Customer Reviews

Essential Genetics: A Genomic Perspective

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

 

 

This was a book that I dreaded to read for a college class. I opened it and stared at the cover with dread. However, I was very surprised to find that it was easy to understand and even.....interesting? Yes, I admit, I fell in love with the subject of genetics by reading this book. It had real world applications and provided many sample questions. The pictures were great and a perfect addition to the entire book. I really enjoyed this book.

Though I find genetics fascinating, this book is not good at explaining concepts. The meanings of many vocab words were not apparent through context, and there were numerous errors in the problems and answer key. The thousands of attention-grabbing real-life situations and hooks about genetics that could have been used to open up sections and chapters weren't used. Rather, the text is dense, boring, and unclear. I found myself consistently referring back to my biology book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321543270/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0130819239&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1P6ECN16NTDD3QF50GHR) which is far better at presenting concepts, both through the text and visually.

I was a little sketchy when I saw how cheap this book was priced when I ordered it but thought it would be worth a shot. And it was certainly worth it! It's in good condition and as a college kid, saving money is the best! :)

Adequate book for my Genetics class, even though it's an edition behind the one recommended.

Overall the book is not bad. Concepts were pretty easy to understand. Would have been better if this book was a hard-cover.

As a undergrad at Harvard who took Prof Hartl's intro genetics class (in which we used this textbook), I can tell you that this encompasses all the information we covered in a semester-legnth class. What you miss out on, however, is Prof Hartl's funny, engaging teaching style and graphically complex computer demos. That said I learned (both from class and this book) why female cats' fur can be calico and other interesting applications of genetics. In the age of the Human Genome Project, basic genetics knowledge is crucial, and this book is a great intro to the topic.

Great diagrams and broken down descriptions. It was a great help for my upper division genetics class! I couldn't have passed without it!

I bought this book online because I needed it for my Genetics class in the spring semester. I'm happy with Amazon for shipping it on time; the Prime membership is really worth it.
The book itself is perfect for anyone trying to understand genetics for the first time. I have taken genetics classes before, and this book really helped me refresh my memory. It is suitable for the person who wishes to teach him/herself, and it is great for the person wishing to specialize in this area.
If you're considering buying the book, get it. It's worth every penny.

As an another student at Harvard, i found this book very unclear at explaning many important concepts in genetics, such as Holliday structure. The authors of this book fail to present approropriate and clear explanations for the conclusions that they make. Also, materials in chapters tend to be seemed unrelated...

Prof Hartl is an entertaining in his lectures but not clear in his book.