The Processes of Life: An Introduction to Molecular Biology

by Lawrence E. Hunter

A brief and accessible introduction to molecular biology for students and professionals who want to understand this rapidly expanding field. Recent research in molecular biology has produced a remarkably detailed understanding of how living things operate. Becoming conversant with the intricacies of molecular biology and its extensive technical vocabulary can be a challenge, though, as introductory materials often seem more like a barrier than an invitation to the study of life. This text offers a concise and accessible introduction to molecular biology, requiring no previous background in science, aimed at students and professionals in fields ranging from engineering to journalism—anyone who wants to get a foothold in this rapidly expanding field. It will be particularly useful for computer scientists exploring computational biology. A reader who has mastered the information in The Processes of Life is ready to move on to more complex material in almost any area of contemporary biology.

Genres: Biology, Science, Nonfiction

299 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2009

Reviews

[Stijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Densely written and often seeming more like an expanded glossary, but that's the nature of the beast (unless you take a special kind of pleasure in 1000+ page Biology textbooks of course). Despite this, this is an impressive overview of the field, with enough food for thought each, say, 10 pages, to keep you going. Be prepared to understand only 30% of the total text (as was the case for me, 31.4% to be precise), but, like the author mentions, to get knowledge in Biology is like traversing a helix: with each round you grasp a bit more, in a bit more detail. Consider this round #1.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent, very readable introduction to molecular biology that's particularly appropriate for someone with a technical background. If you don't have any biological training and are interested in understanding what's happening in biology (perhaps you were inspired by George Church's
Regenesis), this is just what you need.

It's hard to call a book like this "amazing"; after all, it's really a textbook, and textbooks aren't amazing by definition. So it's a 4, not a 5. But as a textbook, this is about as good as it gets.

[Julian Schrittwieser · Rating 4 out of 5]

good overview of molecular biology, but not a lot of depth

[Scott Kennon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an informative book, though someone with no biological training will struggle with it. Hunter drops approximately 600 biology techninical terms on the reader, defines them once, and them continues to use the terms throughout the rest of the book without any reminder of what they mean. Typos and grammatical errors in the middle of complex sentences, which are already filled with technical jargon can be quite confusing.