Bionanotechnology : Lessons from Nature

Rating:
Summary: An excellent overview of the tools in the toolkit
Review: A fantastic overview of a sweeping topic. Designed for a reader who is basically familiar with the concepts of molecular biology, but needs to know more about the entire range of well-characterized molecular systems. A specialist will find the information to be highly condensed, but will appreciate the coverage of topics outside their specialty.

The book avoids irrelevant technical details (but only the irrelevant ones) in favor of clear, well-distilled summaries of what is known. The emphasis is on the interactions of molecules with each other, and the relationships (functional and evolutionary) between broad classes of molecules. The writing is exquisitely clear and avoids the "scientific" voice that is all too common in textbooks and papers.

The illustrations are reminiscent of those of Branden and Tooze in their impact and clarity (though not in their actual execution). Simplified to the point where most of them contain only 2 or 3 colors, they are a fine example of Tufte's ethic of visual communication.

The book is not, however, a collection of journal articles. You won't find mathematical details (rate constants, binding energies) or equations. The scope is too broad. The idea is to acquaint the reader with many systems so they can figure out which one (that they hadn't heard of before) might be applicable, and then go and seek details elsewhere.

[p.s. Robertorob's review (which was highly negative) said "all this info would be covered in a good textbook on cell biology". This is untrue. Only about 1/3 to 1/2 would be, and the treatment would have been much less informative if what one wanted was an overview.]

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Almost all of the content of this book is explained in much greater detail in any good text on cell biology. Readers who are familiar with that content and expecting something new about "bionanotechnology" will be disappointed. Readers who are not familiar with that content will be mystified by the poor summary. The acclaimed artwork is not very helpful at all. This book is way too expensive for what the reader gets in return.