Reviews (100)

Well written and organized textbook
This was my textbook for Biology 101 & 102. This book was a pleasure to read. It is clearly written and not dry at all so it was easy to keep focus. Even in my upper level classes, I find myself referring back to it occasionally and am still impressed by it. An important point I would like to make is that, if you are using this as a course textbook, the CD is invaluable. The animated tutorials and chapter quizzes, (which are quite thorough), kept me one step ahead. That CD shaved hours off of my study time for each test.

Very Comprehensive
Actually found this one in my storage boxes and dusted it off for a look see. Holds up against contemporary text in classes now. When it says buy used from like $2, that's a helluva deal. For a science book over 10 years old, it still does a bang up job on subject of genes, ecology, mechanisms of evolution....the chapter on biological diversity is almost complete enough to be a zoology text.

Long, dense, and at first look tedious - but absolutely worth it.
This book was used in my AP Bio class, where my teacher's constant reminders to "read the book" usually went unnoticed. This isn't because Campbell's book is necessarily boring or difficult to understand; in fact, the situation is quite the opposite. Campbell delves into the concepts of biology with more than adequate depth and breadth for the subject, offering both the basics and the details necessary to survive AP Bio (and, from the way my AP Exam went, college freshman Bio, too).
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biology    2. Life Sciences - Biology - General    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Study & Teaching    6. Biology, Life Sciences    7. Science / Biology   

Reviews (25)

Brilliance and Ignorance Together For One Very High Price
This is by far the best that Campbell & Co. have produced.The text reads easily and with great clarity.The difference of this 7th edition over previous editions is significant, and nearly worth the price.However, paying nearly $150 for a text is ridiculous.The publishers obviously think they can command such a premium because this text is so closely linked with the current American public high school's Biology Advanced Placement test.In short, they feel they have taxpayers over a barrel on this and can 'get away with it'.Shameful.Also, Campbell and Reece are radical evolutionists.Do not expect balance or 'both sides of the argument' presented on any of the more controversial aspects of Darwin's theory.There is no debate as far as they are concerned.Though 'spontaneous generation' was disproven by Louis Pasteur and Francisco Redi over 150 years ago, Campbell and Reece cling to this notion with strange, obsessive passion that borders on the bizarre.Their arrogance on this important issue strongly detracts from what is an outstanding, and otherwise balanced resourse.Why not address some contrary points of view to Darwinian evolution and even (gasp!) admit many of the more infamous errors by overly enthusiastic biologists in the past (e.g. the "Nebraska Man" of the Scopes Monkey Trial was actually only two teeth; the "Piltdown Man" was a hoax that was taught as fact in American universities for nearly 40 years, etc...).Such arrogance quickly leads to blindness, and has no place in real science. But, in spite of these confusing departures from real science (science being that which is both observable and testable), the text has some outstanding qualities that make it one of the premier sources in the field.

Comprehensive, Expensive, Thorough,& Biased
This certainly is the definitive word for biology students.The 7th edition reads faster, with more clarity and interest, than the previous edition by far.Does this warrant the outrageous price ?Doubtful, but since public schools (i.e taxpayers) are footing the bill for the most part, the publishers do this with relative impunity.This latest edition has stunning photos and graphics, and these add greatly to the text's readability.The chapters are short and concise, and the review questions and self-test items are excellent.The CD Rom that accompanies the text is also excellent and highly recommended.The optional study guide is not however, as it has a thoroughly mediocre quality and superfluous nature.Of even greater offense is the "pay per view" website that is offered for additional resources.After paying $100 for a text, and then be expected to pay more for Web assistance is unabashedly mercenary.However the objective reader will find Campbell & Reece's greatest flaw in its blatant bias concerning the theory of evolution.The 'theory' is not treated as such, but as an obvious fact, with no contrary points of view to any of the controverisal aspects of the theory included whatsoever.This is no small matter.Campbell and Reece simply assume that the spontaneous generation of life indeed occurred at some time in the Earth's past (though this has never been demonstrated experimentally--ever) and that DNA and RNA rose via the random chance of fortuitous collisions of molecules over time, (again, with no experimental evidence to justify these claims), the serious reader must earnestly question why the theory is presented in each chapter with an almost obsessive fervor.

Beautiful book, mercenary publisher -- caveat emptor
This is a lovely textbook. It is very up-to-date and well organized. It ihas full-color printing throughout the text and great self-assessment questions. The CD-ROM (included) also has many helpful resources.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - Biology - General    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Biology, Life Sciences    5. Science / Biology   

Reviews (43)

hands down, this behemoth deserves 5 stars
Yes, 1616 pages and 2 inches thick of madness can be intimidating, but this book is sheer awesomeness in lots of ways. Whether you are self-taught, actually taking the class, or just want a desk reference for cell bio, this is definitely the one to get.
The Canonical Work
This is a beautifully written textbook that presents the canonical version of what is currently known about cellular biology at the molecular level.The illustrations are clear and the text is easy to follow.The only shortcoming of the book is that, necessarily, it stays above the messy details in order to maintain clarity.The result, inevitably, is that some areas are glossed over (transcription activation is one example, but there are many others) and some areas appear to be understood when in reality there is a great deal of disagreement (for example, gene splicing).But these omissions are appropriate because the intention of the book is to provide an overview, not a specialist in-depth examination of every topic.This is a great primer for college students or educated people wanting to know just a little more detail about how life works.
Simply love it---a plethora of information
This book is a wonderful source of knowledge for anyone who is interested in cell biology; or if you are studying it--like myself.I give a 100% gaurantee that if you purchase this book you will be satisfied. I just finished reading the chapter on pathogens; wow so much information - it's truly ubelievable. That is what else I love about this book: it can be read sectionally. All one has to do is read the first three chapters to establish a foundation of the basic knowledge; you can skip that step all together if you know your stuff. Simply put: buy this book. Also, I forgot to mention that it includes a beautifully designed CD-ROM; it has animations that suppliment what you learned and more--not your average CD extra. The reason this review is so short and concise is because the other one I wrote didn't get saved--that was the long one with detail. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cells    2. Cytology    3. General    4. Life Sciences - Biology - Molecular Biology    5. Life Sciences - Cytology    6. Molecular Biology    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Cellular biology    10. Science / Biotechnology   

Reviews (236)

Powerful message
Congratulations to Al Gore for taking on a subject largely regarded as anathema by the US political establishment. Yes the science is still unsure on many of the issues, however, it IS becoming increasingly apparent that C02 emissions from industry, petrol engines etc are contributing to driving global temperatures upwards. That said, there is truth though that global warming is a natural event because thanks to analysis carried out on ice samples from the Greenland permafrost, thousands of years old, we have a clear record of many natural warming cycles going back millennia.
What was Gore's degree in? Oh yeah, journalism
Oh please... what scientific background does this guy have???? What a joke!The stuff in this book is more sophmoric than a prom.This is a political treatise with no scientific value at all.What is my degree in?Well, I have 3: BS chemistry, MS environmental science and a JD (Law).

From the inventor of the Internet????
For the lunatic Lefties and Wingnuts, this is a "Bible".From someone who lost an election, whined and wimpered until told to "shut up" by the USSC, we get this garbage dumped on the fools who would believe it.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Climatic changes    2. Ecology    3. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    4. Environmental Science    5. Environmental Studies    6. Environmental aspects    7. Global warming    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Science / Environmental Science   

Reviews (23)

I'm in Biology heaven
Ah, the holy grail of textbooks: To find a textbook that is completely clear, explains all aspects of the subject, lets you understand rather than just memorize so you can think independently on the subject and actually enjoyable to read.Textbooks like those are incredibly rare and they are worth their weight in gold once you find them.Looks like we found one for biology.

Poor Organization
I decided to buy this book instead of borrowing from the library because of the pretty colorful pictures it has. However, I regret spending $100 on this book because the text is poorly orgnanized. Although some chapters are written well, you will see content are scrambled within some chapters making it hard to take notes. There are also errors like they mentioned that Th cell help cellular response, but they ever tell you how. The activation gate and inactivation gate mentioned in the neuron chapters are confusing. The mentioned it on the text, but they don't show it on the pictures.
Life Review
THIS BOOK HAS AMAZINGLY USEFUL DIAGRAMS AND FIGURES THAT HELP THE READER VISUALIZE AND UNDERSTAND THE SUBJECT. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biology    2. General    3. Life Sciences - Biology - General    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Biology, Life Sciences    7. Science / Biology   

Reviews (4)

Highly disappointing
While the class I took that used this textbook was informative, this book was full of what seemed to be the authors' personal opinons.Like another person said here in the reviews about blame on the Bush administration, and lack of references aside from photo credits, this book seemed to be geared more towards giving you the biased outlook of the author than an unbiased view of environmental science.
Interestign articles with a thick political spin
This revision must have been specially produced just to include all the anti-Bush rhetoric.In nearly every chapter, responsibility for the current state of the environment is laid squarly on President Bush's administration.
One of the Best
This is one of the most readable environmental texts I've seen.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Ecology    2. Environmental Science    3. Environmental Studies    4. Environmental sciences    5. Human Ecology    6. Life Sciences - Ecology    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Textbooks    10. Ecological science, the Biosphere    11. Science / Environmental Science   

Reviews (21)

Microbiology text,It helped me.
I like this book. Microbiology is very fascinating to me.Parasites, etc are particularly interesting.If you are assigned this book for your Microbiology class, my advice is to read it and know the information.This book was very helpful.
A lot of information....disorganized
I taught a basic undergraduate microbiology class using this text book. The students were mostly pre-nursing so we had a clinical focus. My main problem with the text is it is trying to be all things to all people. It tries to present too much information that is scattered all over the text. Frequently, within chapters, students have to jump back and forth to material presented in other chapters and it simply becomes information overload. In addition, some of the study question, especially the clinically oriented ones, ask the students about areas that haven't been adequately covered in the text or assume knowledge that they don't have as yet. Finally, beware the Powerpoint slide presentations. These are also full of errors and need pretty extensive editing.

Great Service!
I ordered this book on a Friday for a class that started the following Monday and it was here first thing Monday morning. The book is in excellent condition. I would use this seller again! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - Biology - Microbiology    2. Microbiology (General)    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Microbiology (non-medical)    6. Science / Biology   

Reviews (37)

The fundamental authority
It is common practice at most universities to prescribe Biochemistry by Voet & Voet. The book is a classic which covers most relevant topics in Biochemistry from a more chemical perspetive (kudos for that!). For students doing a one off unit in biochemistry, this book will be far too dense and therefore, impractical. The target audience of this book are serious undergraduate biochemistry students who are familiar with first year chemistry and more importantly first year organic chemistry.
great book, grossly overpriced
Voet and Voet is an excellent introductory biochemistry textbook.The focus leans more towards the chemical aspects as opposed to the biological, which allows it to fill an important gap among undergraduate texts.The scope is broad and comprehensive, with clear writing and informative illustrations.While the book is a valuable resource, the price is truly outrageous.For those adopting textbooks for classes, I recommend assessing whether the added chemical rigor is worth the added price for students.Serious and motivated students of biochemistry will likely appreciate and benefit most from this book.Check out the contents (e.g. at a library or college bookstore), and make sure they meet your needs, before taking the considerable financial plunge in buying this book though.

Pluses and publisher minus
As a reference for those of us that are out here doing research in the real world this is a Godsend. It may not be appropriate for an introductory text but for those of us needing a concise backup for real decisions it is wonderful.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Biochemistry    2. Biochemistry (General)    3. Life Sciences - Biochemistry    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Science / Biochemistry   

Reviews (70)

A New Hope: Cliffs AP Biology
This has to do be one of the best reviewbooks, if not the best, for the AP Biology Exam.Although I worked very hard throughout the entire year, I needed a good review a couple weeks before the AP.All of my classmates had this book, and they loved it?Well, it is an excellent summary of all of the things learned in AP Bio.It presents only the most important terms, concepts, people, and experiments.It follows the structure of the Campbell Biology books.In essence, its information matches exactly what is in all of these books.It condenses and simplifies all topics and makes them comprehensible to even the lay reader.Its summaries last for around 200 pages.After that, it moves onto the twelve required AP experiments and explains them in short yet precise paragraphs.This really helps, especially if you have not done all of the experiments throughout the year.In the end, it provides practice test questions and their answers and explains the answers thoroughly.I forgot: there are practice questions at the end of each chapter to check-up on your comprehension.In the end, I read the Cliffs AP from beginning to end, looked over our handouts, read all my class notes, took practice APs, went over all of the experiments, and looked over key areas in my textbook.It paid off in the end: I got a 5.Because of this book, I had no doubt in my mind what I would get on the AP exam.Go in peace, my brothers and sisters.

BEST BOOK FOR PREPARING FOR THE AP BIOLOGY TEST!
I did not learn anything in my AP Biology class because my teacher was... not that great. Three weeks before the exam, I started studying. This book was the most helpful. It has great preparation questions and practice essays. It gives just the right amount of information needed to ace the test...nothing more, nothing less. Reading this book was the main reason I got a 5 on the exam. I would also recommend reading the barron's ap biology book along with this one and maybe another book for extra practice questions. That's all you need to ace this test. Good luck!

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I CANT BEGIN TO TELL U ABT THE MAGIC BHIND THIS BOOK LOL.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Advanced Placement    2. Biology    3. Cliff's/ Monarch / Barron's Book Notes    4. College Entrance    5. Examinations    6. Examinations, questions, etc    7. Life Sciences - Biology - General    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Biology, Life Sciences    10. Study Aids / Advanced Placement   

Reviews (2)

They got it right with this one...
This book is a fabulous learning tool.The authors really seem to understand what parts need detailed explanation and the information is presented in a way that a student can grasp it easily.
Great overall perspective
Although our professor barely used the book for class, this book was very well laid out, starts off at a good pace and is easy to understand. I especially enjoyed the case studies in real life anatomy problems and real world applications of what we learned. The only part I didn't like is the author's prolouge, which seemed a little inflated and overzealous? ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anatomy    2. Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology    3. Medical    4. Medical / Nursing    5. Physiology    6. Education / Teaching Methods & Materials / Science & Technology   

Reviews (38)

Great Biochem book
I had this textbook for Biochem 1 and 2 and I thought it was excellent. It went in-depth when it was needed.The authors choose to leave out some reactions (using multiple arrows) and I thought that was great because it wasn't really needed in most cases.Sometimes there were questions though on how to get to one structure from the last.Pictures were great and really helped to picture what was going on.

Very helpful!
I really like this book.It does a great job of explaining the topics in detail, yet not too esoteric that one without a background in either biology or chemistry won't be able to understand.I have neither and I feel I am progressing along well.
Review
I bought this book because I need it for my biochemistry class.The book itself isn't bad.It gave detail of how biological systems and chemical reaction affect each other. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biochemistry    2. Life Sciences - Biochemistry    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Science / Biochemistry   

Reviews (54)

anatomy coloring book
I got this book so fast!!! It was in phenomenal shape and was everything I was looking for!!

Could it Get Any Better!
I am a doctor now, but i used this book when i was a medical student and i thought it was great.
Better than any other anatomy coloring book i've seen
I looked at a number of similar coloring books, and this one was by far the most detailed and info-packed.I'm halfway through it now (i'm coloring everything in order), and i'm still finding the book thouroughly enjoyable and educational. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anatomy    2. Atlases    3. Coloring books    4. Human anatomy    5. Life Sciences - Biology - General    6. Life Sciences - Human Anatomy & Physiology    7. Medical / Nursing    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Science / Biology   

Reviews (20)

Fine book, for whatever it matters
The book is decent. To be honest though, reviewing textbooks is kind of funny. Does it matter what I say? I suppose if you're ordering this book because you honestly just have a burning desire to learn about essential cell biology, well... the more power to you. You'll learn it just fine from this book. If you're just buying the book because it's the required text for your college class (like I expect), well yeah, doesn't really matter what I say, does it?

Essentials grounded!!
I feel this is a very good textbook for molecular biology rookies as well as for pros wanting to revive their concepts ... Molecular Biology of the Cell could serve as an excellent companion book or rather reference book for this textbook ... the cd provided along with theEssential Cell Biology book is a great tool to understand the way things work ... in short, it is a must book for mol bio students to know what they are doing and to do things better:) It could also serve as a great book for biomedical engineers to grasp more of biology and engineer the concepts better. The book is definitely more simplified (kinda an abridged version) and easier to understand than "Molecular Biology of the Cell". Although, the size of the latter makes it look more formidable for beginners, I must add it is indeed a great reference book for researchers!

Pretty Good and Basic
This text is actually really good for beginners or as a refresher.Full of info and very detailed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biochemistry    2. Cytology    3. Life Sciences - Biology - Microbiology    4. Life Sciences - Biology - Molecular Biology    5. Life Sciences - Cytology    6. Molecular biology    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Biology, Life Sciences    10. Science / Microbiology   

Reviews (4)

Great intro book!
This book is for those wanting an easy reading introduction.Its very informative, well put together and easy to follow with adequate graphics.(I hated the questions at the end of each chapter though, ok lets face it they were easy you just had to really think about them).
HARD TO FOLLOW
I just finished my biology class with this text book.Over all I was very disappointed in this book.I read each chapter that was assigned to us by the professor and worked my study guides but still came out of the each chapter more confused.With the jargon they put in this text book it doesn't do the student any favors in the layouts you will need to spend time to investigate some of the information on your own to obtain a better understanding of BIOLOGY.

An easy-to-read book that still avoids over-simplification
Although Life on Earth is meant to be a textbook, I find it to be an excellent reference book.The design does not force the reader to begin at the first chapter and read sequentially.Terms are explained in clearenglish, and the glossary is very thorough.Illustrations are well-drawnand fitting, and the layout is easy on the eyes.Also, the chapter summaryafter each section is invaulable to students.I cannot recommend this bookmore to anyone who is interested in Biology or needs a reference book aboutthe workings of life on Earth. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biology    2. Life Sciences - Biology - General    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Biology, Life Sciences    6. Science / Biology   

Reviews (3)

Excellent overview of cancer biology
This book provides a comprehensive overview of cancer biology. Excellent as introductory text for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate student. Written by a lasker award winner and one of the pioneers of the molecular biological study of cancer. The accompanying CD has intersting supplimentary material especially the videos that add to the utility of the book. The accompanying poster lists the most common interconnected pathways in cancer. Highly readable and uptodate. Highly recommended for purchase.

The State of the Art as it is Known Today.
This textbook, aimed at the advanced undergraduate and graduate biology and medical students covers the basic biology of cancer at the molecular andcellular level. Research into cancer in many different directions has been continuing at an accelerated pace since about World War II. In 1975 a major breakthrough was made by H.E. Varmus and J.M. Bishop on San Francisco. The result has been the creation of the new branch of biology covered by this book.
Highly recommend
Excellent book! What really amazes me is that -- how can one person know so much about cancer ? Really amazing! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cancer    2. Cancer cells    3. Genetic aspects    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Molecular aspects    7. Oncology    8. Pathophysiology    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. Science / Biology   

Editorial Review

Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson,and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of Read more

Reviews (222)

Myth under the guise of 'science'- A warning from a professional logician
If you want to read a Classic of Western Mythology, look no further.This is specious philosophy under the guise of a supposed 'truth' about reality.The tragedy of all this is noticing other reviewers' comments about how the contents of this book negatively influenced their lives.Dawkins belief that we are machines created by our genes is a misleading view of reality, and when evolutionary 'science' catches up with evolutionary 'philosophy,' this view will come out false.This could only be taken seriously by those who are so blinded by the details that they can no longer think straight, so they are not able to figure out where the argument is wrong, let alone realize something IS wrong with it.
A Classic Work
The Selfish Gene is a seminal work in the field of evolutionary studies. This book is not a simple read, but it can definitely be read by the layman interested in the subject. But be warned, you'll have to concentrate. The primary purpose of this book, in my view, is not to explain or defend evolution, per se, but to explain and defend a particular aspect (or flavor) of evolutionary theory:that is, that the Gene is the primary "unit" of selection. This is not universally accepted among scientists, but Dawkins does an excellent job making the case. I, for one, am convinced. Other views include multiple levels of selection, such as the one championed by Stephen Gould. Gould argues that selection occurs at almost every level:gene, organism, species, genus, clade, etc. Gould likens DNA to "bookkeeping". The debate is interesting and worth pursuing; even Darwin allowed for special cases of "group selection" to account for social insects (ants, bees, etc.).
A classic, but nothing new here if you read the 2nd ed.
My only complaint is that, unlike the 2nd edition, which greatly expanded on the 1st edition, including some very useful and clarifying notes by Dawkin's addressing much of the controvery his first edition created, this aniversary edition does not include any new material, other than a new forward.If you are interested in reading this book, a used second edition copy is as good as this one (skip the first edition -- lacks the last two chapters and Dawkins' comentaries).
Read more

Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - Evolution    2. Life Sciences - Genetics & Genomics    3. Science    4. Science/Mathematics    5. Evolution    6. Life Sciences | Genetics    7. Popular science    8. Science / Genetics   

Reviews (9)

Wonderful Product!
This is a good book for studying biology and would recommend it.The price was exceptionally low as well.

Book for high school, not worth themoney
This book goes into explaining Hardy-Weinberg principle and doesn't even have the equation for it! Nor does it mention two important words in the same chapter - dominant and recessive. If you want to look at pictures of animals and read over-simplified explanations then buy it. If your are looking for a scholarly book, then I would suggest to look elsewhere.

Too much "fluff"
The major problem with this book is that there is so much unnecessary paragraphs which can just be said in a couple of sentences. This book is only good for those who have major trouble grasping the concepts and are in need of a mass amount of analogies and metaphors. If you are looking for a Biology book straight to the point, this is not for you; a better book is "Inquiry into Life" by Sylvia S. Mader. Once I read "Inquiry into Life," I found that "Biology: Life on Earth" was too drawn out. It is also not as detailed as I had expected it to be. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biology    2. Biology (General)    3. Life Sciences - Biology - General    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Biology, Life Sciences    7. Science / Biology   

Reviews (16)

I feel educated every time I use this book...
This is a great book!! I'm an English Lit. major and wanted to focus a bit on science and got myself this book. It's so wonderfully written! It explains very clearly and it has a CD-rom with excercises. Even if you're not taking an intro-biology course this book is useful and easy to use for self study. The book is devided into theme chapters and covers about everything you can think of in the natural world. It's no doubt a very good introduction to further study in biology. I feel educated every time I use this book!
Good Book For Class
This book will definitely get the job done. I just needed a book for my class and this works out great. It was in good condition and didn't have any highlighting marks in it.

New Fifth Edition Brings Everything Up To Date
This new Fifth Edition of an old standby. The book retains it's aim of engaging students from a wide variety of majors in the wonders of the living world. It relates the basic concepts of biology to concepts in every day life, to evolution, and to the process of science.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Life Sciences - Biology - General    2. Science    3. Science/Mathematics    4. Biology, Life Sciences    5. Science / Biology   

Subjects:  1. Clinical medicine    2. Diseases    3. Life Sciences - Biology - General    4. Medical    5. Medical / Nursing    6. Medical Research    7. Research    8. Clinical & Internal Medicine    9. Science / Biology   

Subjects:  1. Bacteriology    2. Biotechnology    3. Life Sciences - Bacteriology    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Life Sciences - Biology - Microbiology    6. Microbiology    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Science / Biology