Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: I'm a fourth year biology major and I can pretty much say that if you are not an avid reader of difficult texts, you are not going to understand the book. My prof said that this book was meant for graduate students. So if you are an undergrad, you're pretty much going to be frustrated with the language of the book. The book covers recent journals and extensive lab techniques (that as an undergrad, you are NOT going to do). What the authors do is: they will first present to you the information as experimental proofs and data about the subject. If you read carefully, you'll be able to differentiate "the meat" of the topic from experimental information. (analogy: reading this book is like going to a grad seminar as an undergrad). Take my word for it, if you are a second-year or third-year student taking Cell Bio. You can buy the book, but you are surely going to be very frustrated with it. My prof also said that he chose this book, so that we could "build our English vocabulary". Cell Biology doesn't have to be that difficult to appreciate...
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent for students
Review: I'm a student of Naturology in Portugal, and I find this book very useful when it comes to descriptions and explanations about the cell and the cicles of cell functioning. It as nearly every topic we students give in our classes, and the language of the book is very, very acessible. It is clearly recomended for students of Medicine, Biochemistry, Biology, Naturology, etc. etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good text book on the subject
Review: If you get the latest edition book is much nicer with better pictures and more up to date on the subjects. I found this book easier than the "The Cell" book or can be used paralell. What I liked also is the applications to human describing typical concepts when some cells or proteins/enzymes does not function properly.
Rating:
Summary: The best book about cell biology
Review: If you like books with a clear structur, with a lot of information and well written text this book is espacially what you need. This book contains anything you might want to know in your first two years and a lot more. Most of the time you will have no problems understanding the text and the pictures are great.
Rating:
Summary: My humble opinion
Review: In all honesty, I am somewhat hard pressed to find enough superlatives to adequately describe my feelings for this book. Simply put, this is a must have for any student of molecular or cellular biology.
I am a bioengineering student and I have found this book to be a wonderful guide in my own scholarship. It has been an amazing guide enabling me to successfully direct my own research. In ch complicated tasks such as describing various seemingly unrelated mechanisms that work in tandem, it provides a wonderful description with great illustrations. Not only have I found the book to be clear, but sometimes its lack of conciseness is helpful too. Simply by providing a detailed picture of all of the events taking place it elucidates the topic it is describing.
Though my colleague from California may disagree that something is lost due to its density, I feel that this book would just be pedestrian without it.AM
Rating:
Summary: Exellent
Review: No words you just NEED to have it. The best in molecular cell biology, (The one by G. Karp is also good) Perfect for med school
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly Organized
Review: Prof. Lodish obviously knows his Biology, but his textbook is very poorly organized. The amount of information thrown in each section is random and excessive at times, convoluting the fundamental concepts being introduced. The illustrations were very good in portraying the basic concepts, but the text was very poorly organized. Not recommended as a good intro text for Cell Biology, even at the late undergrad level.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as I had hoped
Review: Some of the chapters are confusing (even my Professor agreed). The diagrams occassionally are inaccurate and misleading. And it could be more readable.
Rating:
Summary: Rehash of previous edition to prevent resale.
Review: The book matches PERFECTLY to the previous edition... with loads of cut and paste of partial paragraphs. The result is that you could never find your way through a class using this edition with the previous edition: curbs the used book market. There is nothing more. No 'cutting edge technology' and minimal new info... not worth a new edition. All the "hard work" of putting together this edition was NOT done by the Authors, but by "hardworking" editors: NOT scientists. It isn't presenting any new science worthy of a new edition... thats just an appeal.
The editing may have taken a lot of work but they obviously had a deadline! The combinations of sentences formed for the new edition from sentences edited from this and that chapter of the old edition are grammatical nightmares!
The illustrations are also second rate.
Why this book is popular must be a source of wonder to the editors. Half baked edition with undeserved popularity.
Worse, the language hashed was difficult to begin with. A biologist who studied from this text would be a giggle to have around.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book gave me a real appreciation for cell biology! I love the figures and micrographs. I've had to read a lot of other books and this is hands-down my favorite bio book yet.
| 
