A solid grounding in the subject of viruses, the illnesses they produce and how they do it, how they were discovered, and the steps taken to try to cure or prevent their diseases. Written in plain English, this is an easy to understand explanation of how viruses operate, including clear diagrams that really help to explain the lifecycles of various kinds of viruses and how they infect the cells of the human body. The only flaw is that the book was last updated in 1994. It would be really good to see the final sections rewritten to take into account all the advances in gene therapy and other techniques since the mid 90's. Thoroughly recommended with that caveat in mind - 4-star rating to reflect that. ( )