Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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160 of 166 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is amazing, February 25, 2005
Before I say anything about this book, I offer for your consideration the fact that I am not a student of biochemistry; I am a physics graduate student. My desire to learn about biochemistry had nothing to do with receiving any sort of degree. Then consider the fact that this is the only Amazon.com review I have ever written. These facts alone should tell you that I must have found this book pretty remarkable.
This text was required for all three of the biochemistry classes I took as an undergraduate student, and it never let me down. It contains a positively HUGE amount of information, which Nelson and Cox have somehow managed to digest and present for the layperson in a way that is both engaging and understandable. The writing style is superb, and the visual aids are numerous and of exceptionally high quality.
How many times while cramming for the next day's test at 3:00 am have you caught yourself reading material that isn't even covered on the exam, just because it's interesting? It happened to me. And while I will admit to having some pretty nerdy tendencies some times, I don't think I'm quite that abnormal.
Don't listen to the reviewers who say they wish this book went into more depth on some issues, because they should know better. I can assure you that there is no lack of depth here. This is an introductory text. You read it if you want an introduction. If the nitty-gritty were found in introductory texts, there would be no need for advanced texts, now would there?
Coming from a great lover of textbooks, I'll put it to you plainly and simply: Among my top 5 favorite textbooks, this is the only one that isn't about physics. If you are looking for an introductory biochemistry texbook, then I don't believe you can go wrong with this one.
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50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lehninger vs Voet, April 15, 2006
It is far too often that lecturers erroneously prescribe Voet for introductory biochemistry courses. This makes students suffer and dislike the subject; but truly, biochemistry is a remarkably interesting topic, provided one has the appropriate source of information.
I am a Chemistry major who suffered at the hands of my inarticulate lecturer and also the intially hated Voet& Voet Biochemistry. To recount my position, I had just finished introductory organic chemistry and went into biochemistry. For student such as myself, I found Voet not to have those transient features to fully make the migration from structural and mechanistic elucidations of organic chemistry to analysis of macromolecules and complex metabolic pathways.
The major flaw of Voet is in its first two parts, the final part is actually quite good, once you understand the basics. That was the problem! an introductory biochemistry course is supposed to teach you the basics with great emphasis placed on biopolymer structure (i.e. carbohydrates, complex fatty acid polymers (sterols and phospholipids) and finally proteins).
I didnt follow my lecturer's lectures as he was difficult to understand; he is often in the habit of reading exactly what was on the powerpoint presentations....no reiterations, no further explanations.
I was scared that I would not do well in the unit and so I purchased Lehninger. It was the greatest decision I had made in context of studying Biochemistry. The authors know very well the plight of students who have to contend with not only biochem but a multitude of other challenging units.
They have made this book lucid with detailed, "easy to understand" conversational explanations of various pertinent topics in biochemistry. Great emphasis had been placed on the fundamentals and how to implement these principles in solving biochemistry associated problems.
Voet on the other hand is an encyclopedic, condensed dictionary that defines terms and other features in a very precise and often complicated way. This is something that becomes handy once one actually understands what Voet and Voet are talking about, it is only useful AFTER an introductory biochemistry unit.
The CD presented with lehninger uses much more complex graphical engines to present information...it actually presents it in a more beautified manner than voet. This is imperative to the student as it reduces the learning curve in understanding the fundamental basics which are all important to biochemistry such as the detailed features of protein structure, how alpha helices and beta sheets differ. THe differences in the various levels of protein structure (i.e. primary to quaternary), the WHY and the HOW of many of these topics are discussed in detail not as text but as vivid animations which would make the user in awe of biochemistry.
Enzyme kinetics is also very well dicussed, Voet uses calculus and mathematical proof to explain the Michaelis-Menton formula and the constant. However Lehninger has a more practical approach with a built in application which allows the user to alter values and see their impact on the relationship between substrate and enzyme metabolism, in light of various governing factors.
The text is both lucid and colourful with only relevant, useful and well explained graphics. The idea behind Lehninger is to build up on the basic principles and always implement them in the understanding of biochemistry. Voet does not have this primary feature.
I would strongly suggest anyone to have a look at both texts prior to purchasing. Voet is a good reference after you have understood concepts and I use it out of guilt, the guilt of spending so much money on it. I actually ENJOYED studying biochemistry with Lehninger.
To conclude, I cannot stress how good Lehninger is compared to Voet for introductory students. IT LITERALLY IS ONE OF THE BEST ACCOUNTS OF BIOCHEMISTRY.
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50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book for Layperson, November 22, 2004
I'm not a scientist or a student, just someone who was interested in biochemistry as I've been reading a lot about astrobiology and felt I needed a better background in this area. I found this book to be really quite wonderful - beautiful in fact! - with terrific diagrams (my favorite being the e. coli DNA which goes all around the text of the page) - and very well written. It has some incredible diagrams of the proteins involved in biochemistry. Also it has some interesting "asides" covering scientific discoveries or items of medical interest. The discussions of hemoglobin and vitamin B12 were particularly memorable.
Anyway, I can't stop talking about this book to people. I think biochemistry should be required in college for all students, it really makes you appreciate life in a different way than you did before.
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