Author
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WILHELM, WALLACE |
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Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 7/26/2002 Publication Date: 11/1/2002 Citation: Wilhelm, W.W. 2002. Review of: handbook of plant and crop physiology second edition, revised and expanded. edited by mohammad pessarakli. marcel dekker inc. isbn 0 8247 05467. Crop Science 42:2228-2229. Interpretive Summary: This book, as the title states, is an updated and expanded edition of a 1995 book with a similar title and the same editor. The first thing that may strike the reader of the Handbook is the physical size of this volume. Although the second edition is a few pages shorter than the original (973 vs. 1003 pages), the print size was reduced in this revised edition allowing the expanded text to be presented in a similar number of pages. In revising the book, the editor and authors have rearranged the sections, updated almost all chapters, and added chapters on topics not covered in the original edition. The editor states that between 65 to 80% of the material in this edition is new material. In reading the chapters and comparing selected passages between the two editions, this claim maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but rest assured that a great quantity of new material and information was added. In some cases, authors of chapters that occur in both editions have also changed. One important assessment that must be provided by any book reviewer is the intended use and audience for the book under review. Dr. Pessarakli states in the Preface to the book, "The concepts have been presented to allow both beginning students and specialists of this discipline an opportunity to expand and refine their knowledge." My training and experience in the broad range of topics covered in this book encompasses the full range of expertise defined by the editor, from beginning students to specialist. In reading chapters dealing with areas where I have little or no knowledge, the presentation of information was too advanced to fully comprehend. Conversely, in areas where I have greater knowledge and practical experience, I found some of the chapters lacking detail and nuance. Stating these contrasting impressions is not meant to commend or condemn the text. This statement likely indicates that the authors have, in general, achieved their goal, challenging the novice and validating the expert. I was impressed (in some cases astounded) by the number of references cited in many chapters of the book. Most of the chapters are between 10 and 20 pages long and have well over 100 citations. In fact several chapters are supported by over 300 citations. The abundant references should aid the novice in gathering the additional information needed to fully appreciate concepts introduced with insufficient detail for complete comprehension. Likewise, data, discussion, and alternative concepts in cited references will expand on briefly explained topic for the expert. One point of inconsistency was observed in comparing reference sections of the various chapters. In some chapters the complete citation (author, title, source, volume, pages, and year) was used; in others a shorter format for listing references was used (the paper title was eliminated). In addition, in a few chapters both methods of listing references were used. Even though I much prefer that titles of cited references be listed because of the additional information they give the reader about the reference, the lack of consistency within and among chapters is more disconcerting than the lack of titles listed for a number of references. A notable shortcoming of several chapters is a lack of informative figures. We are aware that students, at all levels, use different learning styles. Some are characterized as verbal learners; they are well served by the text in all chapters. Unfortunately visual learners are not as well served. I contrast the Handbook of Plant and Crop Physiology, Second Edition (this volume) with Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants by Buchanan et al. (2000). In the latter, it is difficult to find a page without a table, figure, illustration, or photograph to assist the learner in understanding concepts or processes. In addition, a few of the figures in the Handbook would have benefited Technical Abstract: This book, as the title states, is an updated and expanded edition of a 1995 book with a similar title and the same editor. The first thing that may strike the reader of the Handbook is the physical size of this volume. Although the second edition is a few pages shorter than the original (973 vs. 1003 pages), the print size was reduced in this revised edition allowing the expanded text to be presented in a similar number of pages. In revising the book, the editor and authors have rearranged the sections, updated almost all chapters, and added chapters on topics not covered in the original edition. The editor states that between 65 to 80% of the material in this edition is new material. In reading the chapters and comparing selected passages between the two editions, this claim maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but rest assured that a great quantity of new material and information was added. In some cases, authors of chapters that occur in both editions have also changed. One important assessment that must be provided by any book reviewer is the intended use and audience for the book under review. Dr. Pessarakli states in the Preface to the book, "The concepts have been presented to allow both beginning students and specialists of this discipline an opportunity to expand and refine their knowledge." My training and experience in the broad range of topics covered in this book encompasses the full range of expertise defined by the editor, from beginning students to specialist. In reading chapters dealing with areas where I have little or no knowledge, the presentation of information was too advanced to fully comprehend. Conversely, in areas where I have greater knowledge and practical experience, I found some of the chapters lacking detail and nuance. Stating these contrasting impressions is not meant to commend or condemn the text. This statement likely indicates that the authors have, in general, achieved their goal, challenging the novice and validating the expert. I was impressed (in some cases astounded) by the number of references cited in many chapters of the book. Most of the chapters are between 10 and 20 pages long and have well over 100 citations. In fact several chapters are supported by over 300 citations. The abundant references should aid the novice in gathering the additional information needed to fully appreciate concepts introduced with insufficient detail for complete comprehension. Likewise, data, discussion, and alternative concepts in cited references will expand on briefly explained topic for the expert. One point of inconsistency was observed in comparing reference sections of the various chapters. In some chapters the complete citation (author, title, source, volume, pages, and year) was used; in others a shorter format for listing references was used (the paper title was eliminated). In addition, in a few chapters both methods of listing references were used. Even though I much prefer that titles of cited references be listed because of the additional information they give the reader about the reference, the lack of consistency within and among chapters is more disconcerting than the lack of titles listed for a number of references. A notable shortcoming of several chapters is a lack of informative figures. We are aware that students, at all levels, use different learning styles. Some are characterized as verbal learners; they are well served by the text in all chapters. Unfortunately visual learners are not as well served. I contrast the Handbook of Plant and Crop Physiology, Second Edition (this volume) with Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plants by Buchanan et al. (2000). In the latter, it is difficult to find a page without a table, figure, illustration, or photograph to assist the learner in understanding concepts or processes. In addition, a few of the figures in the Handbook would have benefited |
