general

As an 11th grade victim of AP Biology, I have found some solace in this textbook. It is well-written and illustrated, and it is usually clear and informative. Aside from the occasional chapters that threw me for a loop (For example: Chapter 14 - The Eukaryotic Genome and its Expression. Huh?) the book is very good and I would recommend it to future AP Bio students.

I have reviewed Campbell, Curtis& Barnes, and other fine textbooks in biology, as a teacher and a scientist, I find Purves, etal; Life , A Science of Biology as the best textbook on the market. His clear explanation of the concepts with bright, colorful pictures have helped my students to understand biological concepts for the AP Bio exam as well as preparing them for college. The questions after each and every chapter plainly incorporate the chapter's lessons as well as inclusion of the continuity of life that is important in all biology teaching. His book had already included the new domain designations and included the reasons as why they were being changed. ( As this was the infamous #3 question on the AP Bio exam.) As a trained molecular biologist, I am finally satisfied in the explanation of the molecular process of life. Again his use of good solid pictures help to re-enforce a difficult concept. I also know that MIT uses this book as well as Harvard, I urge every biology teacher professor to at least have this in their personal library.

As far as biology books go, this book is gigantic, in terms of size, information content, and price. The information contained in the book is definitely well presented (lots of nice diagrams and picture, all of which are very clear) and up-to-date. There are references to events which have occured as recently as a couple years ago. Also nice is the historical context; I've never really seen a biology book that says "this process was discovered by Dr. so-and-so, from so-and-so University/Institute of Technology, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in so-and-so year." It doesn't add a whole lot to the book, except that it adds a human dimension to the otherwise boring (sorry to any biologists who are reading this review) subject of biology.