Disappointing, 08 Sep 2005
I have to say I found this book quite disappointing. As a novice microscopist, I was looking forward to trying out some of the simple programs written in Fortran code that are constantly referred to through out the book. However, what is not mentioned is that it is not possible to use these without a Fortran compiler. Some free versions are available on the Web, but these are not suitable for the code contained in the book, and you will either have to spend 4-figure sums on your own compiler, or go without. Trust me, I have tried very hard to get this to work, and there is no other alternative! Few university departments have use for such a compiler, in my experience (including my own)! Therefore the "30,000 lines of code" used to illustrate concepts and to promote the book will be largely useless to most readers.

Additionally, I found the text lacked focus in many sections, with ideas being discussed in a sequence which clearly appealed to the author, but which does not necessarily appear logical to the untrained reader. There were some useful sections, but my overall impression was that the book was slightly incoherent. Other readers in my department have also agreed with my views.

For novice transmission electron microscopists, I would instead heartily recommend the series of three introductory handbooks by Williams and Carter. These books are permanently on loan from our library and there is a waiting list to borrow them - you won't find these lingering on the shelf, unlike this book, I'm afraid, which has hardly been used since it was bought in.