Rating: 
Summary: a well laid out, informative book
Review: I used this book this past summer in order to place out of College Bio I and II through a CLEP exam. Through independent study from this book and its companion CD I was able to place out in the 97th Percentile.There is a reason why this book is still continued to be used today in classrooms as it is on its sixth edition. The authors use of layout in the book is well thought out and organized. His vast use of pictures, graphs, and tables streamline with the text of the book. In addition, the companion CD and web site provide the reader with an even greater study guide-- using interactive flash programs and video to further explain biological processes. Further, in addition to the basic Biology taught in classrooms, this book goes one step further and explains some advancing fields in the Biology Profession. For example, chapter 20 covers the use of computers in analyzing biological data and gives prime examples from the current Human Genome Project. Further, every section of this book covers an interview with a specific individual in that profession. Such, if one is not aware of what exact field one wish's to pursue, interviews that cover some of the daily activities of these individuals are provided. I would recommend this book for anyone who is seriously interested in Biology.
Rating: 
Summary: If possible I'd give it a 4.5
Review: This is a nice book, though a bit tough for the unknowledgable person. This is supposed to be a general biology book, used by people without any prior knowledge of biology too, but I somehow don't know if they'll find it too easy. But other than that one drawback, i think that the rest of us will appreciate this book for what it's worth. It's nicely written, with a lot of illustrations and explainations. There are also many references to websites and stuff, so it's additionally useful. Depending on the book bought, there are some nice extras too. My version had a nice and very useful CD-ROM, with a lot of pictures and animations, and practice tests and etc. It also came with a free one year subsciption to an online biology website that was one of the best I've ever seen. Otherwise the subscription costs a lot. The text book by itself was good too, and I really had no need to read any outside material, I found it perfectly good. Everything considered, I really liked this book.
Rating:
Summary: Now this, is a textbook
Review: I loved this textbook. Imagine that, the words "love" and "textbook" in the same sentence. This is my first college Biology text so I don't have anything to compare it to, but I feel I did very well in my class not only because I love biology, but because this textbook explained everything in such an interesting and lucid way. The pictures and diagrams are wonderful and incredibly helpful. To give a random example, the chapters on cell mitosis and meiosis. This can be a potentially difficult subject if you're expected to memorize the various stages, and what the chromosomes are doing and when, but this book gives very helpful and colorful diagrams and light micrographs of each stage. The authors really understand the importance of visual learning in conjunction with reading.
Speaking of the authors, I was pleasantly surprised that the writing had a hint of personality, and didn't have the dreaded "textbook dry" monotone. It didn't feel as if robots wrote the book, as in some textbooks. I noticed they reinforced important core concepts throughout to drum it into the students head, like the the connection between "form and function", or how the size and shape of, for example an enzyme, is really it's most important characteristic.
I bought this book new and it came with a cd-rom, that for me, put my grades over the top. I'm not sure I would have done as well without this cd. In it are all sorts of quizzes and tests, a complete on-line version of the book, various links to helpful internet sites, and which I used the most, animations and voice commentary of each chapter. Many people are visual learners, and sometimes they get a much deeper understand of something when they see it in action. I will not be selling this textbook back to the college after I'm done with it, this is a keeper. I have no complaints about it.
Rating:
Summary: Good, EXTENSIVE General Biology Text
Review: I used this textbook for my introductory biology in college. The book provides a great sampling of numerous different areas in biological science. Campbell's book begins with biochemistry and cellular biology, moves on to human body systems, progresses to zoology and taxonomy, and concludes with ecology. It even includes some interesting chapters about sociobiology and psychobiology. This text truely features a plethora of information. It encompasses 50 chapters and is longer than 1000 pages. Each chapter concludes wtih about 12 questions to test the reader over the material that he or she just covered. I also found the CD-rom that came with the book quite helpful. The CD has a quiz and a test for each chapter. This greatly helped me prepare for tests, because sometimes my teacher's questions were very similar. Overall, this book provides anything you could possibly need to learn biology, and serves as an excellent source of basic future reference. Obvisously, few introductory biology courses will cover every chapter in this book, especially if the course is only one semester long. There are several chapters, such as the evolution of plants (Campbell get his Ph.D in botany), that can easily be passed over. Also, this book may not be the ideal text for a non-major course--textbooks are expensive and this one is a pepperoni pounder in terms of length. Personally, I often found this book rather interesting to read and think that I provided me with valuable information that I will need in the future. You might want to check it out if you are thinking of becoming a biology major in college.
Rating:
Summary: Very good Bio. Book
Review: I am an unusually harsh critic of most textbooks. However, I must say that I am pleased to give this book 5 stars. As an introductory book, it is simply superb. It even covers some subjects far past the introductory level. Some may say that this "completeness" is something of a hindrance; however, I disagree. If the student carefully and actively reads, he should find no problem cutting the fat out, while retaining important intro material. Then, once the student has the basic information cold, the book makes a superb reference for a segway into intermediate or advanced topics. The books organization is very carefully planned and the integration of old material into new material is particularly deft for such a long text book. The section on plant physiology and form is particularly good and molecular biology is stressed throughout most chapters after an early introduction. My only complaint is that the problem sets at the end of each chapter are somewhat short, but this is not a serious problem. The binding and paper quality is pretty good as far as modern text books are concerned. All in all, a very good book.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad...could be better
Review: Biology, by Campbell and Reece is very informative. However the book (6th Ed.) does not grab the interest of the student. As a college student, I have used Campbell's Biology publication in both Advanced Placement Biology in High School as well as Biology 1 in College. The text is very boring and does not use language which may interest the reader. Understandably, it uses strong science vocabulary, however, it tends to be a sure cure for Insomnia.
Rating: 
Summary: This is NOT Campbell's Biology
Review: Amazon.com lists this book as the paperback edition of Campbell & Reece's "Biology". They are wrong, wrong, wrong. This book is a curriculum guide about the biology of rivers, completely different from Campbell & Reece.
Rating:
Summary: HUH???
Review: I have the 5th edition of this book and I find it excellent. I was looking through the reviews and I found one reviewer who didn't share the view of evolution...I don't know if this guy was serious or not, because to me it sounded too far out. Now, I'm not gonna sit here and say evolution is right. Evolution is a theory, a theory that is supported by some evidence. The idea is pretty good, but doesn't mean it is right. Theories come and go. The information is presented, it is up to the reader to determine whether they believe in it or not. I don't care if you don't, just don't be a hypocrite about it. This guy (who hails from the Garden of Eden (such arrogance, no?) says that evolution is fed down the throughts of children and that the real knowledge must be given...Isn't telling children your belief without thought to anything else the same type of force feeding textbook authors do? I'm sorry to not really review the book, it's just arrogant religious zealots piss me off. I don't care about what you believe in, just love your neighbor and don't be a hypocrite.
Back to the book: I used the 5th edition in AP and it was the best book I have ever seen. This text combined with my teacher helped me get a 5 on the AP exam, and that was a blessing seeing how I hear so many smart people here at my college are having trouble getting a good grade in the class. It has EXCELLENT diagrams and the biology is SOOOOOOO comprehensive. Get this book and keep it if you are in any life science major.
Rating:
Summary: Helpful and I needed a lot of help
Review: I don't have much of a Biology background, but I worked my tail off and was able to get the concepts down to barely pull an 'A' using this text. The CD that is included is awesome and a huge help on test.
Rating:
Summary: fantastic
Review: I am currently using this book in my AP Biology class and it's fantastic. The book is written extremely well and eloquently. The illustrations are amazing and they really help in understanding the concepts. Campbell, one of the coauthors, helps write the AP Biology Test, so he covers everything you need to know and the questions that are given on the CD-ROM and in the book are very similar to the AP style because he writes some of the test.
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