Principles of Molecular Virology

From the Publisher

Praise for previous editions:

“An excellent virological text for students. It is recommended in many university undergraduate courses for good reason. It is well written in an accessible style... well illustrated…I suspect the self assessment questions will be usefully plundered by those setting examinations.”
- Trends in Genetics
“Excellent.. The writing flows easily with good practical examples... an attractive, up-to-date book and is an excellent buy that I can strongly recommend.”
- Society for General Microbiology Quarterly
"More suitable for an undergraduate class than any other text I have recently seen... readable and undergraduate-friendly, and it fills a definite niche.”
- American Society for Microbiology News
"Compact... and realistically priced... Presents(s) molecular virology to an undergraduate audience is an easily digestible form.”
- Trends in Microbiology

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.

Press, Incorporated Academic

"An excellent virological text for students. It is recommended in many university undergraduate courses for good reason. It is written in an accessible style... well illustrated... I suspect the self-assessment questions will be usefully plundered by those setting examinations. I have no doubt there will be a third edition."
--Trends in Genetics

"Excellent... The writing flows easily with good practical examples... An attractive, up-to-date book and is an excellent buy that I can strongly recommend."
--Society For General Microbiology Quarterly

"More suitable for an undergraduate class than any other text I have recently seen... Readable and undergraduate friendly, and it fills a definite niche."
--American Society For Microbiology News

"Compact... and realistically priced... Present[s] molecular virology to an undergraduate audience in an easily digestible form."
--Trends in Microbiology

"A short, straightforward, inexpensive paperback that concentrates on the basic principles of molecular virology... Provide[s] a good starting point for non-virologists to rapidly acquire a working knowledge of the area."
--Trends in Biochemistry

"Well worth its price... the text is easy to follow and represents a fantastic blend of basic principles, corresponding techniques and applied views."
--Zeit Fur Pflanzenkrankheiten Und pflanzenschutz

"There is a remarkable amount of detail included for so small a book. 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."
--Doody Review

From The Critics

Reviewer: Jeff D Hester, Ph.D.(IBT Reference Laboratory)
Description: This is a good general reference for both nonvirologists and young researchers in the field of virology. It is obvious that considerable thought went into covering this topic without making the book too lengthy.
Purpose: The purpose is to present the concerns of contemporary virology to students in a concise and digestible manner. This is an extremely important objective since this may be an undergraduate's introduction into a field of virology. The author has met this goal in each edition of this book and gone above and beyond with the addition of the CD-ROM which contains supplemental information.
Audience: The book is written for undergraduates or young graduate students who have not taken a virology course. The author has been very successful at providing this level of information in both this edition as well as previous editions.
Features: As a general virology reference, the book starts in an obvious place with a brief history as well as early accomplishments in this field. Furthermore, the author goes into just enough detail to provide a general overview of the main topics in the current field of virology (e.g. genomics, replication, expression, infection, and pathogenesis). The artwork is seamless, providing additional visual aids without distracting the reader.
Assessment: This book provides undergraduates with an excellent overview of molecular virology. This is an absolutely necessary book for students who have not been exposed to this topic and require a book that provides this information in a clear and concise manner. Updated editions are extremely important in such a rapidly changing field. New discoveries have been included in this edition which enables students to feel that they are receiving the latest information.

4 Stars! from Doody