Best Microbiology Textbooks

Microbiology is the study of organisms that are usually too small to see with the naked eye, including bacteria, fungi, archaea, algae, protozoa, and viruses. College students majoring in microbiology, as well as other science and health-related fields, take this course. If you’re an educator exploring different microbiology textbooks, it may seem overwhelming at first to decide on which one to use for your class. Even if you’re not an educator teaching microbiology or a student taking a course, you may still want to learn more about the subject from a reliable textbook.

Here are the best microbiology textbooks recommended by college-level microbiology instructors. These are for general microbiology college courses or for anyone who wants to learn microbiology on their own and get a more in-depth perspective. They are sorted by appropriateness for non-majors versus majors.

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Microbiology Textbook	Authors	Best for	Price
OpenStax Microbiology	Nina Parker, Mark Schneegurt, Anh-Hue Thi Tu, Brian M. Forster, Philip Lister	non-majors, health-related majors	Free on OpenStax; check price (print version)
Nester’s Microbiology: A Human Perspective	Denise G. Anderson Lecturer, Sarah Salm, Mira Beins, Eugene W. Nester Professor	non-majors, health-related majors	check price
Microbiology: An Introduction	Gerard Tortora, Berdell Funke, Christine Case	non-majors, health-related majors	check price
Microbe (ASM Books)	Michele S. Swanson, Elizabeth A. Joyce, Rachel E. A. Horak	science majors, health-related majors	check price
Microbiology	Dave Wessner, Christine Dupont, Trevor Charles, Josh Neufeld	majors	check price
Prescott’s Microbiology	Joanne Willey, Kathleen Sandman, Dorothy Wood	majors	check price
Brock Biology of Microorganisms	Michael T. Madigan, Kelly S. Bender, Daniel H. Buckley, W. Matthew Sattley, David A. Stahl	majors	check price

OpenStax Microbiology (FREE) – print version

Authors: Nina Parker, Mark Schneegurt, Anh-Hue Thi Tu, Brian M. Forster, Philip Lister

This textbook is good for non-majors or allied health. It’s free, so highly accessible for students. It’s also easy to read, aligns with ASM’s guidelines, and has good pictures and diagrams, clinical cases, and plenty of history. You could also consider using it as a supplement to your current textbook. The only place where it is lacking is that it needs environmental microbiology or microbial ecology and biotechnology chapters.

Nester’s Microbiology: A Human Perspective

Authors: Denise G. Anderson Lecturer, Sarah Salm, Mira Beins, Eugene W. Nester Professor

This textbook is suitable for non-majors, nursing, allied health, and health-related majors. It’s easy to read and covers microbiology according to body systems.

Microbiology: An Introduction

Authors: Gerard Tortora, Berdell Funke, Christine Case

This textbook is good for non-majors and health-related majors. It’s easy to understand, in-depth in parts, and simple in others.

Microbe (ASM Books)

Authors: Michele S. Swanson, Elizabeth A. Joyce, Rachel E. A. Horak

This textbook is suitable for science and health-related majors. It is easy to read for some, but others feel that the writing style makes it difficult to follow.

Microbiology

Authors: Dave Wessner, Christine Dupont, Trevor Charles, Josh Neufeld

This textbook is best for majors. It provides an excellent introduction to microbiology, with a high enough level of detail for majors while not being nearly as dense as Brock (see below).

Prescott’s Microbiology

Authors: Joanne Willey, Kathleen Sandman, Dorothy Wood

This textbook is best for majors. It is comprehensive, but some feel it has too much detail, being somewhere between Brock (see below) and Microbe (see above).

Brock Biology of Microorganisms

Authors: Michael T. Madigan, Kelly S. Bender, Daniel H. Buckley, W. Matthew Sattley, David A. Stahl

This textbook is best for majors and contains a high level of detail. Some love this textbook, but others feel it is far too dense.

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These are the best microbiology textbooks that microbiology instructors recommend. Which book you choose will depend on whether you need a book at the majors or non-majors level and if you want the book to focus on health-related topics or provide a more general perspective. No matter which textbook you select, you’re sure to have a good experience teaching or learning the material.