Customer Reviews

Biology: Life on Earth (7th Edition)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

(Note: This review refers to the fifth edition of this book.) The authors of Biology: Life on Earth have written a beautiful, fairly comprehensive but not overwhelming introduction to the subject of biology. Although I have a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's in botany and found the book to be straightforward and clear, it is written so well and in such an engaging and conversational style that it should also be straightforward and clear to anyone who is new to biology. The colorful photographs and detailed diagrams add to the beauty of the book. I also like the feel of the pages.
Many introductory biology books nowadays are quite heavy and bulky, and there is so much information in them that it is sometimes hard to get the "big picture." But this particular book is able to get the main aspects of biology conveyed in a more compact size. ( Some biology textbooks can be upwards of 1200 or more pages long, but this book gets the job done in less than 900.)
This is the textbook I would most recommend to someone who is just starting to learn the details of biology. Other biology books, such as those by Campbell, by Raven, and by Solomon et al., are more comprehensive and perhaps are better as reference books than this one might be, but their details can overwhelm the beginner.
I gave this book four stars, not five, for two reasons. First, as with many textbooks, there was at least one incorrect statement. It said on page 74 that potassium, sodium, and calcium ions are molecules, when in fact they are simply charged atoms, not molecules. Second, and this criticism may be biased because I like biochemistry, the book could have included the molecular structures of all twenty amino acids, not just a few. Similarly, the book could have included the molecular structures of the chemicals participating in glycolysis and the Krebs cycle, and giving the molecular structure of the key molecule involved in photosynthesis, chlorophyll, would have been nice. These small but helpful additions would have added perhaps only two pages to the length of the book.
Overall, though, I am very impressed by this book and wish I had had a book like this when I first began to study the details of biology. Enjoy it!

As a student, I think authors did a good job on explaining the subject. It doesn't go too details about every topics it covers but it seems that authors give more emphasis on some topics(should say more interesting ones). Every chapter opens up with a discussion or phenomenon that is addressed in the chapter or at the end of chapter. My university uses this book as a text for NON-MAJOR biology class. I read every single line(no joke) in the book and find the chapters to be stimulating, interesting and cover what students ought to know. The book comes with a CD that helped me out in the learning process (things like simulation of an event, figures, tips and techniques) . Very satisfied with this book.

This book is very comprehensive in explaining all aspects of Biology. It has wonderful charts and pictures and is a very good investment. Whether you are in school, high school, college, or University, it will offer a very detailed view of our life on earth. It even includes a CD-Rom, and activities and "tests" at the end of each chapter.

This book is great for the classroom and also for pleasure reading. It explains many topics in great detail and leaves the reader with a great understanding and enthusiasm for the topic. Even if you're not a student taking a class, this book is a great buy! The CD-ROM is useful, but not necessary. The content of the book is more than worth the cost! I HIGHLY recomend buying a used copy of this book and reading it!

The major problem with this book is that there is so much unnecessary paragraphs which can just be said in a couple of sentences. This book is only good for those who have major trouble grasping the concepts and are in need of a mass amount of analogies and metaphors. If you are looking for a Biology book straight to the point, this is not for you; a better book is "Inquiry into Life" by Sylvia S. Mader. Once I read "Inquiry into Life," I found that "Biology: Life on Earth" was too drawn out. It is also not as detailed as I had expected it to be.

The book helped me a lot. I never had general biology before taking the exam. For best use, I read "Biology: Life on Earth" to give an overview of the topic and the major mechanisms behind it. Then, I used other textbooks which had much more details on the subject. This method worked well, for example, for DNA replication and Protein Synthesis on which "Biology: Life on Earth" seems to have left out some information. So this is a great biology "starter" and if you decide/need to know more, other in-depth textbooks will be helpful.

This textbook is a little easier to read than say Raven's Biology. Evolution, the cell and origin of life was explained with a lot of clarity. Although Raven's Biology is a very good book also, I found this book easier to comprehend. However, if you really want excellent test preparation questions get---
The Ultimate Study Guide for Biology: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations by Patrick Leonardi. It comes in three volumes. Each volume is great because it had great review questions that helped me to focus on what was important for my college biology tests.

This book goes into explaining Hardy-Weinberg principle and doesn't even have the equation for it! Nor does it mention two important words in the same chapter - dominant and recessive. If you want to look at pictures of animals and read over-simplified explanations then buy it. If your are looking for a scholarly book, then I would suggest to look elsewhere.

The book is fine, just not what I expected. It is listed as the book on the site and not as the study guide so if you are looking for Biology life on earth look further because this was just the study guide.

Book arrived very quickly and quality was even better than advertised. Will DEFINITELY use this website for
all my children's college books!