Product Description
Would you like to bring guest lectures like researchers, physicians, or fellow instructors into you microbiology course? With this third edition of INTRODUCTION TO MICROBIOLOGY you get the perspective of all of those three professionals. John Ingraham, a professor of microbiology at University of California at Davis, and Catherine Ingraham, his daughter and a practicing physician, utilize their experience within a case history approach complemented by a great technology package. Each chapter in INTRODUCTION TO MICROBIOLOGY now consistently begins with a case history, which John Ingraham has found very motivatonal to students who are new to the study ofbasic science. Because Catherine Ingraham studied to become a physician by interviewing patients, determining causes and implementing solutions, she knows mastry comes from high interest human stories rather than clinical presentations. Many of the case histories found in this book are taken from Catherine's experience as a physician. This combination of experiences and talent brings a case-based quality to every lecture and homework session.This unique author team also provides up-to-the-minute currency. Coverage of new microbial "events" such as biological warfare, studied by John and its effects prepared for in Catherine's office, keeps students interested. The authors also highlight reemerging diseases, such as tuberculoses and smallpox.As with previous editions, this book takes a "body systems" organization. Students are exposed to the unknown, the world of the microbes, through the known, and the different parts of their own bodies. And, because art is so important, there is again a multimedia manager with this title, but with more exciting capabilities than ever before. Instructors receive powerful PowerPoint slides for all the illustrations, tables and figures from the text, plus several animations are at your fingertips. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

CD Animations Not Available to Students!!
The content of this book is acceptable and the photos and tables are helpful.But the book indicates that the CD included with the book includes animations of the subject matter.Throughout the book, it encourages you to go to the cd and view the animations.What it does not tell you is that the animations are only available to instructors.It took me six contacts with the book publisher, and lengthy conversations with five uninformed representatives, to find out that I could not get the cd animations.VERY DISAPPOINTING INDEED!I have purchased many science texts that come with animations on cd and it is available to anyone who purchases the book.Why bother to include a cd with the book.The cd that comes with this text is absolutely empty.It only contains a link to the book's website.

Just know that if you purchase this book, the cd is useless to students.

informative
I had to read the entire book. It wasn't difficult. Not a reference book, but a good introduction

great intro book
I got this book with a Medical Micro book for a class.While the approach of this book is occasionally juvenal (I don't need a little story about a boy getting a puncture wound to explain the immune response), it has been a good fall-back reference as the material is organized differently from the other text.

A teacher's perspective
The textbook writing is simple but meanders enough to lose focus. The busy student could benefit from the many tables and figures, but somehow the link between text and graphics is lost in the voluminous chapters.The summaries are point like renditions of the text and do not highlight important material. Likewise the comprehensive self-test questions are not graded according to importance and carry no link back to the text.
Overall, a comprehensive textbook, but lacking the focus and layout for easy adoption and study.

A good introduction
This text gives pleanty of pictures and the cases studies help reinforce what the reader is learning in lecture and lab. I did not have to use the CD-Rom, but the lab book that goes with this text was a lot of fun. ... Read more

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In keeping with the goal of this series, A History of Infectious Diseases and the Microbial World provides a broad introductory overview of the history of major infectious diseases, including their impact on different populations, the recognition of specific causative agents, and the development of methods used to prevent, control, and treat them. By stressing the major themes in the history of disease, this book allows readers to relate modern concerns to historical materials. It places modern developments concerning infectious diseases within their historical context, illuminating the relationships between patterns of disease and social, cultural, political, and economic factors. Upon completing this volume, readers will be prepared to answer contemporary questions concerning the threat of newly-emerging infectious diseases, potentially devastating pandemics, and the threat of bioterrorism.

A History of Infectious Diseases and the Microbial World offers readers answers to specific questions, as well as the challenge of a narrative that will stimulate their curiosity and encourage them to ask questions about the theory, practice, and assumptions of modern medicine. One will gain a precise understanding of the nature of different kinds of pathogens, the unique mechanisms behind disease transmission , and the means used to control, prevent, and treat infectious disease. Although only a few of these deadly illnesses can be addressed in detail, those that are discussed include: malaria, leprosy, bubonic plague, tuberculosis, syphilis, diphtheria, cholera, yellow fever, poliomyelitis, HIV/AIDS, and influenza.

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Microbiology," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Microbiology in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Microbiology when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Microbiology, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Microbiology," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Microbiology in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Microbiology when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Microbiology, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

Product Description
Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "American Society For Microbiology," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have American Society For Microbiology in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with American Society For Microbiology when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name American Society For Microbiology, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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Bacillus anthracis—anthrax—had largely faded from public consciousness until it resurfaced as a terrorist weapon in 2001. It was always with us, lurking in the soil and hosted by our livestock. Long before it was identified as a specific bacterium in the late 1800s, "anthrax" was a catchphrase for a variety of diseases and symptoms, from ancient biblical plagues to a painful carbuncle on George Washington’s leg. Only when industrialization turned anthrax into a widespread disease that threatened economies did a true understanding of Bacillus anthracis begin to emerge.

This history of anthrax follows the development of our understanding of the disease, beginning in the 18th century, when science began breaking ground on the subject, until the present, when anthrax is feared more as an agent of biowarfare than as a health hazard harbored by the environment. There are three appendices: the first outlines the reaction of Manchester, New Hampshire, to the 2001 anthrax attacks; the second documents workplace warnings to anthrax-prone workers; and the third lists novels that involve anthrax. Bibliographical references are also provided. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An intriguing and timely history
Anthrax had reverted to the background of public concerns until 2001, when it surfaced in postal mailboxes as a terrorist weapon; but it's always been here, both in soil and livestock, before it became an industrialized disease. Richard Swiderski's methodical study of this killer disease, Anthrax: A History, reveals the development of the disease, from the 18th century discoveries made about the bacteria until modern times. An intriguing and timely history.
... Read more

Product Description
Ludwik Hirszfeld (1884-1954), one of the most prominent serologists of the twentieth century, established the nomenclature and the inheritance of blood groups, and opened the field of human population genetics. He also carried out ground-breaking research in the genetics of disease and immunology. Following World War II, he founded Poland's first Institute of Immunology in Wroclaw, which now bears his name. His autobiographical memoir, The Story of One Life, first published in Poland in 1946, immediately became a bestseller and has been reedited several times since. It is an outstanding account of a Holocaust survivor and a writer capable of depicting the uniqueness and the tragedy of countless individuals caught up in the nightmare of 1939-45. He recollects his time as a physician in the Serbian army in 1915 and his satisfaction as one of the scientific elite who rebuilt Poland after the Treaty of Versailles; in so doing the contrast between the world before and the world after World War II could not be starker. Hirszfeld escaped from the Warsaw ghetto in 1943; he hid the manuscript for this book, and retrieved it only after the war. Drawing on interviews with Hirszfeld's former students and family, as well as unpublished documents, this translation is annotated and has an introduction written by two scholars with unique qualifications to understand both the immediate setting in which Hirszfeld lived his life, and the broader implications of his work to the history of medicine. ... Read more

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The classic chronicle of the impact disease and plagues have had on history and society over the past half-millennium. Intriguingly fascinating and entertaining reading for anyone who is interested in how society copes with catastrophe and pain. Relevant today in face of the worldwide medical calamity of AIDS. Continuously in print since its first publication in 1934, with over 75 printings.Amazon.com Review
There are few topics more distressing than disease, yet there are few books more darkly delightful than this timelessclassic about the histories of microbial diseases, rats, and lice, and the scientistsand doctors who combatted them. First published in 1934 and still inprint, this book combines science, history, biography, literature, andother fields into an elegant but grim package of broaderudition and darker humor. Here are two representative passages.

...[I]nfectious disease is merely a disagreeable instance of a widelyprevalent tendency of all living creatures to save themselves thebother of building, by their own efforts, the things theyrequire. Whenever they find it possible to take advantage of theconstructive labors of others, this is the path of leastresistance. The plant does the work with its roots and its greenleaves. The cow eats the plant. Man eats both of them; and bacteria(or investment bankers) eat the man....

...[T]he natural history of the rat is tragically similar to that ofman ... some of the more obvious qualities in which rats resemblemen--ferocity, omnivorousness, and adaptability to all climates ... theirresponsible fecundity with which both species breed at all seasonsof the year with a heedlessness of consequences, which subjects themto wholesale disaster on the inevitable, occasional failure of thefood supply.... [G]radually, these two have spread across the earth,keeping pace with each other and unable to destroy each other, thoughcontinually hostile. They have wandered from East to West, driven bytheir physical needs, and--unlike any other species of living things--have made war upon their own kind. The gradual, relentless,progressive extermination of the black rat by the brown has noparallel in nature so close as that of the similar extermination ofone race of man by another...

Customer Reviews (24)

Plague and Human History
I've owned this book for decades, and keep it on the shelf reserved for books that have taught me the most. It teaches that epidemics have had a decisive influence on human history; for instance that wars cause plagues, and that for centuries many wars were decided not by battle, but by which army's camp first got the plague.

There have been other, equally surprising treatments of this subject.An excellent example from the 1970's is William McNiell's "Plagues and Peoples".It expands the subject to include, for instance, the role of malaria in delaying the spread of civilization to southern China, and that of smallpox in decimating many Native American cultures before they were even seen by Europeans.The subject is also visited in "Guns, Germs, and Steel".Diamond suggests that many plagues, and partial immunity to them, stem from living with domestic livestock.He thinks this explains why European diseases devastated America, rather than the other way around.I'd be interested in hearing what scientific support this view has.

A classic, but in my opinion somewhat overrated and out of date
When I came across a copy of this book I was anxious to read it as I recognized it as a classic.Unfortunately, my ardor was quickly extinguished because I feel that the book is somewhat overrated and out of date. More about why I feel this way shortly, but first let me tell you how this book is organized and the subject presented.

This is the classic presentation of the biology and impact of Typhus on history.It is told in a personal style, in my opinion perhaps too personal.The first three chapters (covering about 50 pages) are devoted to the author's explanation of why he wrote the book, an apology for writing it and a discussion of the origin of life.To say I was disappointed with these three chapters, which I would rate, at best, as one star, is an understatement.They are pretentious, rambling and worst of all, uninteresting.Given the fact that this book is considered a classic, I decided to continue.Fortunately, from my perspective, the book got a bit better.The next 100 or so pages are devoted to the history of many epidemic diseases.Professor Zinsser's stated objective for including this material is to show that these diseases were not Typhus.Unfortunately, while better than the first 50 pages, I found the presentation to still be pretentious and to ramble on a bit, but in my opinion it did raise the level of the book to two stars.The final 150 pages are actually devoted to the subject of Typhus and were significantly improved over the first 150 pages, but in my opinion raising the book to only a three star level.

Why do I rate this book as only three stars?
1) As stated above, I was not impressed with the first half of the book.There are many much better treatments of epidemic disease. So, in my opinion, the reader is only getting half a book.
2) Professor Zinsser lets his personal biases pervade the text to an extent that I found distracting and in some places offensive.For instance, he equates New York Irish and Italian politicians of the1930's (when this book was written) with barbarian tribes destroying the Roman Empire.
3) Professor Zinsser also takes on a pretentious, and snide tone that I did not feel was at all appropriate.For instance, he uses the term saprophyte and instead of explaining what this means in the text or in a footnote he uses a footnote to state - "If the reader does not understand this word it is too bad." In my opinion this is no way to treat a general reader who is trying to learn something about a subject for which you are an expert.
4) Much of the book was, in my opinion, not sufficiently focused and tended to ramble.
5) The biology, which was up to date in 1934, is now quite out of date.For instance, the disease organism that produces Typhus (Rickettsia) are referred to as being viruses, which they are not. Given that they are quite different from the bacteria that a 1930's bacteriologist was familiar with, this is not a surprising error, and reflects the poor understanding of viruses and not a lack of knowledge on the part of Professor Zinsser.He actually gets it right in that he feels that Rickettsia are bacteria or closely related to them.
6) There is no index or bibliography and only a few footnotes.To make matters worse, Professor Zinsser continually refers to authors and books, that are not referenced in enough detail to enable reader a to find them to do further reading.(In most cases there is no detail, except for the name of the author.)The book is thus made much less useful for those seeking a fuller understanding of the subject.

Why, given the problems listed above, do I think that this book disserves even three stars? In spite of the above listed problems, there are some redeeming features in this book, but in my opinion, not enough to raise it more than three stars.I liked the following:
1) There is a very nice presentation of the idea that given time diseases and their hosts tend to reach a state of toleration, reducing the virulence of the disease.He gives many examples of cases where diseases are much less virulent today than in the past and cases where people who had no prior contact with the disease experienced a much greater mortality.A good example of this is the measles, which is (or was before inoculation against it) a childhood disease with a low mortality for a western society, but was highly lethal one for a society who had not been previously exposed to it.We now understand, given a much better understanding of genetics, why this is the case, but Zinsser's discussion is still worthwhile.
2) Professor Zinsser addresses the problem of transmission of Typhus from rat flea to human in addition to the more typical human-to-human transmission via body lice.This alternate route is important because it can explain the transmission over long distances (where all the humans and lice might be dead before the end of the journey) and as alternate reservoirs to contain the disease between epidemics.
3) Many other histories ignore the influence of disease on historical events and this book, to some degree, corrects this omission, especially with regard to Typhus.
4) Professor Zinsser makes the case the epidemic Typhus did not exist before the 15th century, although sporadic cases may have been reported much earlier.This is not, however, a universally held belief.
5) This is the classic history of the influence of Typhus on history and is the primary reference for others covering the impact of disease on history.As such, it is an important reference, but one whose usefulness is diminished by the lack of references.

All in all, at best, I found this to be a three star book and one whose audience is limited.Because of the style and rambling nature of much of the book it is not a very good choice for the general reader and the lack of references makes its usefulness limited for specialists.It is probably best for those who have heard of it and therefore want to read it first hand, but they are likely, as I was, to be disappointed.

interesting bit of history
From back cover:

Profound, provocative, amusing, fascinating, Rats Lice and history utterly defies literary classification, except that it is undoubtedly a contemporary classic. Using as his framework a "biography" of typhus fever, Dr. Zinsser writes trenchantly on infectious diseases and medical responses, people, customs, history, places, religion, art and science in a pawky style which shows both his enormous scholarship and rare human wisdom.

A one-of-a-kind history of medicine
The copy of "Rats, Lice, and History" that I own was published in 1963, and this was the 33rd time it had been reissued since first appearing in 1934. I can't imagine Dr. Zinsser's grumpily discursive, masterfully written, and ultimately profound biography of typhus fever ever going completely out of print. Stylistically the only work I can compare it to is Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". Where Gibbon occasionally dipped his pen in vinegar and excoriated the Christians, Zinsser dips his pen in hydrochloric acid and savages all of the quaint human customs that have kept Typhus alive and thriving. He shows much more affectionate sympathy for the louse than he does for the General or the Politician.

In the interests of research, Zinsser carried pill boxes of lice under his socks for weeks at a time before taking "advantage of them for scientific purposes."He is not able to tear himself away from these little creatures and address the true subject of his biography, i.e. the typhus germ, until Chapter 12!

However, the journey to Chapter 12 is well worth taking because along the way, Zinsser wittily savages modern biographers, psychoanalysis, astronomers and physicists who "scamper back to God" (Biologists evidently are much less prone to being 'born again'), and of course, all of the wars that have given Typhus countless opportunities to murder lice and humans alike.

"Rats, Lice, and History" should be required reading for would-be writers for its style, would-be Generals for its lessons on how soldiers really die, and for anyone else who is interested in a passionate, eminently witty, one-of-a-kind history of medicine.

The title of this book is Rats, Lice and History
One would read this for its wit, alone, but the subject matter is fascinating.Dr. Zinsser wrote for the New Yorker for many years under the nom de plume of RS.This 1935 book will still be read, with pleasure, a century from now. ... Read more

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Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule, Zurich, Switzerland. Covers the morphology of filamentous fungi, antibiotica research in Jena from penicillin and nourseothricin to Interferon, development of bioreaction engineering, advances in enzyme technology, and more. ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Microbiology," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Microbiology in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Microbiology when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Microbiology, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more

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A HISTORY OF MICROBIOLOGY IN PHILADELPHIA: 1880 TO 2010 James A. Poupard, PhD ... Read more

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Webster's bibliographic and event-based timelines are comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Microbiology," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Microbiology in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Microbiology when it is used in proper noun form. Webster's timelines cover bibliographic citations, patented inventions, as well as non-conventional and alternative meanings which capture ambiguities in usage. These furthermore cover all parts of speech (possessive, institutional usage, geographic usage) and contexts, including pop culture, the arts, social sciences (linguistics, history, geography, economics, sociology, political science), business, computer science, literature, law, medicine, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology and other physical sciences. This "data dump" results in a comprehensive set of entries for a bibliographic and/or event-based timeline on the proper name Microbiology, since editorial decisions to include or exclude events is purely a linguistic process. The resulting entries are used under license or with permission, used under "fair use" conditions, used in agreement with the original authors, or are in the public domain. ... Read more