Genetics: A Molecular Perspective

Rating:
Summary: Textual errors detract from information
Review: Genetics: A Molecular Perspective is simply a rearrangement of the chapters in Essentials of Genetics to introduce the student to the concepts surrounding DNA replication and protein synthesis before venturing into the territory of Mendelian genetics and more traditional genetic studies. However, the book comes off as a horrible cut-and-paste job. Students are referred to diagrams that do not exist, references to other chapters in the book are frequently wrong, and concepts are occasionally introduced twice, such as the mechanisms of protein synthesis, which are explained in great detail in chapter 5 before being vaguely introduced in Chapter 8, the original "first" chapter in the book.

Additionally, the layout of the text is very poor. Sometimes, full pages of text wil be followed by a nearly full page of diagrams. Some references to new diagrams require the student to flip several pages to find the diagram.

As a student in a Genetics course, I am surprised that the instructors chose to use this book, considering its many errors. It does contain much good information on the subject of genetics, but the lack of proofreading and editing makes the book hard to read. Students and teachers should choose a different text to use if they wish to learn or teach genetics without the problems associated with poor publishing.