In this update of the edition with a preface dated 1996, Cann (U. of Leicester, UK) adds new sections on viruses and apoptosis and bacteriphages and human disease, online resources, a chronology of virology's history, and a companion CD-ROM with interactive tutorials. Includes prefaces to the previous editions, self-assessment questions with an answer key, a glossary, and a classification table of subcellular infectious agents.
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Jerry Lynn Taylor
This second edition paperback book provides a broad introduction to virology. Although it is called Principles of Molecular Virology, the author also includes a broad-based introduction including a brief history of some early seminal works in the field. The author states that he designed the book to provide a text describing the general principles of "molecules and viruses" supplemented with specific examples for illustration purposes. He wanted it to reflect the current emphasis and concerns of virology. This book is not intended to be as encyclopedic as many virology texts, but rather to describe basic concepts in a very readable format and direct the reader to other works for greater detail. He has designed the text for teaching undergraduate student in virology. There is a remarkable amount of detail included for so small a book. This is accomplished through the use of many figures and much tabulated information. Although many of the figures are not self-explanatory, in combination with text material they provide much useful information. The text provides specific examples about bacteriophage, plant viruses, insect viruses, and mammalian viruses, as well as subviral particles, like pitons. This breadth of coverage sets the book apart from some other introductory virology texts that focus primarily on human viruses. Chapters are based on concepts, including pathogenesis, infection, and expression. Each chapter has self-assessment questions, which serve as a review of the chapter. There is also a very good glossary of terms. Terms whose definitions are found in the glossary are printed in bold in the text, triggering the reader to look up thedefinition. This well-written text provides a very useable introduction to virology. The information provided is current. It would be a worthwhile addition to the library of teachers of undergraduate virology.
