Molecular Biology of the Cell

cellular viewpoint. That is all very well. In any case academics will swallow almost anything if it's their job. Even if the botanists of the 18th century, the well-intentioned of the 19th century and the latterday enthusiasts of this century believed in the cell, is it an approach that is truly relevant? Such must surely be the attitude of today's sceptical medical students, and of many of their now middle-aged predecessors. Well, let a battle-scarred predecessor speak. Even a conventional diet of comparative and classical morphology, combined with exposure to prefashionable Eltonian ecology, and a native distrust of big-business 'nouvelle vague' biology has not blinkered your reviewer to the virtues of Alberts' Molecular Biology of the Cell. This is undoubtedly a landmark for the student and his teacher in the field of preclinical medicine. Many American undergraduate texts in biochemistry and molecular genetics clearly outsell competing English publications. Only English textbooks in immunology remain popular, and effective sellers in this field. The successful texts in these areas eschew traditional academic contrapuntal argument. The new bestselling formula involves clarity of presentation, the effective use of multi-coloured diagrams and the detailed exposition of basic processes. Such didactic approaches suit undergraduates today, and certainly ease the hardship for their seniors needing a refresher