The Machinery of Life

David Goodsell's Machinery of Life, is by far the best introduction to molecular Biology that I have ever come across. This book approaches the daunting and at times intimidating subject of molecular biology with simplicity and eloquence. Life inside a cell is so small and hectic that most of the time it is near impossible to fully comprehend what is occurring, but Goodsell's use of images make cellular life much easier to understand. As reviewers have mentioned above the illustrations in this book are what makes it a truly magical read. The illustrations are so powerful and engaging that they help the reader take knowledge of cell and transform it into a true overall understanding of the happenings within a cell. Whether it be simple pictures of protein folding, or a more involved look at the way in which DNA winds itself within the cell, it is clear that after seeing the pictures ones understanding is significantly enhanced. In addition, Goodsell uses very simple writing in his descriptions, and provides many examples. Because of this he does a truly great job in not losing the reader in a topic which can become very dense and difficult to grasp. In all, this book is really great, if you want to know about molecular biology or just know more about it this book is for you.

The Machinery of Life (2nd Edition) is an excellent introduction to molecular biology. The book uses concise text and beautiful illustrations to reveal the mechanisms of the molecular machines in every life, making you wonder at the achievements of these invisible molecules. The unique features of this book are the watercolor paintings that display the cellular interiors with all the molecular machines presented with scientific rigor. These paintings can be seen as the "snapshots" of the cell at high magnification (1,000,000X). The author carefully chose the composition so that the desired molecular machines and the relationship between them are clearly revealed. Some paintings are more than snapshots: they are smartly designed to show certain processes occurring in the cell, such as the death of a cell and the life cycle of a virus. These paintings can be thought as movie frames that are seamlessly fused together. Besides these paintings, space-filling computer renderings are used to illustrate the detailed structures and functions of the molecular machines. Two kind of styles are used. One is the unique style used by the author for the Molecule of the Month series at Protein Data Bank (PDB). Molecules rendered with this style has a hand-drawing appearance, and blend seamless with the watercolor paintings. The other style is commonly used by scientists to illustrate the atomic structures and interactions of small molecules. Personally I think these renderings are too computer-like, and do not fit in very well with other illustrations. But this is a very minor complaint. Dr. Goodsell is a master of using color to present scientific images. The colors are chosen so well that on the one hand the information is clearly communicated, and on the other hand the illustration are pleasant to eyes. Overall, this is a wonderful book. I have been a fan for Dr. Goodsell for a long time, collecting many of his articles and drawings. And this book certainly makes me happy because of its interesting contents, beautiful illustrations, and affordable price. Anyone who is interested in the molecular biology or the visual presentation of biomolecules should read this book.

The Machinery of Life is the best book on molecular biology I have ever read. If you have ever looked into a microscope and saw a blob an wanted to see further into that blob this is the book for you. Microscopes can only go so far. This book goes all the way down to the atom then back up to the small molecule then big molecule, then macro molecule, then even a near atomic understanding of a cell. The tone is clear and the grand architecture of the cell's machinery is masterfully explained as well as illustrated. I bought two copies. One for me and one to give to friends. This is a great book to give to your parents or grandparents who want to know what you do at work if your work in molecular/cellular biology or even immunology.

A beautiful introduction to the cell. Couldn't put it down. Goodsell has a rare combination of beautiful illustrations and lucid, and concise text. Only complaint is that I wish that the publisher had spent the money to put all of the images in color. Goodsell's watercolors are even better and would have been worth the printing price.

Goodsell has written a deceptively simple book. The illustrations should be incorporated into undergraduate and graduate level cell biology and biochemistry classes. Goodsell's point is that the environment of the cell is not that of a test tube. The environment is densely packed with proteins and organelles that will concentrate effective concentrations of reaction constituents and potentially restrict the mobility of larger proteins and organelles. Goodsell illustrates the point that size does matter.