I was a bit disappointed with my purchase. First, the description said hard cover, but in fact, the book that was sent to me is soft cover. That wasn't a huge deal, but it is a pretty hefty book. Secondly, a few weeks after I received the book, I noticed that there is black duct tape covering some printed words on the back of the book. The words say, "Not for sale in the USA or Canada" and "If book was purchased in the USA or Canada, you should be aware this book was wrongfully imported." This does not affect the use of the book; it still has all the content I need for my class. However, I won't be able sell this book to someone else to get some money back. That money I get back from selling my used books was going toward my fund for next semester's textbooks.Read full review
I purchased this book for a graduate course at the University of Maryland. These authors write very clearly; they manage complex vocabulary-laden concepts in a well written, easy-to-understand, organized manner. The diagrams are excellent, educational, and colorful. The 7th edition has a CD (I have not used it as yet). The chapter reviews are helpful in assessing your level of understanding. Overall, this is the best biology text I have read. I would highly recommend these authors!
I assume if you are reading this review you want to know what is IN this book and how easy it is to understand, so here goes: As you might expect, this one starts off with a basic intro, explaining what Biology covers and this is pretty general, explaining the basics. Next, there are sections on The Cell (plant and animal cells), photosynthesis, biological diversity, genetics, etc. It is a fine book and those taking Biology classes who have the perseverence to stick with it will certainly learn quite a lot. Some may find it hard to understand, however. Now, a few words about HOW the book is written. The language is detailed, even complex, so you may need a good dictionary on hand. Access to biology sites online, those with definitions, will be a plus. This is NOT an easy read but if you stick with it, you'll get the basics - and more. There are sections which review key concepts and these are excellent study aids.Read full review
The book is soft cover, I mean it is very heavy itself and imagine having a hard cover, that's what my whole class have but I got the soft cover version which is exactly like the hard cover one, pages numbers, pictures, table of content, everything is exactly the same as the book I need for my biology class and it is soft cover so I really like it because it is lighter, still heavy though. The books is very new, CDs are all in there, no one wrote on it, so I pretty much bought a brand new book for a lower price. And the reason why I decide to buy it is because my class NEEDs the book, haha, and this is the cheapest one I can get off the shelve so I picked this one.
I like that it has so much information in it. However I don't like that it sort of skips around between topics. When I took the first class that covered this book, it was skipping from the first few chapters all the way to the last chapter. I think there could be a better organized way. The pictures and the diagrams are great and very helpful when it comes to understanding concepts and the process. I bought this book because it is a hard cover edition and it withstands alot of wear and tear.. also it is used in two of my semester classes, and it is helping me study for my DAT test in the spring. It has great information you just got to know where to find it. I have not tried the online guide yet maybe that will make somethings easier to grasp and also give a chance to quiz myself over some information. Over all though, great book, and very helpful for school and grad school tests.Read full review
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