Creighton, Thomas E. Proteins: Structures and Molecular Properties. W. H. Freeman, New York, 1993.

Dickerson, Richard E., and Irving Geis. The Structure and Action of Proteins. Harper & Row, New York, 1969. A small book with excellent illustrations of protein structures.

Lehninger, Albert L., David L. Nelson, and Michael M. Cox. Principles of Biochemistry. Worth Publishers, New York, 1993.

Radetsky, Peter. "Kim's Coils." Discover, June 1995, p. 112. Peter Kim's research on coiled coils, a type of protein folding, revealed that the coils attach to each other by a series of snaps, rather than a zipperlike mechanism as commonly thought.

Rawn, J. David. Biochemistry. Neil Patterson Publishers, Burlington (NC), 1989.

Stryer, Lubert. Biochemistry. W. H. Freeman, New York, 1995.

Vollrath, Fritz. "Spider Webs and Silks." Scientific American, March 1992, p. 52. Structural engineering of spider webs and the molecular differences between silks.

Weinberg, Robert A. "The Molecules of Life." Scientific American, October 1985, p. 48. A general overview of molecular mechanisms underlying biological complexity.