Pauline Law, University of Dundee

For a student guide to the micro world of bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites then this book has every organism that you are likely to come across in the average undergraduate course. Significant organisms and their diseases are listed with key information about clinical features, lab characteristics and diagnosis. Colour photographs and diagrams add to the content. I was a little disappointed with treatment options which are not very detailed in places, and in this fast changing area it may not be up to date or comprehensive enough. On a personal note, I found the printed headings and sub-divisions a bit hard on the eye. The use of colour for some headings then block typeface for organism names did not quite fit. However the index is comprehensive and makes this book easy to drop in and out of. A great reference text to have on the shelf.

Posted 18th Mar 2010

Andrew Gough, University of Manchester

For me, microbiology is a subject I know little about but do know it’s something I need to know about! And always comes up in exams! This book is just what I needed: something to introduce me to microbiology and something to refer to beyond what can be found in a general medicine textbook. The first few chapters of this book introduce the reader to microbiology, bacteria and viruses, and antimicrobial treatment. However, it’s certainly not ‘Microbiology for Dummies!’, the rest of the chapters either tackle infection by system; discuss ways of preventing disease; or are more specialist, tackling areas such as infection in pregnancy. All chapters are well illustrated (gory photos, diagrams etc.). I definitely felt that the book deserves the title ‘Notes on...’ – it’s detailed while still quite concise and ideal for quick reference. It probably lies somewhere between a revision text and a big textbook of microbiology!

Posted 1st Dec 2008