Knowing what and how much to teach the modern veterinary student about pathogenic bacteriology and virology is a challenging topic. I would give this book a “B+” or “A-”. It has many similarities to Hirsh and Zee's Veterinary Microbiology (2nd edition), to which it is a more up-to-date superior. It seems extraordinary, however, that the same publisher (Blackwell Scientific) should publish 2 very similar books.
This book is an introductory text in veterinary microbiology and microbial disease for veterinary undergraduates, written by faculty members at University College, Dublin. It is divided into 6 sections, an introduction to bacteriology, a large section of systematic pathogenic bacteriology, mycology, an introduction to virology, a large section on systematic pathogenic virology, and a final section on microbial agents and disease production (which has some slightly quirky choice chapters).
The book is well laid out and well illustrated with line drawings. It has excellent tables. Students will find it useful for its clear organization and introductory overview nature, as well as its currentness of nomenclature. It is a little heavy on biochemical and related differentiating characteristics of important bacteria and too superficial about some of the important infections it describes. However, reasonably good thumbnail sketches are given of the essential features of the infections discussed, which a student encountering them for the first time will find generally helpful. This text is a bit weak on Helicobacter, Campylobacter, and nonsporeforming anaerobes. With a view to help today's veterinary student who is struggling with being overwhelmed by information, the book uses “boxes” of key concepts relating to different groups of bacteria or viruses. Some of these miss key points, while emphasizing what seems trivial. For example, is it really a key point about Brucella that they are urease-positive and mostly oxidase-positive? How memorable is this for veterinary students as an encapsulated feature of this genus? Each chapter has a list of references cited and a list of suggested supplemental reading. This is probably wasted space, since abstracts of the primary literature are available to anyone with Internet access to PubMed within days of it being published.
A particular strength of the book is its introductory or overview chapters; the chapters on disinfection and on other aspects of disease control, and on infection and immunity, show great teachers at work. There are excellent illustrative figures and tables explaining some of the fundamental concepts of infectious disease and its outcomes, which will be of use to teachers and students alike.
Overall, this is a book that can be recommended with confidence to veterinary students and teachers as a good introductory overview of veterinary microbiology. I will particularly value it on my bookshelf for some of the overview figures and for some of the summary tables.