it DOES give the answer to. (Weird?) This book is very well written, very English (the language, not the nationality). My professor goes along with the book so that always makes you get more out of it.
The topics sometimes seem kinda random, and the same small concepts are repeated several times in different chapters and never (so far) going into details. The website for the book has nice online diagnostic quizzes. It's definitely a book that if your instructor says buy it, you should read it, because you will get something out of it. There's lots of interesting pictures which make it fun to read too.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Condition, September 25, 2009

By	Robert Bair - See all my reviews

My book came faster than I expected. I was also brand new. No complaints from me!

3.0 out of 5 stars A couple strengths, but unclear & meandering, March 20, 2009

By	Bio Prof (California) - See all my reviews

I'm using this text to teach an introductory Micro course. Since I first wrote this review, I'm beginning to think that 3 stars is too generous but I don't seem to be able to change the rating. I had previously used the text by Black, which was great, but I'm really struggling with this one. While the chapters are organized into logical sections, I'm finding that there is a lot of repetition within & between chapters, and that it is just not that easy to understand. While there are a lot of figures and pictures, some of them just don't help explain the concepts all that much. The chapter on adaptive immunity is almost unusable. Immunology is my field, and I've found errors, and the concepts presented are too advanced & ignore the basic biology of the immune system. Plus, the figures are too complicated for an introduction. The chapters on Microbial diversity are excellent, though; they're the reason I changed to this text. But honestly, I wouldn't choose it again.

Update: I'm now lecturing on the very timely topic of influenza, and have found relevant information scattered in no less than 3 different chapters of the text, and I've had to hop around quite a bit for my other lectures on disease.