Product Description

The authoritative text for introductory microbiology, Brock Biology of Microorganisms continues its long tradition of impeccable scholarship, outstanding art and photos, and accuracy. It balances the most current coverage with the major classical and contemporary concepts essential for understanding microbiology. The authors' clear, accessible writing style speaks to today's students while maintaining the depth and precision science majors need.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #458607 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1088 pages

From the Publisher
For nearly 30 years and seven editions, Biology of Microorganisms has been the bible for introductory microbiology courses. Always known for its scholarship and outstanding art program the new eighth edition includes enhanced student pedagogy and a new exciting media package.

From the Inside Flap
Preface

As we enter the new millennium the rapid pace of basic research and the enormous possibilities for applications have thrust the field of microbiology into the forefront of the biological sciences. Through the years the science of microbiology has kept its roots firmly planted in fundamental principles. But now with the explosion of new molecular methods for both field and laboratory studies microbiologists can ask questions and do experiments that they could only dream of years ago. Indeed, as one notable microbiologist put it recently, the science of microbiology is "on a roll." It is during this exciting time that we present to students and instructors of microbiology a snapshot of microbiology today in the form of the ninth edition of Brock Biology of Microorganisms (BBOM).

What's New in Organization?

In the 30 years since the first edition of this book, originally titled Biology of Microorganisms, was published, many things have changed in the field of microbiology. The new edition of BBOM has also seen many changes—some minor, some not so minor—from that of the previous edition. In terms of chapter organization, the ninth edition follows along the lines of the eighth with two exceptions: (1) The chapter on "Microbial Evolution and Systematics" has been moved forward to Chapter 12 to set the stage for later chapters on microbial diversity, metabolic diversity, and ecology. With this move, every chapter in the book that deals with organisms and their activities in nature (including medical microbiology) can be seen, as it should be, within a phylogenetic context. And (2), the chapter entitled "Microbial Growth Control" has been moved back to Chapter 18 in this edition to immediately precede the medical/ immunology block of chapters where it fits better as an introduction to this material.

Because medical microbiology is such an important area of our science, the disease chapter has been restructured and split into two chapters. Chapter 23 is now entitled "Person-to-Person Microbial Diseases" and exclusively covers microbial diseases transmitted in this fashion. Here one will find up-to-the-minute coverage of airborne and sexually transmitted pathogens and the diseases they cause. In Chapter 24, entitled "Animal-Transmitted, Vectorborne, and Common-Source Microbial Diseases," one finds coverage of important diseases transmitted by insects or animals such as malaria, Lyme, hantavirus and rabies, and diseases caused by a common vehicle such as foodborne and waterborne diseases. Those instructors who structure their introductory courses around a theme of medical microbiology will now find more than enough coverage of diseases and the disease process in the ninth edition.

Finally, it should also be mentioned that the new organization in BBOM 9/e conforms very closely to the recommendations of the Education Division of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) for teaching introductory microbiology courses. This includes the content outline of the new ASM telecourse in microbiology, whose 12-part series produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting and funded by the Annenberg Corporation closely mirrors the organization of material in the ninth edition.

What's New in Content?

What isn't new? Every chapter in this book has seen revision, in some cases, very extensive revision. The authors' goal in producing this new edition was to maintain the breadth and depth of coverage that users have come to expect from this book while at the same time keeping things within bounds, both in terms of what students should be expected to master in one semester, and the overall length of an "introductory" textbook. As for previous editions of this book, the ninth has tried to strike a balance between concepts and details such that the beginning student is not overwhelmed while the more experienced student can still use the book as a general resource.

A very important point for instructors to note is the numbered head system used in this book. As for all eight previous editions, BBOM 9/e is constructed in a modular fashion, using numbered heads to group off major topics within each chapter. Instructors should take advantage of this system by assigning to their students as much or as little (depending on the depth and breadth desired) of the material of a given chapter as necessary. Instructors know that most textbooks can not (and should not) be covered in a single semester course, and BBOM 9/e is no exception. While some chapters of this book should be covered in their entirety in the introductory course, others need only be sampled. The numbered head system makes sampling convenient for instructors and at the same time partitions concepts into more digestible portions for students.

Highlights of the revision include: (1) a more streamlined chapter on cell chemistry (now entitled "Macromolecules") to put the focus on the structure of the cells' major molecules; (2) a major new section on prokaryotic genomics (Chapter 9) to reflect the great excitement and advances occurring in this area today; (3) a major reorganization of the material on prokaryotes (Chapters 13 and 14) along phylogenetic lines to better integrate the evolutionary material in Chapter 12 with the properties of the organisms themselves; (4) extensive coverage of the exciting areas of phylogenetic probes and other fluorescent probes and their use in clinical medicine and microbial ecology (Chapters 16 and 21); (5) an expanded treatment of eukaryotic microorganisms and eukaryotic cell structure (Chapter 17); (6) a heavily reorganized immunology chapter which, following the pattern of the successful "nucleic acids" box in Chapter 6, separates out the molecular details of immunology into a box ("Molecular Biology of the Immune Response") for those instructors that wish to cover the field at the molecular level, while retaining the basic concepts of immunology in the text for those who wish to take a more practical approach to teaching this important area; and (7) an exciting description of the recent emergence of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (in the new Chapter 24).

In summary, long-time users of this book will find a number of old friends between the covers and will meet a number of new ones as they go along. New users of this book will likely find it to be a refreshing, modern approach to teaching the science of microbiology. Either way, the book itself, coupled with the helpful pedagogical and instructional aids that make up the complete package (see below), should make the ninth edition of BBOM the most "teachable" for the instructor and the most useful to the student, of them all.

Pedagogical Aids

Previous users of this text will quickly notice the entirely new art program in BBOM 9/e. Every piece of art has been re-done, with special care to introduce more three dimensionality where pedagogically useful, and with a better eye for color usage. As before, color is a learning tool in BBOM 9/e and instructors will find that students quickly grasp the significance of color for reinforcing important concepts.

High quality photos and photomicrographs have been a mainstay of Biology of Microorganisms since the first edition appeared in 1970. BBOM 9/e is no exception and contains over 75 new color and black and white photos, most of which, like in previous editions, were supplied by top researchers in the field. Indeed, the combination of a more pleasing art style and superb photos should be well received by today's "visual" generation of students.

As has become a tradition with this book, BBOM 9/e incorporates several study aids into the body of each chapter. Concept links (signaled by the blue "chain link" icon) are the ties between what has just been read and related material found elsewhere in the book; Concept Checks (found at the end of each numbered head) are a brief overview of the previous material followed by several short questions designed to ensure understanding of critical concepts; and the Working Glossary (that begins each chapter) is a dictionary of the essential terms to be encountered therein. With regular use of these study aids students will (1) know where to go within the book to read more about a particular topic; (2) instantly know whether they have mastered a given concept; and (3) have a fingertip reference to the key terminology. In addition to these study aids built into each chapter, BBOM 9/e contains an extensive list of end of chapter study questions designed to both recall important concepts and apply them to solving problems.

This new edition of Brock Biology of Microorganisms comes complete with a companion Website (prenhall/brock). On this site you will find supplementary materials for each chapter, an advanced readings list, and a new learning aid introduced with the ninth edition, the "Testing Center." Instructors are well aware that students nowadays like to prepare for upcoming examinations by taking "practice exams." In the BBOM 9/e Testing Center students can do this by taking a "Virtual Exam" for each unit of material, testing their preparedness with thousands of on-line questions de

From the Back Cover
The book for introductory microbiology, Brock's Biology of Microorganisms continues its long tradition of impeccable scholarship, outstanding art, and accuracy. It balances the most current coverage with the major classical concepts essential for understanding the science. A six-part presentation covers principles of microbiology; evolutionary microbiology and microbial diversity; metabolic diversity and microbial ecology; immunology, pathogenicity, and host responses; microbial diseases; and microorganisms as tools for industry and research. For researchers, group leaders, senior scientists in pharmaceuticals, chemicals and biochemical biotechnology companies, and public health laboratories.

Customer Reviews

A Grad Student's Perspective
This is hands down the best general microbiology textbook on the market. Below, I'll explain why. (And I will also defend the book against some of the more ridiculous comments):

1) Let's be honest. Some students who read textbooks aren't too bright or motivated. So you should completely ignore ANYBODY who says the book was worthless. He/She was probably frustrated with the class they were in, and blamed the prof, their TA, the book, and life in general for getting a bad grade or having a bad time. Common sense tells us that a book that has gone through 11 editions is way above average. Most textbooks don't make it past the 1st or 2nd ed.

2) This book is not meant to delve into excruciating detail. While the book does contatin a LOT of detail on some topics, most aren't that detailed. The reason is because it's an introductory text. If you want more information, then buy a book that focuses on that one area. So, criticisms that say the book was "too general" are silly.

3) The book does a great job of overviewing every possible topic under the sun related to microbiology. The book covers basic cell biology, foundations of microbiology, molecular biology, diversity, metabolism, immunology, pathogenesis, disease, and even a little biotechnology.

4) It's true that the book could be organized a little better. In particular, it's frustrating to have to flip back and forth between chapters on metabolic diversity and prokaryotic diversity. However, I can't really suggest a better way to do it.

5) As an undergrad, I used this book in two different courses, and enjoyed it both times. As a grad student, I still find myself referring back to it on occasion.

In summary, if you're looking for a good introductory text to microbiology, you're not going to find anything better than this.

An exceptional microbiological resource
If you are an aspiring microbiologist or simply a student or teacher of science in general wishing to have a well-rounded, solid microbial background, then this is an absolutely essential resource. It is an unsurpassed publication in the vast field of fundamental microbiology. It is designed for the upper-level undergraduate student and thus takes a holistic and all-encompassing approach to the field. However, I have no doubt that even seasoned instructors and professionals alike will gleen invaluable information from the material presented. Its authors masterfully and lucidly convey the salient points of their respective expertises in each of the major themes presented (general microbiology, microbial diversity, immunology and epidemiology, and molecular biology and microbial genetics). The sections pertaining to microbial diversity are particularly well done and informative, as are those providing a general, basic background to microbiology.

The book (ninth edition) contains 991 pages in 24 chapters, as well as a glossary, a superb index, and 2 appendices (the first containing useful bioenergetic calculations; the second presenting a taxonomic hierarchy from Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology). There are many photographs and micrographs (invariably of outstanding quality) supplementing the text throughout. These, in addition to various tables and clear, colorful figures, aid the student in visualizing the most important points of the text. The tasteful and copious use of color in figures throughout the book serves two purposes: It adds visual interest while detering the mundane, overly sober look of some other publications, and more importantly, it allows the reader to see vital associations between particular related elements in each figure, and often, in several figures. The book also employs the use of "feature boxes" to elucidate related or historically significant applications of material presented in the text. Rather than being distracting or disruptive to the flow of the text, I found these boxes to be informative and interesting supplements.

The overall look and feel of the book is very well done. It somehow actually looks INVITING, which, as any undergraduate student knows, is extremely appreciated when it comes time to actually sit down and do some reading. The text itself is presented in a clear, progressive manner from start to finish and provides the student with a plethora of essential concepts and facts in the immense world of microbiology.

As stated above, the book is aimed towards upper-level undergraduate students, so some of the more in-depth and detailed aspects of the concepts are understandably omitted. Otherwise, the book would have to be ridiculously lengthy and unnecessarily complex for its intended audience. As it stands, this publication is very comprehensive and will serve as a valuable resource for any student or teacher of the subject.

Excellent Undergrad book
The pedagogy is excellent, and let me just mention that I, as an author of a text in an unrelated field, know the challenge of explaining complex issues in an understandable format. No book can be all things to all people. This is not a graduate level text. The authors know their audience and know how to present the foundational knowledge, introduce the right concepts, leave out the unneccesary details, and keep it all tied together. I only found this book after suffering through the Prescott/Harley/Klein text.