Asking About Life (with CD-ROM and InfoTrac) [Hardcover]

Allan J. Tobin (Author), Jennie Dusheck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 2004 | ISBN-10: 053440653X | ISBN-13: 978-0534406530 | Edition: 3

Experiments are the plot that holds the story of biology together. ASKING ABOUT LIFE uses the process of experimentation to describe the scientific process and to illustrate the personal and professional motives that drive scientists to work so hard at asking and answering questions. In this important revision, the authors continue to use thought-provoking chapter-opening stories to engage students in the process of science. At the same time, they focus on making the text more accessible through streamlined coverage (100 fewer pages in this edition) and a refined organization and design. New features make it easier for students to remember the main ideas. For example, Key Questions begin each chapter, main headings are numbered to make it easier for students to locate previously read information, and Chapter Summaries are organized around Key Questions. All these features provide consistency throughout each chapter. Student support is also a main focus. A student CD-ROM, BiologyNow, packaged FREE with each copy of the text includes questions created around the text's opening stories and uses diagnostic pre-tests to generate a personalized learning plan for each student. Students also receive FREE access to InfoTrac College Edition, an online university library with articles from 5,000 periodicals. vMentor, a FREE online live tutoring service rounds this powerful student supplements package. For instructors, a Multimedia Manager provides all the text art in PowerPoint form, as well as a great Instructor's Guide, an Electronic Test Bank, and WebTutor course management options. Instructors will receive CNN clips in the multimedia manager but the full set of CNN Today video clips (294 in all) is available to adopters as well. Updated throughout, the Third Edition captures the terrific excitement of current 21st century science and is accompanied by powerful new learning tools that expand the text's themes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I have always liked the style of Tobin and Dusheck. The text is readable and student friendly."

"I felt the chapters were well-written and had an easy, conversational tone that will be appreciated by students. The writing was very appropriate for the level of students in our 100-level biology courses at NMC. The chapters touched on currently important concepts but did not get too detailed with terminology."

"I particularly liked the readability of the 3rd edition and the use of common analogies. The 2nd edition was readable too, but it's even better in the 3rd edition."

About the Author

Allan Tobin's undergraduate degree from MIT is in literature and biology and his doctoral degree is in biophysics with an emphasis on physical biochemistry. For more than 35 years he has taught introductory courses in general biology, cell biology, molecular biology, developmental biology, and neuroscience. He is the recipient of the U.C. Los Angeles Faculty Teaching and Service Award and is regarded as an excellent and highly interactive teacher.

Jennie Dusheck has an undergraduate degree in zoology from U.C. Berkeley and her master's degree is also in zoology. She also holds a certificate in science writing from U.C. Santa Cruz. Dusheck has written for "Science News," "Science Magazine," and other publications. From 1985 to1993 she was the Principal Editor at U.C. Santa Cruz and has received several national awards including the Gold Medal for Best-in-Category from the National Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. As a biologist she has studied the effects of light intensity on bird song, social behavior in field mice, food preferences of deer, cattle and skipper butterflies as well as axis formation in Xenopus laevis. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: Brooks Cole; 3 edition (February 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 053440653X
• ISBN-13: 978-0534406530
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 9.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #794,299 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Great Textbook, January 28, 2003

By 

Robert Adler "science writer & author" (Santa Rosa, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Asking About Life (Hardcover)

I don't usually review (or even read) textbooks. However, in researching a forthcoming book, I've spent a lot of time with Tobin and Dushek's Asking About Life. It's made my life much easier.

As those who are familiar with Asking About Life know, this is a textbook with a philosophy. That philosophy is to present biology not as a canonical set of facts about life, but as a dynamic, ongoing dialogue with nature, in which real people who happen to be scientists ask meaningful questions and take understandable steps over time to discover answers to them. The book mixes an engaging narrative style, a strong historical perspective, great examples, and authoritative factual knowledge into an eminently readable, extremely informative, and scientifically impeccable text. As a result, a student or reader can turn to this book not simply to learn about the structure of DNA or how the human immune system functions, but also about Rosalind Franklin's role in discovering the double helix and about why HIV "continues to perplex medical researchers." And, as shown by the book's section headings (How Do Zygotes Cleave? How Does Gastrulation Set Up the Three-Layered Structure?), it embodies the truth that the best scientific questions start not with "what" but with "how."

Asking About Life is also full of beautiful, crystal-clear photos and illustrations, many of which, like the text, do a wonderful job of depicting not just static objects, but dynamic processes.

I can't imagine a better biology textbook.

Robert Adler, Ph.D.,author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation (Wiley & Sons, Sept. 2002).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, September 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Asking About Life (Hardcover)

I used this book for my AP biology course. Thanks to this book, it let me got 5 on the AP exam. I'm homeschooled, I learnt biology myself,well, maybe not cause this book taught me all of the materials to score high on biology.I'm glad I used this book.
By the way, the supplementary CD is very helpful,so if you buy this text, i suggest you also to buy that CD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Biology for the non biologist, interesting, & informative, New views., September 24, 2008

By 

Gary (Utah USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Asking About Life (with InfoTrac) (Hardcover)

Outstanding book. Makes biology & the study of life very interesting. Great detail, but not overwhelming. Many illustrations that are first class & very instructive. Highly recommend.