A preface should justify the existence of the book it precedes and this is invariably done in scientific texts by reference to the explosive growth of the field since the last such volume appeared. In molecular biology, most fields can be justifiably described as growing explosively, as should be the case for a young and vigorous science, but the study of membrane proteins stands out as one which has taken giant strides in the last few years. Ignorance of the structure and function of membrane proteins at the molecular level was certainly not due to lack of interest but rather was a result of...