The Atoms Within Us Revised Ed

by Professor Ernest Borek

An overview of human molecular biology, with a history of discoveries and a discussion of present developments.

238 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1961

Reviews

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rate this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. I give this book this rating because I thought that the book did a wonderful job of encompassing the correlation between chemistry and biology to help the readers better understand the subject of biochemistry. The book answers a lot of usual questions that people have such as, how do enzymes work? Why do we need vitamins? How is genetic information encoded in DNA? Answering these questions made the book easier to understand amongst the immense details. Although supplying details is important in a scientific book such as this, the book needed more background information giving more general descriptions of all the elements, atoms, molecules, cells, nutrients, vitamins, etc. for the reader to have a clearer understanding of the more in-depth explanations which the book provides. Additionally, the author could have done a better job of connecting each chapter to one another. While the author does an excellent job of connecting chemistry and biology throughout the book, it would also help the flow and understanding of the book if the author connected the chapters more and built on the information from previous chapters. I would recommend this book only to individuals who have a strong understanding of the fundamental principles of biochemistry, so they can understand what exactly the author is informing them about.

[Anders · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book for most people, who don’t know anything about biology or biochemistry. It’s an edutaining breakdown of the history of research and discoveries delivered with wit and phrasing that appeals to me and keeps reading engaged and avoids exclusion of the general public. Written in 1961, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore. I got an extra kick out of the Swedish translation by Harry Bökstedt - fantastiskt bra jobbat, roligt!

[AK Alder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book... a little outdated now, but the overall view it gives on the history of biochemistry was not only well-written, but imaginative and entertaining. I would have given 5 stars, if it were more current. See my full review here: http://oh-academia.blogspot.com/2012/...