Product Description

...This new work is by the same exceptional team that wrote the acclaimed text, Molecular Biology of the Cell...explains cell biology at a level that is easy to grasp for students with a minimal knowledge of biology.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #94935 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 764 pages

Book Info
Univ. of California, San Francisco. Textbook presenting the essentials of cell biology for firstwith or second-year undergraduates little background in biology. Color illustrations.

Customer Reviews

A lively and clear introduction to cell biology
I read this book during the summer prior to me senior year in high school, and literally could not put it down. I read the whole work cover-to-cover in a week.

Going in, my background in biology was an introductory cell biology course and my background in chemistry was an introductory chemistry class. That I had little formal training in the sciences was irrelevant when reading this; it explains all the concepts so clearly that I think even a person with no background in science at all could understand it. The diagrams and photos are well-done and highly pertinent.

This is not to say that this book is only for non-scientists. Indeed, I even used knowledge gleaned from this fantastic book to teach my teachers a thing or two. Perhaps the section on muscle contraction is the best written of all - no other book I have ever seen comes close to this in clarity, and this section was one that I recommended to my Anatomy and Physiology teacher for clarification about a few concepts.

I am soon to be a sophomore in college, and this book continues to inspire me on my path to be a professor (I study chemistry with an emphasis on chemical biology). This book was invaluable even in a rigorous microbiology course, not to mention other introductory courses.

In summary, I rarely leave home for extended periods without this text (literally). If there is ONE BOOK that you should buy for studying cellular and molecular biology, let it be this one (or, if you are so inclined, its larger brother, Molecular Biology of the Cell).

A perfect introductory textbook to molecular cell biology!
I recently bought the book "Essential Cell Biology: An Introduction to the Molecular Biology of the Cell" and studied it from cover to cover, including all the questions and answers. It was one of the greatest and most well-organized textbooks I have ever encountered. The language was very fluent, and especially some of the example questions were quite entertaining and witty. I haven't had any education neither in biology nor in molecular biology nor in biochemistry (my major is chemical engineering), still I didn't have any difficulties in understanding all the concepts presented in the book. The knowledge I gained from the book was a great help to me during the "GRE Subject Test in Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology" which I took just yesterday. I am applying to graduate schools in the US for a Ph.D. degree in Molecular Biology or Bioengineering, and the test I took yesterday was crucial for my applications, in which (thanks to Essential Cell Biology) I believe I did quite well for a person without a background in the subject except a two-months-long self-study. This is a great and concise introductory textbook to the molecular biology of the cell, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in this subject with no or little background.

A great help for a 1st year Med Student
"Essential Cell Biology" by Bruce Alberts literally saved my 1st semester. The course went hard and the lectures were long and boring. And then - I opened the Essential, started reading, and suddenly things got clear for me. I got an A on the test, and now I know my Cell Biology well - all thanks to this book. Strongly recommended!!!