From: dordaz@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Donald E Ordaz Jr)
Newsgroups: bionet.immunology
Subject: Immunology texts: the results!
Date: 3 Sep 92 17:06:56 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: The Ohio State University

Hello All,

A few weeks ago I posted a question regarding what text books are
being used for an undergraduate level (Jr./Sr.) immunology course.

I received 10 responses of which are summarized below. I apologize
for the delay in posting the results.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond.

Don Ordaz
Ohio State University
Department of Microbiology


My original posting:


Hello All,

I'm conducting a quick survey regarding textbooks used in teaching an
introductory Immunology course.

The question :

What, if any, text do you use or have you used for an introductory immunology
course, at the undergraduate level?

Would you recommend the text?

Any strong or weak points about the text?

Please e-mail me directly, I'l post the results for anyone interested.

Thanks

Don Ordaz
Department of Microbiology
The Ohio State University

dordaz@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu

The Survey says:

Text                            Recommended       Not Recommended

Roitt                           I                 II
Golub and Green                 II
Abbas et. al                    III
Kuby                            I
Clark                           I



Ivan Roitt, Essential Immunology, 6th ed., Gower or Blackwell Publ.

E. Golub and D. Green, Immunology, A Synthesis, 2nd ed., Sinauer.

Abbas et. al, Molecular and Cellular Immunology (?), Saunders.

Kuby, Freeman Publ.

Clark, Wiley Publ.



Here At Ohio State for our Micro. 522 course (Principles of Infection and Host
Resistance we use:

Kimball, J.W., Introduction to Immunology, 3rd ed., 1990, MacMillan.


Kreier, J.P. and R.F. Mortensen, Infection, Resistance, and Immunity. 1st ed.,
Harper and Row, 1990.

Here is a brief summary of some of the responses:


From rsorense@cc.gettysburg.edu Mon Aug 17 18:19:20 1992

I plan to use Golub and Green (Sinauer) in the Spring. I like the
approach (experimental inductions rather than facts). Kuby (Freeman)
and Abbas (Saunders) look OK. Clark (Wiley) is very good, but it demands
alot of your students. Avoid Roitt (Gower) at all costs.


From shiv@lenti.med.umn.edu Mon Aug 17 21:35:48 1992

I've heard that the Abbas/Lichtman/someone else text is quite handy, but
I haven't read it.  When I took undergrad Immunol. (1988) we used the
Roitt colorful book, which was good for it's time, but still outdated as
even the most recent text would be.

Shiv
shiv@lenti.med.umn.edu


From jpcapitanio@ucdavis.edu Tue Aug 18 01:09:09 1992

Don,
I haven't taught an immunology course, but I did *take* an undergraduate
one here at UC Davis about a year ago, ten years after getting my
Ph.D. in Comparative Psychology.  The text used in the course I took
was by Abbas et al, called, I think, Molecular and Cellular Immunology.
Pedagogically, I thought it was excellent!  There was good repetition
in each chapter, cross-referencing to other related chapters, and I
thought the figures were particularly valuable.  I was quite impressed,
to the point that I unhesitatingly recommended it to another
departmental colleague who was looking to learn the basics on his own
with a good text.

Just my $0.02!
Regards,
John Capitanio
Psychology
University of California, Davis
jpcapitanio@ucdavis.edu

From GRAZIAWD@splava.cc.plattsburgh.edu Wed Aug 19 14:11:08 1992

At SUNY Plattsburgh, I use Immunology, A Synthesis by E. Golub and D. Green,
2nd Edition....Ed Golub is a terrific writer. Students really like his flair
for writing. The graphics and experimental approach are quite appropriate for
undergraduate course in immunology. I have had very poor response to
Roitt's Immunology. Even though the graphics are excellent. Students find
the text and content difficult to follow.

I'll be interested in your summary post.

   Regards,

      Bill D. Garziadei, PHD


From pw@cubmol.bio.columbia.edu Thu Aug 20 23:03:00 1992

I am a graduate student in mol bio, and can still remember how awful
my undergr. course was at UofChicago.  From my perspective, I found
only one text that was well-written and complete - Essential Immunology
by Ivan Roitt (7th ed.), published by Blackwell Sci. Publ.  Believe me,
I looked at every text under the sun trying to figure out what prof. X
was talking about.   Also, I am very interested in protein structure and
the info here is excellent.  I still use it quite often.

Lastly, the book comes in soft cover - $27 vs. usual $50+.

Paul Wakenight