Vol. 3  Iss. 4  The Chemical Educator  © 1998 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

ISSN 1430-4171  http://journals.springer-ny.com/chedr  S 1430-4171(98)04226-9

Instant Notes in Biochemistry B. D. Hames, N. M. Hooper and J. D. Houghton BIOS Sciences Publishers, 1997

Instant Notes in Biochemistry certainly lives up to its name. This book represents a concise, yet readable summary of the topics covered by a typical undergraduate biochemistry course - a sort of a "Monarch Notes" for biochemistry. Apparently, Instant Notes in Biochemistry is one of a series of "Instant Notes" covering various biological topics. A volume titled "Animal Biology" has been published, and a number of others, including "Molecular Biology" and "Genetics" are planned for publication during the next year.

The book is divided into fourteen sections covering broad topics such as "Enzymes", "Antibodies" and "Lipid Metabolism". Each section is broken down into subsections that deal with a single, relatively narrow topic. These subsections range in length from about one to six pages, averaging about four. There are seventy subsections in all.

Each subsection begins with a box titled "Key Notes" that summarizes, in one paragraph, each concept covered and ends with a cross index to other related subsections. This cross-indexing is carried out into the main text of each subsection and represents a strong point of the book. For example, the section titled "Protein Targeting" refers the reader to subsections dealing with the Golgi apparatus and exocytosis among others. This cross-referencing allows the reader to move between related topics easily and without referring to the book's index. This is good since the index is typical of the machine-made product common today: useful but not as useful as it should be. To cite an example, the index entry for "signal transduction" refers the reader to the middle of the subsection on "Cell Signaling" where the specific words appear, rather than to the beginning of the subsection where coverage of the concept of signal transduction begins.

Instant Notes in Biochemistry is, appropriately, not referenced as a scholarly work. It does, however, contain a section titled "Further Reading". This section contains, almost exclusively, references to the review literature (articles from Scientific American and Trends in Biochemical Sciences, are heavily represented). This information, useful as it is, would be more accessible if it was placed at the end of every section, rather that at the end of the book.

The audience targeted by the authors and publisher of Instant Notes in Biochemistry is not clearly defined. The book is too terse, consisting of a collection of facts without explanation of the underlying basic chemistry or their biological relevance, to serve as a text for an introductory biochemistry course. Rather it is probably better used as a reference work for more advanced students and professionals (including faculty) who need a quick overview of the basics of a specific area of biochemistry. For this use, Instant Notes in Biochemistry is eminently suited. It certainly deserves a place on many bookshelves.