Essential Cell Biology: An Introduction to the Molecular Biology of the Cell

  • Bruce Alberts,
  • Dennis Bray,
  • Alexander Johnson,
  • Julian Lewis,
  • Martin Raff,
  • Keith Roberts &
  • Peter Walter
Garland: 1998. Pp.630 $59.95, £24.95

Even before I opened this book, the fact that it was from the authors of the highly acclaimed Molecular Biology of the Cell led me to expect it to be outstanding in both the lucidity of the text and the clarity of the illustrations. I was not disappointed. If anything, this book is even easier to follow than its predecessor.

A conscious effort to make things as simple as possible seems to have been made: the subheadings for each section make the appropriate point simply and effectively, and the order of the chapters has been carefully thought out. So, unlike Molecular Biology of the Cell, the chapter on mitosis and meiosis precedes that on the cell cycle, which is, in my opinion, much better for undergraduates. The work is generally up to date, although if it was written today I suspect there would be at least a mention of the effect of histone acetylation on gene expression, and the cloning of Dolly would receive more than a brief mention in a figure legend.

But overall this is an excellent work, and normally I would recommend it wholeheartedly. Given the success of Molecular Biology of the Cell, however, one must ask how it is intended to be used in relation to the previous book. The introduction to Essential Cell Biology says it should be “easily understood by first or second year undergraduates with little background in biology”. Apparently Molecular Biology of the Cell is aimed at “advanced undergraduates specialising in the life sciences or medicine”. It was not always so: the preface to the first edition, which is still included in the current edition, says it was intended “for students taking a first course in cell biology” and that “even a stranger to biology could follow it by starting at the beginning”. Perhaps the authors changed their opinion as the field advanced and they received comments from readers.

Nonetheless, it would have been helpful to have been told the target audience for each of these texts. A student taking an isolated introductory course would buy Essential Cell Biology and find it highly appropriate. But should a student taking an introductory course who wants to go further and take specialist courses buy Essential Cell Biology and then Molecular Biology of the Cell, even though there is considerable duplication, or risk buying just the more complex Molecular Biology of the Cell?

The excellence of both books makes this question all the more pressing. The clarity and attractiveness of Essential Cell Biology will surely ensure it a worldwide audience in the same way as Molecular Biology of the Cell. But the financially and academically hard-pressed student is entitled to know which book they should purchase and when.