Customer Reviews

Functional Anatomy of the Vertebrates: An Evolutionary Perspective

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

 

 

This book is well-organized and clearly written, and includes some truly fascinating revelations about the vertebrates, especially relating to biomechanics. It is, however, really too encyclopedic for undergraduates to read cover to cover. As a supplement to a lecture course, I find it excellent; if the lecturer expects students to learn most of the material from the text alone, they are in for a difficult time. The main difficulty is that the most important material is not necessarily emphasized in the text, so that the instructor using this text must be clear about what main points students need. As a reference for further study after class, and to look up things not understood the first time, this book is great. As a primary teaching tool with no outline or emphasis to guide study, there is simply far too much information for a one-semester undergraduate course.

Students already familiar with vertebrate anatomy will probably find this a useful reference, however students who are learning about vertebrate anatomy for the first time will likely be a bit frustrated with the book. Often, long wordy paragraphs describe structures rather than having an emphasis on diagrams. Material and terminology is frequently introduced without stating function or relevance until later on. Diagrams are only in a few different colors and usually lack spatial depth, which I personally found difficult for understanding the 3 dimensional layout of many oddly shaped structures. There are no photographs making identification of real life structures a bit of a challenge. There is also the occasional mislabeled diagram, but those are likely being remedied in the next edition.

I'm a bit disappointed at the organization of this book and it's emphasis on descriptions via text, however it is useful once you gain a good understanding of the material. The text goes into a nice amount of detail and covers a lot of material. However, if I had a choice of textbooks to use form my anatomy course, I would likely look at something else.

Very well written book that helps take the reader through the evolutionary history of vertebrates. Figures are no longer completely up to date with the latest research, but still a quality reference book. Be ready to be bogged down with details.