This title is an essential primer for all students who need some background in microbiology and want to become familiar with the universal importance of bacteria for all forms of life.
Written by Gerhard Gottschalk, Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and one of the most prominent microbiologists in our time, this text covers the topic in its whole breadth and does not only focus on bacteria as pathogens.
The book is written in an easy-to-read, entertaining style but each chapter also contains a `facts' section with compact text and diagrams for easy learning. In addition, more than 40 famous scientists, including several Nobel Prize winners, contributed sections, written specifically for this title. The book comes with color figures and a companion website with questions and answers.
Key features:

Unique, introductory text offering a comprehensive overview of the astonishing variety and abilities of Bacteria
Easy-to-read, fascinating and educational
Written by one of the best known microbiologists of our time
Color images throughout
Each chapter has a compact tutorial part with schemes on the biochemistry and metabolic pathways of Bacteria
Comes with a companion website with questions and answers

A chemist by training, Gerhard Gottschalk received his PhD in microbiology in 1963 from the University of Gottingen, Germany, before becoming a post-doc at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1970 he was made a full professor for microbiology in Gottingen, where he also served as president between 1975 and 1976. He was a visiting professor in UC Davis in 1973 and UC Berkeley in 1979, and head of the Laboratory for Genome Analysis
at the Institute of Microbiology and Genetics in Gottingen from 1999 to 2007. He has received numerous awards, including the Philip Morris Prize for cutting-edge technology, the Winogradsky Medal, the Emil von Behring Prize and the first class German National Medal of Honor. Professor Gottschalk is a member of the Gottingen Academy of Sciences, the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, an honorary member of the
Israeli Society of Microbiology, and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. He was president of All European Academies (ALLEA) from 1998 to 2000 and president of the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities from 2003 to 2007.