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Bacillus
TIBS 15-APRIL 1990
BOOKSinBRIEF Bacillus edited by Colin R. Harwood, Plenum Press, 1989. $59.50 (xvii + 414 pages) ISBN 0 306 43137 8 As part of the Biotechnology Handbook series, this book takes a deliberately biased view of the Bacillus genus. After a couple of chapters on general bacteriology, it plunges into genetics and molecular biology, and the ways in which
the genetic makeup can be manipulated to advantage. Some additional background on physiology is then supplied before reaching the climax of fermentation processes and products. The index is thorough. Each chapter is extensively referenced, and reviews the field as a whole, not just the recent advances. This is just as well, as for the most part the literature searching appears to end in 1987, with only a sprinkling of 1988 references. This is a
limitation which is perhaps almost inevitable in a book of this nature. The book represents average value for money and its usefulness to the biotechnologist is obvious. It should, however, have a wider appeal; anyone interested in bacterial genetics or physiology should find something of interest, even if only as an antidote to an excessive diet of E. coll.
J.D.
The Biologyof Euglena,V01.4 WHAT A VARIF-.T"/ s PEI~FOP,,MAI',,ICF .I"
edited by Dennis E. Buetow, Academic Press, 1989. $150.00 (xv + 528 pages) ISBN 0 12 139904 4 This multi-author, edited collection is subtitled 'Sub-Cellular Biochemistry and Molecular Biology'. Most of the book is devoted to a detailed and up-to-date account of various organelles, including mitochondria, the nucleus, chloroplasts and ribosomes. A chapter on enzymes and their functional location is an excellent and comprehensive update of a similar chapter in the 1968 edition; there are over 600 references in this chapter alone. Two chapters give an up-to-date account of ribosomes, ribosomal RNA, poly(A) RNA and messenger RNA. This book contains a thorough index and will be valuable to postgraduate scientists. Although it is very expensive, the standard of production is extremely high and the book includes a number of excellent electron micrographs. It will provide a useful addition to the shelves of Institution Libraries.
1____
R. K. P.
Guide to Biochemistry by James C. Blackstock, Butterworth Scientific, 1989. £14.95 (xii + 255 pages) ISBN 0 7236 1151 3 As an Open University tutor I am constantly searching for texts which present students with a concise account of the essentials of biochemistry to reinforce the excellent course material. Many of my undergraduate students study biochemistry for the first time at degree level. They need a reference book which will provide a sound core of basic biochemical knowledge. Guide to Biochemistry is such a text. Unusually for such books it is almost pocket-sized, has a thorough index, is relatively inexpensive
and its content is up-to-date. A comprehensive range of essential biochemical topics is sensibly arranged in 19 chapters. Each chapter is subdivided into blocks of digestible information with a common theme. These are subtitled which makes the book simple to use. Although none of the figures, flow diagrams or tables is in colour (I suspect to keep the cost of the book low) they are all essential, close to the relevant text and provide useful learning aids. I found no printing errors or niggling inaccuracies which often beset this type of text. Overall I think the author succeeds in his aim to produce a biochemistry 'Bible' for the uninitiated. I will certainly recommend it to my first year undergraduate students as a basic
reference and feel it is also appropriate for sixth-formers. ! do, however, have two minor criticisms. At the close of each chapter the author suggests further reading. These texts are almost all recent reference books suitable for undergraduates but I would have welcomed books and original papers covering a range of difficulty, with an indication of the level of each. Further, as the book itself is a catalogue of dry information I would have liked to see some narrative texts in the suggested reading, to introduce the reader to the flavour, excitement and romance of biochemistry.
P. A. Q. 165
BOOKSinBRIEF Bacillus edited by Colin R. Harwood, Plenum Press, 1989. $59.50 (xvii + 414 pages) ISBN 0 306 43137 8 As part of the Biotechnology Handbook series, this book takes a deliberately biased view of the Bacillus genus. After a couple of chapters on general bacteriology, it plunges into genetics and molecular biology, and the ways in which
the genetic makeup can be manipulated to advantage. Some additional background on physiology is then supplied before reaching the climax of fermentation processes and products. The index is thorough. Each chapter is extensively referenced, and reviews the field as a whole, not just the recent advances. This is just as well, as for the most part the literature searching appears to end in 1987, with only a sprinkling of 1988 references. This is a
limitation which is perhaps almost inevitable in a book of this nature. The book represents average value for money and its usefulness to the biotechnologist is obvious. It should, however, have a wider appeal; anyone interested in bacterial genetics or physiology should find something of interest, even if only as an antidote to an excessive diet of E. coll.
J.D.
The Biologyof Euglena,V01.4 WHAT A VARIF-.T"/ s PEI~FOP,,MAI',,ICF .I"
edited by Dennis E. Buetow, Academic Press, 1989. $150.00 (xv + 528 pages) ISBN 0 12 139904 4 This multi-author, edited collection is subtitled 'Sub-Cellular Biochemistry and Molecular Biology'. Most of the book is devoted to a detailed and up-to-date account of various organelles, including mitochondria, the nucleus, chloroplasts and ribosomes. A chapter on enzymes and their functional location is an excellent and comprehensive update of a similar chapter in the 1968 edition; there are over 600 references in this chapter alone. Two chapters give an up-to-date account of ribosomes, ribosomal RNA, poly(A) RNA and messenger RNA. This book contains a thorough index and will be valuable to postgraduate scientists. Although it is very expensive, the standard of production is extremely high and the book includes a number of excellent electron micrographs. It will provide a useful addition to the shelves of Institution Libraries.
1____
R. K. P.
Guide to Biochemistry by James C. Blackstock, Butterworth Scientific, 1989. £14.95 (xii + 255 pages) ISBN 0 7236 1151 3 As an Open University tutor I am constantly searching for texts which present students with a concise account of the essentials of biochemistry to reinforce the excellent course material. Many of my undergraduate students study biochemistry for the first time at degree level. They need a reference book which will provide a sound core of basic biochemical knowledge. Guide to Biochemistry is such a text. Unusually for such books it is almost pocket-sized, has a thorough index, is relatively inexpensive
and its content is up-to-date. A comprehensive range of essential biochemical topics is sensibly arranged in 19 chapters. Each chapter is subdivided into blocks of digestible information with a common theme. These are subtitled which makes the book simple to use. Although none of the figures, flow diagrams or tables is in colour (I suspect to keep the cost of the book low) they are all essential, close to the relevant text and provide useful learning aids. I found no printing errors or niggling inaccuracies which often beset this type of text. Overall I think the author succeeds in his aim to produce a biochemistry 'Bible' for the uninitiated. I will certainly recommend it to my first year undergraduate students as a basic
reference and feel it is also appropriate for sixth-formers. ! do, however, have two minor criticisms. At the close of each chapter the author suggests further reading. These texts are almost all recent reference books suitable for undergraduates but I would have welcomed books and original papers covering a range of difficulty, with an indication of the level of each. Further, as the book itself is a catalogue of dry information I would have liked to see some narrative texts in the suggested reading, to introduce the reader to the flavour, excitement and romance of biochemistry.
P. A. Q. 165