Principles of Modern Microbiology balances brevity and clarity in this condensed introduction to microbiology for majors. Written specifically for the one-semester course, this text provides a manageable amount of detail - thereby avoiding the distractions that come from too much information - and maintains the degree of intellectual rigor appropriate for students at this level. To further help the student focus on principles, each chapter is divided into many sections, each section head summarizes the concept of the section, and each section has a single major point to it to help students grasp the difficult concepts. A dynamic art program presents accurate molecular and cellular images in an innovative style. Microtopics boxes throughout the text describe real-world experiments and allow students to gain a clear sense of the experimental process as it applies to microbiology. Complete with a wealth of student and instructor resources, Principles of Modern Microbiology is sure to engage and inspire majors who are looking to expand their knowledge of the microbial world.