Biology - 5th Edition - Book Review
August 20, 2021
Yes ... I read text books.
From the Back Cover
This fifth edition of Biology has an increased emphasis on the process of science by integrating more historical context, references to specific scientists, their research stories and experimental data.
Details
- Hardcover, Fifth Edition, 1232 pages
- Published December 31st 1999 by Brooks Cole
- Authors:
- Eldra Pearl Brod Solomon
- Linda R. Berg
- Diana W. Martin
My Take on the Material
Okay, I may be a bit of a geek...
I enjoyed this textbook. It was well written, and thorough but not boring. Lots of valuable information for a first year course in general Biology. Concepts were well explained and accompanied by excellent charts and figures.
The only hurdle I had was getting through the ATP cycle (aerobic respiration). Wow, that was a struggle - and I'm pretty good with Chemistry :p
Likes and Dislikes
The textbook contained a good number of figures that visually represented the material being displayed
The book is broken up into 8 themes (parts):
- Part 1: The Organization of Life
- Part 2: Energy Tranfer through Living Systems
- Part 3: The Continuity of Genetics
- Part 4: The Continuity of Life: Evolution
- Part 5: The Diversity of Life
- Part 6: Structure and Life Processes in Plants
- Part 7: Stucture and Life Proceses in Animals
- Part 8: The Interactions of Life: Ecology
Each part is broken up into 20 page (thank goodness) chapters (55 chapters in total), each dealing with a specific topic within the theme. I liked the short chapters as I could read and make notes on an entire chapter. I prefer shorter chapters since I can read most of them in one sitting. Books with large chapters make me have to stop mid-way and then I have to recall what I've read in order to get ramped back up.
Recommendation?
Would I recommend this texbook? Even though it's dated, yes. The authors did a great job mixing both text and visual content into a format that makes learning general biology both interesting and (almost) fun.
