Customer Reviews

Biology

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In short, this text is the single most authoritative source of information for general biological science I have seen in a long time. The most unique thing about the book is the way the material is presented: In modular units. The text and images are in 2 or 4 page spreads, which leads to better retention of material, and less "hunting" for the images to which the textual material refers. Students will like the straightforward presentation of the facts and ease of use of this text. In particular, I favored the way the authors take a strong evolutionary perspective to explain the science of biology. In addition, the coverage of DNA and RNA, BEFORE covering transcription and translation, makes sense: some books do not do this, leading to confusion for the more "average" student.The images and writing style are fabulous. In particular, I found the CD ROM that comes with the book to be the single finest addition I have ever seen - far outdistancing the CD typically packaged with most books.

I used this book for my college biology I and II classes. My favorite part of the book was animal structure and function. Although the writing in this book is on a pretty high level, nothing was left out--very complete. Sometimes it was hard to understand the chapters on genetics. Then again genetics is a hard topic. I used additional sources to clarify on what I learned in Raven's book.

I used AP Biology by Beck. This book was a helpful study guide. This was easy to comprehend. Made biology easier to learn.

However, what really did it for me was Patrick Leonardi's:
The Ultimate Study Guide for Biology: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations
This study guide comes in 3 volumes, make sure to get all three if you take biology I and II. If you are only taking Biology I, you can probably get away with only getting volume 1 and 2. These study guides had very good questions on every topic that is tested on in college biology. It was organized into specific sections, making it very helpful for exam preparation. It was so complete that it had the kind of questions that were asked on my exams. Don't go blind into an exam. These books are very helpful.

.....or if you had to travel back in time. I had this for my textbook in Biology back in 1987 and even then, .... well before the human genome was anywhere near being charted, let alone completed, this was a spectacular acomplishment. This book isn't riveting like say Druyan and Sagan's SHADOWS OF FORGOTTEN ANCESOTRS is, but it is as good as any biology textbook can possibly be. It has EVERYTHING you could possibly want to know about biology; from modern cell theory to ecology. All you have to do is look this over and you'll see why I highly recommend it. Does any other bio textbook even compare?

This is by far the finest Introductory Biology textbook I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Biology teachers, do yourselves (not to mention your students) a favor--make this the required text for your Biology I (and II) Class! Special Thanks goes out to Dr. Michael Hoefer...for requiring this textbook!

This is definitely the best intro to bio books out there. As a graduate student I got the chance to read lots of bio books and this one by far is the best. The chapters are well organized and easy to follow and gives you the depth needed to pursue any area of biology. When it was time for me to student teach this was the book of my chose. It expensive but definiely worth it to any biologist. The CD-ROM is also very good!

"Biology" by Raven and Johnson is an impressive introduction into the biological sciences for undergraduates and Advanced Placement high school students. This text is particularly strong on evolution, sociobiology, ethology, and genetics, and does an outstanding job of presenting evolutionary theory as the unifying theme of all the biological sciences. Hard to put down!

If I had only one book on the biological sciences, this would be the one. I could go into more depth, but my command of the Englisch language is somewhat limited.

This is a great biology book. One of my favorite things about this book is the diagrams. I also like the sections on human origins and the individual sections on different organisms. This book is as good or might even be better then the Campbell biology-that speaks for itself

The book is very heavy and large. It would be a load in a backpack. It is filled with color and many pictures, which makes it easy to look at. Unfortunately, the narration is written as though addressed to another accomplished biologist - too many big words when smaller ones would be so much easier to understand and equally - or nearly so -accurate. The whole book should be rewritten for a less educated audience and the number and depth of topics should both be reduced. Too much stuff to take it all in although the book is broken down into what appear to be manageable chapters. This might be an excellent second level book on biology, but seems a little tough for an introductory one. Also, make it smaller and lighter and less costly. Maybe break it into two paperback books, one for each level of two college courses?