Crystallography Made Crystal Clear makes crystallography accessible to readers who have no prior knowledge of the field or its mathematical basis. This is the most comprehensive and concise reference for beginning Macromolecular crystallographers, written by a leading expert in the field. Rhodes' uses visual and geometric models to help readers understand the mathematics that form the basis of x-ray crystallography. He has invested a great deal of time and effort on World Wide Web tools for users of models, including beginning-level tutorials in molecular modeling on personal computers. Rhodes' personal CMCC Home Page also provides access to tools and links to resources discussed in the text. Most significantly, the final chapter introduces the reader to macromolecular modeling on personal computers-featuring SwissPdbViewer, a free, powerful modeling program now available for PC, Power Macintosh, and Unix computers. This updated and expanded new edition uses attractive four-color art, web tool access for further study, and concise language to explain the basis of X-ray crystallography, increasingly vital in today's research labs.

* Helps readers to understand where models come from, so they don't use them blindly and
inappropriately
* Provides many visual and geometric models for understanding a largely mathematical method
* Allows readers to judge whether recently published models are of sufficiently high quality and detail to be useful in their own work
* Allows readers to study macromolecular structure independently and in an open-ended fashion on their own computers, without being limited to textbook or journals illustrations
* Provides access to web tools in a format that will not go out of date. Links will be updated and added as existing resources change location or are added

Customer Rating:
Summary: This book saved me
Comment: My lab is a crystallography lab. We call this "The Book" and hand it off to clueless new students who're starting to wonder just what exactly they've gotten themselves into and are deathly afraid of getting slaughtered by crystallography questions in their orals. The approach is very qualitative, which might be irritating to some, but bear in mind that many crystallographers are coming in from biology backgrounds and we just haven't had the mathematical training to grasp the quantitative approach and it's really, really rough to throw the structure factor equation in the face of a first-year grad student with a B.S. in biology (like I was when I began) and expect them to get it. The Book is a way to break it to us gently. If you want to understand what crystallography is and what crystallographers do, this is the book to read. If you want to be an actual crystallographer, this is a good place to start. Not everything a crystallographer needs is here but it's a good lead in to the math and physics and general voodoo involved in macromolecular crystallography.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Crystal Clear
Comment: The delivery was prompt and in the item was in an excellent condition

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Clear, but lack depth and practice problem
Comment: Crystallography Made Crystal Clear does clearly explain the principles of X-ray Crystallography. I used this book for a graduate class in introductory x-ray crystallography when I deemed that the assigned book for the class, Principles of Protein X-Ray Crystallography, unhelpful.

Crystallography Made Crystal Clear presents the theory behind crystallography in the most straightforward way possible. Whenever possible, concepts are explained in words and by examples instead of with equations. This elimates derivations that are not necessary to understand key concepts.

Although explanations in the book are clear, they are often too brief. The book also does not have any practice problems, which is a major drawback. If you are taking a crystallography class, I would take a look at this book but focus more heavily on the lecture notes and problems from class. Honestly, I haven't found a really good crystallography book, but this one at least is not too confusing.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Clear as a crystal!!!!
Comment: This book is a good one. Explains every aspect I always want to know about crystallography. In my first class of biochemistry I discover that I really like the macromolecular models, but my biochemistry book doesn't content much information about this subjet. When I discover this book I bought it, and read it, and I must to say that this book explain every aspect of the process of create a molecular model.
After read this book I thinking about to become a crystallographer.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The best introduction to the subject
Comment: This is the best introduction to crystallography I have ever come across. Which is quite an achievement, because its a difficult subject to understand. In crystallography, its very rare to find a book which does not deal with either a totally descriptive approach or a totally mathematical approach. Rhodes' book bridges the gap between the two and gives the reader the right dose of jargon and explanation. He illustrates every point with plenty of figures as well as real life computer models of proteins. Before I came across this book, I was struggling and failing to understand Isomorphous Replacement, MAD, Solvent Flattening, Maps and Models, as well as the iterative refining of models. I think no other book comes even close to this book in explaining all these concepts in simple format. This, I think is as clear as it can get without becoming oversimplified. A must have for all researchers and students whose work is even remotely connected to crystallography.

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