Microbiology & Biotechnology

Times Educational Supplement (TES),
Reviewed by: Edward Bamford,
University of Worcester, 20 Feb, 2009

"It has, in essence, been written as it should; an informative guide and source of information, which delivers facts without prejudice or bias, so that the reader can formulate their own understanding and from there develop an opinion on what is an increasingly contentious area of research."

Part of the Biozone Modular Workbook series, Microbiology & Biotechnology supplies objectives and activities that pupils can research and investigate aspects of microbial diversity and modern biotechnology.

Microbiology and Biotechnology
reviewed by PGCE student, University of Worcester

'Microbiology and Biotechnology' guides the reader on an informative course of discovery from microbial diversity to modern biotechnology ranging from genetic engineering to cloning. Genome research, including DNA chips and manual DNA sequencing, is also explored.

The first comment that I would have to make about this book is how well structured and set out it is, beginning with showing the reader how each page is organised, so that the prospective reader knows what and where to look on each page for the desired information. This is consistent throughout and so would not leave any reader frustrated or confused about where to find certain facts, ideas or information. Where to find key points, further resources and learning objectives are all explained, so the reader instantly becomes accustomed to where everything is and where to find relevant information throughout the book.

One point that must be raised with regards to the book is its attractiveness and how much it would entice someone to buy it and read on. There are some amazing and interesting pictures used, but they could be so much more effective if they included some colour so that they would stand out so much more and keep the attention of the reader. It’s almost a shame, as the reader wants to turn from page to page having these incredibly interesting pictures jumping out at them, making you really want to find out more about the information behind the photos.

However, the backing up of information with these pictures is most useful and helps the reader to assimilate and understand the facts being explained more readily. As a visual representation of the information is given it becomes much easier to recall this when answering the questions. All the diagrams are effectively annotated, which would aid understanding of the key points.

The book is not biased in its delivery, so it is possible to develop your own ideas about the material. It has, in essence, been written as it should; an informative guide and source of information, which delivers facts without prejudice or bias, so that the reader can formulate their own understanding and from there develop an opinion on what is an increasingly contentious area of research.

In conclusion, the book is informative and thoroughly interesting to read, delving into microbiology and biotechnology in great depth. There is much information to learn and owing to the lay-out this is easy to assimilate; yet I feel the book could have been so much more with the use of colour as there are many amazingly interesting pictures that just need to jump out at you, but are left subdued.

Link to review: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storyCode=6006176