LEHNINGER’S PRINCIPLES OF BIOCHEMISTRY 5th EDITION

Lehninger’s Principles of Biochemistry is a very comprehensive book, in which a surprising number of current subjects that reflect the state of the art are described with unique illustrations. The reader must have some basic chemical knowledge to understand the text, and in some places the authors refer back to subjects that are only discussed in detail later on. In any case, the work overall is readily understandable, and is elaborately detailed for use both for learning and as a reference.

Thus, with illustrations that are of top-level quality and content that is kept simple and readable, these two work very well together. This is definitely not a case of pretty pictures being used to obscure weaknesses in the wording! Readers who are still obliged to learn from older biochemistry textbooks should take a look at Lehninger in this regard, since the authors have succeeded in exemplifying the newest methods and findings with truly well-crafted diagrams and text. It is well known that, thanks to structure elucidation, the spatial arrangement of biomolecules and the resulting effects on their function have become a focus of attention in science. These rapid advances are covered definitively in Lehninger.

On all accounts, the many modifications between the 4th and 5th edition bring the book into line with the latest research. The scope of this work also warrants its purchase, since one can be almost certain just from the Table of Contents that Lehninger has the important areas covered. Though some students will probably be taken aback at the shear wealth of information, they nevertheless will have a book that proves quite handy later in their careers, when they need to find the details of the biochemical principles that underlie specific problems. Lehninger is also recommended for those who are already working in medicinal chemistry or related areas, since in addition to the elementary background material contained, current research topics such as signal transduction are addressed in exacting detail in the book. In many subject areas, Lehninger even bridges the gap to modern drug discovery, since a number of drugs and their functions are described in information boxes scattered throughout the text.

"Principles of Biochemistry 5th Edition" will be interesting to anyone who plans to work in the life sciences industry. Lehninger is a good tool for those students who intend to specialize in molecular biology, although the coverage is apt to be too comprehensive for others. The book is nevertheless a worthwhile investment, since one finds therein practically all the topics in biochemistry, each with detailed and well-illustrated explanations.