USMLE Step 1,Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple ,Mark Gladwin,Bill Trattler,2007

A brief, clear, thorough, and highly enjoyable approach to clinical microbiology, brimming with mnemonics, humor, summary charts and illustrations, from AIDS to "flesh-eating bacteria" to ebola, mad cow disease, hantavirus, anthrax, smallpox, botulism, etc. Excellent Board review

Paperback: 392 pages

+++++++When I received this book, I was not sure what to make of it. Rather than seriously examining key points of organisms with illustrations to show how mechanisms worked, the book is packed with mnemonics and weired cartoons meant to help you remember what you need to know for the boards (for instance, Chlamydia has a "clam" necklace; Salmonella is shown as a salmon hanging out and smoking a cigar in a gallbladder to remind you that's where chronic Salmonella carriers retain the bug).
I grew to appreciate these stupid cartoons, as I did remember stuff I would have otherwise forgotten. If you are burning out, this is a good resource!

This is not a real textbook, however. You get a guerilla introduction to some basics, but the presentation of material is not as systematic as a text. At the end of each chapter is a chart to summarize the information presented, but the font is tiny and I never bothered using it.

I would recommend checking this book out to see if the book's style works for you. If it does, this is a good way to study microbiology even if you are tired and sick of studying for Step I. If it does not, there are plenty of more standard texts and reviews to choose.

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This book may be the greatest micro review book in the world. I wouldn't really know. I couldn't get through more than 5 pages without feeling nauseous due to Ridiculously Simple's sense of "humor". I purchased the book because an upperclassman told me it was invaluable and "everyone uses it". Had I bothered to flip through it for more than 10 seconds before buying it, I would have realized I wouldn't be able to stomach it. If you're a fan of Jay Leno and/or Carrot Top, this may be a great book for you. However, it was absolutely worthless to me. That's not to say I'm not a huge Carrot Top fan...or something

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