Customer Reviews

Biology with MasteringBiology™ (8th Edition)

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This book is a good biology text book -- it's pretty easy to read and has interesting examples and real-world applications of some of the concepts. The MasteringBio website, though, is AWESOME. It comes with an ebook version of the text book, so you don't have to carry it around with you (good because it is huge and really heavy). It also has quizzes and mini tests that you can take online to see if you understand the material. The best part in my opinion though is that there are all kinds of animations and interactive learning tools that make the material super easy to understand. I absolutely recommend it!

Some Pros about this book:
1. Change is good and the help of co-authors has made this book much better than previous editions.
2. This book will provide students well rounded knowledge of most biological concepts.
3. Up to date (considering date of publication).
4. Genetics section is superior compared even to Genetics textbooks.
5. Embryology is well discussed or at least mentioned in almost every chapter.
6. Systems biology made simple to understand (almost like reading a Histology or Anatomy and Physiology text)
7. Plant biology well discussed.
8. Research Method boxes made very easy to understand.
9. Diagrams are succinct and easy to read; most have labeled processes.
10. The order of chapters is for the most part good... go from 1 to 56. (Reader should consider joining discussions on plants rather than reading straight through the book though...)

Some Cons about this book:
1. This book constantly refers to a certain "enzyme" or "protein" without giving its name.
a. you could find these in any well-rounded Genetics text.
2. Biotechnology and Genomic Evolution chapters are kind of dull, simply because of the amount of information presented.
a. Probably a con of any book discussing those two topics.
3. Text makes the reader refer to other chapters quite often. This makes the book shorter but sometimes confusing.

I would recommend this book for anyone to read, especially to students studying Biology in pre-professional programs who do not use this book at their university.

In preparation for giving a week's lectures (on evolution) to a high-school class, I purchased this text because it is the one the teacher used. Even though I already owned numerous biology texts, I do not regret the purchase: this is a superior general biology text. It is appropriate for either high school or undergraduate courses.

All of the basic stuff is covered, of course. I was glad to see a chapter devoted to cell-signalling (even though the coverage is not all that in-depth: well, at least not when compared to the undergraduate molecular cell biology texts I have, which is not a fair comparison).

An entire unit (in all, chapters 22 - 26) deals with evolution, but discussion of this -- THE unifying theme of all biology, tying together otherwise widely scattered and disparate facts -- is not restriced to just those chapters. The recurring ties to evolution, made throughout the text, were much appreciated.

The diagrams are excellent and numerous, making it easier for students to understand the material.



PS: Note that this book's average rating has been reduced artificially because many people have rated it low DUE TO PROBLEMS THEY HAD WITH SELLERS. Unfortunately, there is no way to nullify such ratings; they remain despite "0 of 25" people finding the reviews helpful.

I completed my B.A. in biology over 30 years ago and got this book for self-study and to catch up with progress in topics outside of my work experience. The sections seem well written and illustrated. Since this is an introductory text it has sidebars and interviews meant to interest the intro student. I'd leave those out, if only to make the book less massive.

The book itself is probably the most readable textbook I own, and I have no complaints about it.

However, beware that signing up to MasteringBiology will potentially result in daily spam to the sign up email. Though the actual MasteringBio site is great it is frustrating that I have to deal with spam for it, hence the 4 stars.

This is one of the best Biology books I've ever read. It goes into incredible detail into every aspect of biology, from DNA to evolution. I'm taking a Post-Bac Pre-Med class that is using this book and am sure this will get me prepared for the MCAT.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone interested in in-depth biology studies.

This book has a great layout, and it has a great website that coincides with it. It's easy to read and not very complex. Obviously, some Biology prerequisite should be in order if using this book, but other than that, I say it's one of my better textbooks this semester, if not the best.

Good information for a general Biology book, finally caught up to Levine/Miller by 6th Edition.

I have an predecessor to this book from early 1990s: "The World of the Cell." Co-Authored by Reece (Read the acknowledgments. The books reference each other.) Campbell "Biology" is a much better book than "World of the Cell" overall, but I miss the access to detailed explanation, especially the bridge between Molecular Biology and BioChem that World of the Cell offered. In "Biology," Respiration & Photosynthesis ETC reactions are described as RedOx & electron transfer, and then every reaction drops the electrons. This is challenging for a student that never had Biology (home school, &/or opted for other sciences in HS). It's also difficult to gain respect for the field when an 18yr old teen who has had high school Chemistry can't understand why Biology PhDs "can't" do simple stoichiometry.

I'm frustrated with the new edition every semester trend. It's artificially driving up the price & making it difficult for avg students to recover any of their expenses. Neill Campbell passed away by the 7th edition. Certainly, other contributors have made discoveries, but perhaps the publisher or remaining author(s) could wait a full year or two between editions to compile, edit, & peer-review? Are thousands of books really useless after one semester?

This book is great for any biology course. I give it my highest recommendation for any college level course. I personally a using it for General Biology I and it is a great tool with great diagrams to enhance the reading.

The book is great, but MasteringBiology is better. Top three features:

1) BioFlix animations. Diagrams are good, but these animations just make things easier.
2) ebook. You can search, highlight, annotate, etc, etc... and besides, who wants to lug around a huge textbook?
3) Downloadable diagrams. Yes, you can download the "Art" (the diagrams) from each chapter. This comes in handy for notes you take on your laptop. I usually insert relevant diagrams as I'm taking notes during class.

Goodness, buying the book almost seems pointless.