The Biology Book, a review
After much contemplation and encouragement from my friends (especially Evie), I have decided to do a general book review on the Glencoe Science Biology book, more specifically, the 2007 edition, the one we use in our class. The book mixes colloquial language with more specific terminology to help high schoolers understand the endless world of biology. The hefty book covers topics that are prevalent in our daily lives, but we do not stop to notice the processes that affect our every move. Some of these topics are The Cell (unit 2), Genetics (unit 3), and the Human Body (unit 9). In our body, processes like cellular replication, active transport, and RNA transcription are happening constantly to help our body function. Without these, we would be as lifeless as the device you are reading this blog on. This is why it is important to understand, even if not in detail, these things that are happening inside us.
This book does a fantastic job of making seemingly difficult topics simple and easy to read. The book makes sure not to over explain, and tells you just the right amount of information in order for you to understand. For example, most people do not know how DNA is replicated, but this book briefly discusses the steps that are taken like the unwinding of the DNA and the addition of the new nucleotides. It is able to put all these seemingly complex words into phrases that are simple and understandable. My only complaint is that the book is old (2007) and some of the information is incomplete or outdated. But since the book focuses on the well set basics of biology, it is not that much of an issue.
I think that I would recommend this book for high school biology teachers, though a newer edition would be preferred. I strongly favor its word choice, which caters for young and inexperienced students. If I had to give the book a star rating, it would be a 4/5.
- Rishabh
I would agree with your rating. I read it yesterday and while it does a good job explaining, viewing the entire pictures from words and some graphs don't dictate the entire process relating to biology. Funny how you reviewed this and good job writing this much for a biology book we use to study.
ReplyDeleteNice review, Shabi! Love the connection to biology class you make in this review! Personally, I am not a large fan of this book as it does not always contain the necessary information we need for class and tests. However, I understand that it has its good aspects such as making biology easier to understand using simpler words. You should try reviewing the "eBook for Alexander/Koberlein's" on Cengage next!
ReplyDeleteI came up with the idea for this and it is very cool.
ReplyDeleteI find this blog post hilarious. However, I would have to disagree with the rating of this book. I would rate it a 0/5.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your review. It makes me crack up on a day that was rough for me. Thank you. I see how a serious, complex, and sometimes boring academic resource can be a relaxed and engaging summary.
ReplyDeleteGreat review! Your language does an excellent job at framing your thoughts on this vessel of knowledge! However, I disagree with your rating and analysis. Personally I found some of the vocabulary difficult to understand, but I did think that this textbook was extraordinary at teaching me about biology, so I would rate it 5/5.
ReplyDeleteWhat a hilarious book review, Rishabh! As a person who also uses and reads this book, I can agree with the book's ability to make difficult concepts understandable. It is especially reliable in the case that someone is having trouble explaining the concepts to you, and you need a clear explanation rather than more confusion. I agree with your rating of the book, 4/5.
ReplyDeleteGreat Job Rishabh!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great book to review for your blog post. Reading the previous comments, it is not hard to tell that the opinions on this book are very mixed among our class. While the book contains truckloads of information, which is a good thing; the book also contains truckloads of information, which is a bad thing. I agree that the book is very outdated, but at least it does it's job as a tool to help people like us learn biology. I put my textbook on a scale, and it measured 6 pounds and 67 ounces, which makes it the heaviest book I have ever carried in my life. The book has a whopping 1,206 pages, which makes it the biggest book I have ever attempted to read in my life. I know some of us use the e book, but the file size must be immense. I respect your opinions on this book, but personally, I must rate this book a 1/5.
This is an interesting concept for a book review as it is not what most people consider to be a 'book'. I agree that the word choice inside of the book is easy and simple to understand, but sometimes its explanations can be a bit complicated and convoluted adding too many details. Overall, I agree with your rating of 4/5, and yes, we do need new textbooks.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really funny and unique idea for a book review! However, I personally don't think the book presents information quite as well as you claim. It definitely presents a good basis of knowledge, but if I ever get more interested in something past the book's content, I prefer the teachings of Salman Khan. I agree we need more textbooks.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice, personally, I find Sal Khan dry and slow, if you really want some good quality biology, read the Campbell 150 level bio book.
DeleteGreat book review Rishabh. I think that the biology book is one of the more infamous books that everyone in our grade has been reading. I definitely disagree with the rating and would go as far as to say that I would rate it -5/5.
ReplyDeleteI never would have ever expected somebody to summarize, review, and rate the biology book we use almost every other day in our class... and you do a great job of it too. I like how you say that without these little processes that occur in the millions inside of our bodies every second, we wouldn't be here reading this blog post or writing this comment. Truly interesting writing Rishabh, and I completely agree with the rating as well.
ReplyDeleteI must agree with your review, I too would rate it a 4/5 as it does a good job of covering many things. It explains many biological concepts concretely along with useful diagrams and images. Overall good book review!
ReplyDeleteNice review Shabi! I never would've thought that you actually wrote about the bio book. Nice job!
ReplyDelete