The text flows in the same conversational pattern throughout, giving one voice to the flow of information. This means the tone can be a little casual, but I don’t think it is distracting it makes for a very approachable view of Microbiology that is appealing to students, especially non-major undergrads. The writing style is more conversational, which can take a little getting used to, compared to many other textbook stylings that sound more formal and scientific. The exception would be the end chapters covering genetic engineering (as new techniques evolve) and microbial genomics (as DNA sequencing expands our current view of microbial genomes). For the very few lesser-known pieces of information that were conversationally shared, a reference or link to cite the source would be helpful for readers who are curious! (one example- page 76: “All good things must come to an end (otherwise bacteria would equal the mass of the Earth in 7 days!)”- how was that was calculated?)Īs written, it largely contains the foundations of microbiology, and a small bit of historical information, that is unlikely to change within the next few years.

The content that I reviewed was accurate and expected for an intro to micro text. Most of the American Society for Microbiology Core Competencies for Undergraduate Microbiology are met with the few exceptions as noted above. A little more could be included about eukaryotic microbes, but most micro classes do focus more on prokaryotes, which this covers. It covers many core topics that I would expect to find in a micro class, with the exception of material discussing control of microbial growth (disinfectants/autoclaving/antibiotics), antibiotic resistance (how it is acquired, why it is a problem), and host-pathogen interactions (related to human health/immunity/vaccinations/medicine).

This text covers a broad range of the introductory microbiology basics in a clean, straight-to-the point manner, and introduces the working vocabulary needed. Reviewed by Andrea Beyer, Assistant Professor, Virginia State University on 8/22/21

Journalism, Media Studies & Communications +.

What is micro biology