Overview
The award-winning AIDS: The Biological Basis, now in its third edition, has been revised and updated to meet the needs of students, academics and AIDS professionals. While retaining the same successful pedagogical features that made it so effective in previous editions, Dr. Alcamo has added critical, up-to-date information on AIDS and HIV, including: the physiology of the HIV-T cell relationship; the spread of AIDS throughout Africa and Asia; new insights into needle exchange programs; how the viral load has become a key diagnostic tool for tracking HIV infection; the use of zidovudine to control pediatric AIDS; work on the AIDS vaccine; and the use of HAART to control AIDS in adults.Intro. to what is known about AIDS & HIV, epidemiology, preventing HIV transmission, testing, diagnosis, treatment.
Synopsis
Alcamo (microbiology, formerly of State U. of New York-Farmingdale) provides a textbook or general introduction on the syndrome for teachers, students, and practitioners in health services, and general readers. No dates are noted for earlier editions. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Doody Review Services
Reviewer:Marvin J. Bittner, MD, MSc, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA(Creighton University Medical Center)
Description:Written for an audience with no more technical background than that of the daily newspaper reader, this work updates the 1996 edition in a student-friendly textbook that amounts to a sort of encyclopedia of AIDS.
Purpose:Education in the biological basis of AIDS is the author's goal -- and an important one. Advancing toward that goal, he provides clear explanations, engaging descriptions of the significance of research, and wide-ranging explanations of AIDS biology, from "What is a virus?" to "How does a DNA vaccine work?" Frustrating the effort are inaccuracy (Kaposi's sarcoma is said on p. 100 to be described in 1924, but Dr. Kaposi died in 1902) and outdated material (a common pneumonia in AIDS is described on p. 245 as caused by protozoan Pneumocystis carinii and treated preferably with pentamidine -- rather than caused by the fungus Pneumocystis jiroveci and treated preferably with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole).
Audience:The author seeks an audience ranging from the term paper writer to the physician, and the book will be appropriate for just such a broad audience. Admittedly, the term paper writer may have limited interest in details of needlestick exposure management. Many physicians may know much of the fundamentals, yet learn from the author's lucid descriptions of research, such as the coin-flip strategy (p. 131) for eliciting sexual behavior histories. The author, who died before publication, was a university-level PhD professor of microbiology.
Features:Extensive coverage of AIDS includes history, cause, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and ongoing research. Many features assist learning. Each chapter has an outline, a list of goals, sidebars with frequently asked questions, sidebars with explanations, numerous illustrations, a concluding summary, review questions (with answers), and references for further reading. Illustrations include patient photos, maps, graphs, and diagrams. The book concludes with an outline for a 10-session course, a pronunciation guide, and a glossary. This book treats AIDS with what has been described as "the signature Alcamo style, which includes a friendly tone, personal writing style, student-friendly organization, and real-world applications."
Assessment:Although outstanding for pedagogical technique, this book's value is impaired by inaccurate, outdated material. I hope that, as with Dr. Alcamo's microbiology text (Pommerville, Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology, 7th Edition (Jones & Bartlett, 2004)), a colleague will update the content and retain the style.
Editorials
From The Critics
Reviewer: Marvin J. Bittner, MD, MSc, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA(Creighton University Medical Center)Description: Written for an audience with no more technical background than that of the daily newspaper reader, this work updates the 1996 edition in a student-friendly textbook that amounts to a sort of encyclopedia of AIDS.
Purpose: Education in the biological basis of AIDS is the author's goal — and an important one. Advancing toward that goal, he provides clear explanations, engaging descriptions of the significance of research, and wide-ranging explanations of AIDS biology, from "What is a virus?" to "How does a DNA vaccine work?" Frustrating the effort are inaccuracy (Kaposi's sarcoma is said on p. 100 to be described in 1924, but Dr. Kaposi died in 1902) and outdated material (a common pneumonia in AIDS is described on p. 245 as caused by protozoan Pneumocystis carinii and treated preferably with pentamidine — rather than caused by the fungus Pneumocystis jiroveci and treated preferably with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole).
Audience: The author seeks an audience ranging from the term paper writer to the physician, and the book will be appropriate for just such a broad audience. Admittedly, the term paper writer may have limited interest in details of needlestick exposure management. Many physicians may know much of the fundamentals, yet learn from the author's lucid descriptions of research, such as the coin-flip strategy (p. 131) for eliciting sexual behavior histories. The author, who died before publication, was a university-level PhD professor of microbiology.
Features: Extensive coverage of AIDS includes history, cause, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and ongoing research. Many features assist learning. Each chapter has an outline, a list of goals, sidebars with frequently asked questions, sidebars with explanations, numerous illustrations, a concluding summary, review questions (with answers), and references for further reading. Illustrations include patient photos, maps, graphs, and diagrams. The book concludes with an outline for a 10-session course, a pronunciation guide, and a glossary. This book treats AIDS with what has been described as "the signature Alcamo style, which includes a friendly tone, personal writing style, student-friendly organization, and real-world applications."
Assessment: Although outstanding for pedagogical technique, this book's value is impaired by inaccurate, outdated material. I hope that, as with Dr. Alcamo's microbiology text (Pommerville, Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology, 7th Edition (Jones & Bartlett, 2004)), a colleague will update the content and retain the style.
3 Stars from Doody