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red-indian

I recommend these biology books:

Molecular Cell Biology - Lodish

http://www.amazon.com/Molecular-Cell-Biology-Harvey-Lodish/d...

Molecular Biology of the Cell - Alberts

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815344325/

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The Processes of Life: An Introduction to Molecular Biology (MIT Press) Lawerence E. Hunter

This book great for people who want more than a pop-science book but less than a textbook.

http://amzn.com/0262013053

For the HN audience, Physical Biology of the Cell may also be another useful perspective/introduction.

http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Biology-Cell-Rob-Phillips/dp/...

Thanks! The second edition has the preview on the Amazon too:

http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Biology-Cell-Rob-Phillips/dp/...

Looks worth the money, based on the pictures. However, as I browse through the text, the tone of the explanations seems to be a little casual, and the book more concentrating on "counting" than explaining the details presented with the pictures?

Otherwise it seems to be "what you get when a physicist gets to write about cells," is my impression right? It seems that Lodish and Alberts are better starts to learn the biological aspects?

Alberts is the canonical cell bio text in most undergraduate biology programs.

Phillips is more of an introduction to biophysics, so would require some degree of comfort with calculus and physics (e.g., classical mechanics, some E&M, and some statistical mechanics). The preface says only calculus and elementary physics is required.

Classics.

I think I have a subtle preference for Alberts, rather than Lodish in terms of text, but I think the Lodish illustrations are better.

At this point I think I have three copies of Alberts stashed in various closets and trunks.

Looking in the Amazon description, 6.6 pounds each?

And you feel every ounce of those when reading them. Most good versions of this class of book are this heavy (typically prescribed for the late 'undergrad'/first year grad introductory class reading). The neuroscience equivalent (Kandel, Schwartz, Jessell) is 8.7 pounds, with very thin pages.

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