In their book Virology: Principles and Applications, John Carter and Venetia Saunders offer an introductory view to the complex field of virology. The relevance of studying virology is immediately conveyed: viruses infect all forms of life from human (as well as all other vertebrates), invertebrates, plants, fungi, and bacteria. Beginning with the nature of viruses and the methodologies used to study their infectivity, each following chapter is divided into small, digestible sections on some more common viruses, their genomic structure and replication, and current therapies to combat them.
I find particularly fascinating how the authors review portions of the eukaryotic cell cycle, describe the viral life cycle from the point when a virus enters the cell to the time it exits, and then carefully detail how the virus hijacks the functions of the normal cell in order to become an infectious virion and infect the next host cell. Each chapter is clearly presented, well written, and flows smoothly without seeming bogged down on any one topic. Excellent figures and diagrams accompanying the text also should be noted. The authors note that the book is intended for Masters level students who already possess an understanding of cell processes and are interested in an introduction to the subject. However, the strength of this book is that it is written for everyone interested in virology, which also should include the seasoned virologist. For example, though my field of study is hepatitis C virus, I find intriguing how other viruses are similar to or differ from the virus I study. Those readers who wish to further study a virus mentioned in the book are referred to a list of current journal articles at the end of each section. Therefore, I envision this book on my shelf as a reference for years to come.