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Book Review Assignment
Joceline Geneste
Tarrant Community College
Microbiology
Instructor’s Name
November 7, 2023
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Book Review Assignment
The 12th edition of the book Fundamentals of Microbiology by Jeffrey C. Pommerville,
Ph.D., published in 2021 by Jones & Bartlett Learning, has 3839 pages. It provides a global view
of microbiology and related topics. This edition comes with a critical focus on learner
interactivity to achieve active learning. The author, having stemmed from being interested in
sports to focusing on sex pheromones in microorganisms, provides a practical approach to
understating the field of study. As the author hints, the main aim of the book is to provide
insightful and helpful knowledge for students aspiring to become professionals in various health
and related fields (Pommerville, 2021). Indeed, the book begins with the superficial aspects of
microbes and extends to explore interactions between the microorganisms and humans and other
living things to make the book applicable to many health-related fields, including agriculture,
environmental science, and health administration.
Summary
The book's structure is easy to read, with the concepts beginning from the basics of
microbial cytology and histology to the macro-level understanding of microorganism
management and disease. These concepts come in five parts and 23 chapters. After Chapter 1,
which sets the ground for the significance of microorganisms, Chapter 2 opens in Part I of the
book dedicated to “Microbial Cell Biology” (Pommerville, 2021, p. 7). The first part, hence,
deals with microbial cytology with significant histological backgrounds to help understand the
anatomy and physiology of the microorganisms at the cell level. Then, Part II of the book
follows on “Microbial Growth, Metabolism, and Genetics” to expand on the first part and
provide further concepts on microbes’ reproduction, developmental milestones, metabolism, and
gene aspects (Pommerville, 2021, p. 8). This last concept proves vital in understanding gene
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mutations and engineering in later parts and chapters. Part III then introduces the concepts of
microbe control across the non-biological and biological approaches of physical and chemical
agents, on the one hand, and antimicrobial medicines and superbugs, on the other. Pommerville
(2021) shifts to microorganisms and their effects on humans in Part IV and explores diseases of
various human systems and organs alongside diagnoses approaches. This elaborate section, with
up to seven chapters - the longest in the book – sets the stage for the final segment. Part V of the
text teaches “Interactions and Impact of Microorganisms with Humans” (Pommerville, 2021, p.
9). Appendices close the educational contents of the book.
Moreover, the text has inserted sections to make learning interactive for learners. For
instance, each chapter starts with a story that links the upcoming concepts with real-world
situations. The levels range from the famous Black Death to the COVID-19 crisis (Pommerville,
2021). As a result, learners can link the concepts taught to the actual phenomena in their societies
to enhance the practicality of microbiology in human life. Moreover, the author includes
insertions called clinical cases as boxed features in every paragraph to link the involved concepts
with actual healthcare medical field practice. Cases such as “An Outbreak of Salmonella food
poisoning” and “Community Spread of COVID-19” provide problem-based learning for those in
the public health field and help with practical approaches to population health crises
(Pommerville, 2021, p. 22). Besides, the book has inserted sub-parts “Investigating the Microbial
World” that provide practical best practices in handling and managing microorganisms
(Pommerville, 2021, p. 23). Emerging trends and practices appear under these insertions. These
critically inserted sub-sections also have a microfocus that carries modern facts and processes in
microbe analysis using emerging or legendary methods. Other insertions in every chapter are
vital concepts and self-tests that enhance mastery of the concepts learned. The latter has three
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steps, namely, “Step A: Recall,” “Step B: Application and Analysis,” and “Step C: Evaluation
and Discussion” (Pommerville, 2021, p. 42). Indeed, each of these additional contents helps the
book to link the in-class knowledge with real-world issues and practices.
Still, the book comes with related educational content in multimedia formats, such as
videos, PowerPoint presentations, and audio versions available for readers to enhance their
learning ability. Video animations help improve mastery of the concepts and elaborate the
practical aspects of learning using the book. Then, the PowerPoint enables ease of learning
through shorthand notes. The text also comes with an instructor manual that improves the
teaching of its concepts (Pommerville, 2021). Links to online resources also expand the learner's
understanding of concepts beyond the details included in the text. Besides, a “Test Bank”
entailing numerous questions for self-practices provide self-evaluation capability for students.
Indeed, the functional structure of the book reinforces its “concept-based curriculum” that the
author aims to achieve through the interactive and global view of microbiology (Pommerville,
2021, p. 22).
Analysis
The book achieved its two main goals of being a world view on microbiology and enabling
concept-based learning. In the former, the book has included almost every aspect of
microbiology and its intersections with other fields of study. For instance, the book consists of
the interactions of microorganisms with humans to cut across healthcare fields, such as public
health, medicine, and nursing. Then, it also involves gene mutations and genetic engineering that
align with the expectations of those in the healthcare-related fields of agriculture and
environmental science (Pommerville, 2021). The text also uses several case studies, clinical
investigations, and stories that elaborate on the link between the theory and practice of
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microbiology in real-life situations. This approach enables the book to achieve the desired
problem-based learning. Indeed, the author attains the chosen concept-based curriculum through
the structure and contents of the book.
Despite these achievements, the text must be revised in minor areas. The most deficient part
of the book is the classifications of microorganisms. A reader expects to find the full
clarifications of the microbes by gram-positive, gram-negative, and appearances. Thus, the
student hopes to see the full demonstrations of staphylococcus and streptococcus in bacteria to
separate them accordingly. Still, the anatomy of fungi would become more elaborate to cover the
basics needed to understand how they attack humans and other organisms to cause disease. Then,
Pommerville (2021) would have employed better images in describing the microorganisms and
beyond. While the book should remain interactive and appealing, the pictures used remain oldfashioned and need more clarity of concepts.
Other books would beat Pommerville (2021) in the areas mentioned above. A full description
of the classifications of the microorganisms would provide a better and deeper understanding of
the fundamentals of the organisms to set the stage for the upcoming details on their control,
disease, and interactions with humans. Also, using clear pictures with proper concepts would
enhance understanding and mastery. Other microbiology texts employ high-quality images set in
high-definition formats to improve visual appeal and readability. Some medical readers even
have higher quality paper grades for the pictures than the prose literature parts to achieve this
vital goal in medical teaching and training – making vivid demonstrations through quality
images.
The most convincing point in the book is that the author intends its contents for a diverse
group of students. The concepts are crafted to suit the many fields in healthcare, agriculture, and
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environmental science while maintaining the depth of information enough for the core courses in
medical microbiology (Pommerville, 2021). For instance, the views on microbial genetics and
genetic engineering emerge as sufficient information for the core courses in medical
microbiology and bio-engineering as much as they suit those interested in genetically modified
foods and environmental safety. This approach enables the look to achieve the world view on
microbiology effectively.
The only aspect in Pommerville (2021) that needs to be added is the flow of ideas, especially
from Part IV to Part V; one would find it easy to swap these sections. While the preceding
section entails microorganisms and the diseases they cause in humans, the succeeding one
elaborates on human-microbe interactions. A reader would consider that the latter causes the
former; thus, it should come before it. In other words, Pommerville (2021) should have
elaborated on how microorganisms and humans interact before moving to the diseases they cause
in humankind. This arrangement would improve the logical flow of concepts and enhance the
conceptualization of the web of disease causation more effectively than it appears in the current
structure.
Nevertheless, every student in the field of healthcare finds the book invaluable in
demystifying major concepts that remain challenging to understand in pure medical
microbiology texts. As a community health student, the knowledge about microbial disease
outbreaks proves critical. Not only does Pommerville (2021) identify how disease outbreaks
occur due to human microbe interactions, but it also outlines the best practices in approaching
such situations. The most fascinating points in the book for the person in population health
include the major pandemics of the world – from the Black Death through Typhoid Mary to
COVID-19 that remain three of the most significant global disease outbreaks as a result of
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microorganism-human interactions (Pommerville, 2021). Any student of public health will find
these cases and related concepts essential in becoming a competent professional.
In conclusion, the book achieves the goals of being a world view on microbiology and
learning by active interactions with the text. Pommerville (2021) provides all the details in the
depths necessary for any student in the field of healthcare and related disciplines, such as
agriculture and environmental sciences. It is more detailed than medical microbiology would be
but still sufficient in content for the many fields that require a proper understanding of microbes
and their interactions with humans. Another appealing aspect of the book remains the ability to
involve learners through multimedia formats and additional learning materials. However, some
deficiencies exist in the classifications of the microorganisms, and the images used must be more
appealing to the medical field. Nevertheless, the text provides extensive best practices, practical
knowledge, and real-world case studies that offer problem-based learning considered adequate
for the health and related fields.
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References
Pommerville, J. C. (2021). Fundamentals of microbiology (12th Ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones &
Bartlett Learning.