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Intend to use it as a reference book during my upcoming biochemistry class. I received the book on time.
Key words are often bolded to make skimming easy. I read it from cover to cover in 2 days, stopping along the way to check my notes on a few concepts that were superficially covered. I was more than pleased with my score after using this as my main source to prepare (aside from studying hard during the course, obviously).The illustrations & flow charts are the best part of the book, they are simple and easy to read. I found this book to be fantastically illustrated and just the right amount of thoroughness for a review book. Another thing I enjoyed with this text was that most pages have very large empty margins so there is plenty of room for writing your own notes next to diagrams/paragraphs. However it was quite useful for a quick resource if I was struggling with a concept. I seldom used it during the Biochemistry class as it didn't go into the level of detail expected for school exams. The book was a fantastic tool in the couple of days I had to prepare for the NBME after the end of the class.
When you start adding up board review sources, money flows from your pocket quite quickly. that costs less than Lipincott's and offers access to good material. I really like this text and found it to be a great supplement during the biochemistry course. I did find a similar online resource at [.]. My advice would be to subscribe to the website I mentioned and use it in conjunction with a used (and thus cheaper) version of Lippincott's. It is also great for reviewing concepts for boards, expecially if it has been a while since you looked at biochem. My only problem is the price.
Even though most of the named chemical reactants have their formulas in nearby pages, the dismissal of the chemical formulas of reactants in many pages, undermine the memorization process.Do not count on finding extensive references or historical perspectives on how scientific discoveries led to such state of art of modern biochemistry. In addition, the book reliance on reactants' names, and not chemical formulas, in many spots of the book, challenges the reader's memory in figuring out what had taken place. In many instances, the reader is left to count and trace the new atoms that were added or removed from a molecule that made it different.
The authors seem to get ahead of the game, by offering timely explanation when terminology gets obscure. The introduction of colorful graphics, bold font, and frequent notes did away with the austere feature of old teaching of biochemistry. After purchasing the biochemistry edition of Lippincott's series, I could not resist ordering the other two books, Pharmacology and Microbiology.
Great credit goes for the chapter summaries that were done in neat and outstanding design to aid the reader in grasping the main principals of each chapter.Except of few typographic errors, the major draw back of the book is meager coloring of the atomic changing of molecules after reaction. The authors merely portray an illustrated version of biochemistry for students, not researchers. For example, instead of footnoting the pages, notes are introduced within the paragraphs to complement the flow of thoughts.
The most impressive aspect of the book is the colorful illustrations that show the location of the various pathway reactions and involved reactants.
But for review, it's good. Don't try to learn biochem off this book; it's just a review.
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