Molecular and Cell Biology For Dummies Paperback – May 15, 2009

I found this book to be an excellent overview on how cells function and how genetics work. Most major aspects of cells are covered from what each organelle does and how certain processes cells perform work. These include things such as cell respiration, photosynthesis, and mitosis.The other important aspect covered in this book is DNA and genetics. The explanation of what purpose DNA has and how gene traits work is very good and easily understandable.Although this book is intended for mostly anyone from a student of biology to the reader with a casual interest in science, I found the section on cell respiration, with its multi-step processes, to be rather confusing. However, that is my only real complaint about the book.In conclusion, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in biology, cells, or genetics.

My last brush with molecular biology was in college, 25 years ago... It was fascinating to revisit the subject, along with all the discoveries that have happened in the meantime. The text is clear, as are the illustrations, and it puts in persepective all the amazing things that happen in the cell, as well as in the body: Extrapolating the abundance of information to understand how specialized cells do their work is actually easy - the overview is that good and thorough.

This nicely illustrated and easy to read guide is comprehensive, though you will need to be willing to expand your vocabulary considerably. I wish it had a glossary!I bought both the paper and the Kindle editions to see if reading would be better with one than the other. It's definitely better to have the paper edition because it allows you to quickly page back and forth to see illustrations (all are black and white) while reading the text. The illustrations are larger with the paper edition, as well, and the book is lightweight so not difficult to carry with you on the commuter train. Last but not least, you can pass your paper edition on to another reader, impossible with the Kindle edition unless you want to loan your Kindle to someone for a while. I've learned from my comparison that for books with many illustrations, the hard copy is the way to go.

I devoured this book within a few days--loved it. I think it gives a good introduction with details on the the topics of molecular and cellular biology. However, if you don't have a background in chemistry (specifically, molecular diagrams) , you might want to search YouTube and Google for online tutorials. The book does try to provide some understanding on that subject, but it left be a little bewildered. Fortunately for me, I found an excellent video on YouTube that covered chemical structures. I offer the URL below:[...]Overall, I think this book is an excellent resource for those who haven't studied biology since high school, which is my situation. I highly recommend this book for the novice.

This book did just what I had hoped it would do. It took a very complex subject and explained it in as simple terms as possible. I've never had a formal course in biology, but I had watched all the lectures in an MIT Open Courseware course on the subject that had left me confused about a number of things. Of course, this book is not as comprehensive as a full course, but it did clarify a number of things for me. Many of the illustrations are much better than in the textbook that the MIT course was based on. Near the end of the book the author began giving specific study tips -- what things a student needs to be familiar with and what things they need to have down cold. In fact, the last chapter is entitled "Ten Ways to Improve Your Grade." I thought this a little strange, because the introduction does not mention this aspect of the book. It is done unobtrusively, so it shouldn't lessen a non-student's enjoyment of the book. I mention it because it might be a big plus to some prospective readers.

I bought this book to help me study for a test so that I could get into LPN school. I had to either take a biology class or challenge out of it by passing a test before I could even start nursing school. I chose to try to challenge out of the class so that I could start nursing school earlier. There is no way I would have passed the test without this book! I have been out of school for over 15 years and had to learn biology all over again. With the help of this book and a lot of prayer I passed the test and get to go straight into nursing classes this fall! I plan to buy more of these "Dummies" books to help me with my nursing classes!

Although the material is pertinent and accurate, I don't refer to this book often at all. The "dummies" books are laid out in a manner that doesn't fit my learning style very well, I guess - I tend to read through quickly, but never use it as a regular resource. I don't know exactly why, but it feels a little "scattered" for my liking....too many side notes and tangent topics.In all fairness, it has good information in it; if it suits your style of information processing, you'll probably love it!

This book is an excellent introduction to the subject of molecular and cell biology. Like all "for Dummies" books, it is written for the person who has little or no background in the subject, and is slightly whimsical and presented in language I could understand. I recently read a couple of other books that talked about how genes play an important part in driving our behavior and I wanted to check it out. I wanted to understand just what DNA is and why it is important and how it fits together with molecules, cells, genes and chromosomes. This book did the job.