Customer Reviews

Biological Science (With CD-ROM)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is the worst bio book I have read. I've had at least 3 different biology courses with their respective books, but this one was so bad I felt obligated to warn others. I don't bother with these reviews but in this case the book "earned" it.

The pros: I am at length impressed at Freeman's attempt to draw an inquisitive experimental nature into a bio book. He talks about many interesting scientific experiments and really introduces you to the scientific method. His diagrams while usually not as detailed as other biology books are sufficient.

The cons: What Dr. Freeman attempts in his book forces him to leave out a lot of basic bio. A multitude of biology terms are just missing, as if they never existed. What's worse is that this terminology is actually required on bio tests. I had to refer extensively to my professor's notes and look up the missing terms through the web to make the grade.
Unfortunately Dr. Freeman is not a very clear writer either, at least in this volume. He talks about many important topics but with his writing style, I have actually mentally missed many important points. He just doesn't emphasize what you need to know in basic biology. There are many decent biology books that have the organization you need to sort through the unimportant and the important material but Freeman's somewhat conversational style muddles his book.
Furthermore, many of his multiple choice practice problems in the text have incorrect solutions in the back of the book. In fact for some odd reason the solutions in the back of the book cover all the volumes. I felt he should have instead devoted the answers to the correct solution and the reasoning behind the solution instead of putting up these additional answers to volumes I don't have and don't intend to purchase. The index and the glossary do the same thing; they pull material from all volumes. It would have benefitted his book if he used that extra space to put in more indexed topics that actually appear in this volume. The result was that the usage of these back pages was disgracefully subpar and inefficient. In addition, the included CD is outdated for macs with OS X. To be fair, I don't know about its functionability on the PC, since I predominately use OS X. From what I've heard the CD is actually one of the most useful parts of the book, so keep this in mind.

In summary if you are a student who is well versed in biology, this book will frustrate you to no end. I acquired the paperback version for $25 from another student of which I felt was not worth that price. The book only functions well as a supplement when you want to read more about the experiments done in biology. It should not be used as the main reading material. In this regard I have to be brutally honest. The book fails miserably. There are many other better bio books to invest your money in and you will know the difference if you've read a few of them.

I think this text is very well done. The writing is clear and the examples and graphics are very useful. The CD rom, although it does need some massaging to work (requires Netscape 4 or 5, and shockwave I forget which), the necessary programs are included on the CD. Once it's up and running, it's great! The tutorials and activities are very useful in clarifying the information- it even shows a movie of Mitosis and Meiosis happening side by side, to illustrate the similarities and differences- something which otherwise is difficult to envision and comprehend at the intro level. The web resources that also come with this book are very useful. The CD rom is repeated there (so you don't have to "downgrade" your software), plus it has quite a bit of extra material.

I would use this text if I were teaching an college, or even high school, intro bio course.

The important concepts seem to be covered in this textbook, but the author goes into philosophical tangents quite often. For a biology text, I rather expected straight-forward facts like "here is the cell structure, these are the components, here is what they do". Freeman seems to go off on these kicks about unanswered questions and the debate of evolutionary steps. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but not exactly appropriate for the subject matter either.

On a second note, this was a used copy that I purchased at a very competitive rate here, and the book is in near-perfect shape. The previous owner was not highlighter-happy either! Thanks, Amazon.

As mentioned by other reviewers, this book drones endlessly about the details of experiments that first-year undergraduates are unlikely to appreciate to any degree. From my own research experience, I understand very well that every bit of scientific knowledge comes as the result of weeks, months or years of effort, but focusing so much on that in an introductory textbook means that a great many important details are sacrificed in the process- and details are important. It's been a year and a half since I've used the book and the only reason I learned anything about biology during that time was because I read other books, especially Campbell's. Freeman's book might do well enough for non-majors, but it is horrible for use with biology or chemistry majors. There is very little substance here and it does not pose a challenge. If you've used it and think otherwise, I encourage you to examine Campbell's book, as it is the current standard in the field, but almost any other will do. On top of that, I noted over 100 typos/misprints/mislabeled captions in the first half alone, and there is little that annoys me more than $120 books that slipped through the editorial cracks a few dozen times. This text does not live up to expectations.

Although the material in this book is challenging, it throughly explains the material at hand. The CD-ROM is very useful and explained the material in simple terms.

So far I'd had no quarrels with the quality of the Freeman book, but then, upon recommendation of my professor, I tried to install the cd.

Granted, I'm a little miffed, but I wanted to bring to your attention how phenomenally useless this product is. Now, I hear the content of the cd is really helpful, and I hope it is, but when a textbook is updated every two years, a consumer ought not to have to downgrade her computer in order for an enclosed (and supposedly updated) piece of software to work. Such trouble either renders the CD-ROM useless or a royal pain in the @$$.

Let me explain: The cd works with no web browser but Netscape. Not only that, but it works with no Netscape other than Netscape 4 or 5. (Your computer probably has Netscape 6 or higher.) The cd also requires Shockwave 8.50 and will use NOTHING ELSE.

The installation software for these very specific needs are included on the cd, however, you'll have to scrap your previous (and probably newer) Shockwave.

So, if you don't mind the hassle, or luck out and have Netscape 4.7 and Shockwave 8.50, by all means, let us know how you like it. I, for one, will be living the experience vicariously.

Worst bio book I have ever read (i have read about 9 different bio books). I am one of those people who never write reviews on books--I usually am the reader. This book was so bad that I actually felt obligated to to write about it so i may warn others (beleive me, I am pretty lazy). The book tries to get you to enjoy the old and cutting edge research behind all scientific data. Big emphasis on the word TRIES. It fails at accomplishing this task. The main task of a biology book is to teach you biology. Unlike most books, Biological Science's goal is to make people enjoy biology and the research behind it. People who already have somewhat of an interest in biology should turn away from this book because it fails in letting the reader discover on his/her OWN that biolgy is an exciting and an enjoyable field to study. Instead the book tries to accomplish this task for you which is its greatest mistake. To add to the trouble, the book has terrible organization (mainly when making points within each chapter). In trying to show all the cutting edge technology and important points in a fashionable way, it makes itself dizzy--it jumps from one point to the next. I would continue about the faults of Biologial Science but I am tired and hungry and I don't hate this book enough to keep writing more about it (pretty sad huh...?). So take my advice and talk to your professor about changing this book if you find out that you have to read it--chances are that won't happen but best of luck in your efforts.

I hope our instructor Changes to a new book soon.