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 (8)

Is Darwinism bad for the environment?
On one level this is an eloquent plea for an environmental awakening sounding the alarm on the destruction of species diversity. But this clarion call is marred by the introduction of Wilson's Darwinian obsessions. The age of environmental exploitation has also been the age of the reign of the false theoretical constructs of Darwin and his misleading and socially destructive theory of natural selection. The book even includes a hectoring section about the laws of biology, which is bad science and concealed propaganda. Wilson should know better. Biologists fancy themselves the sages of nature, but in fact the reductionist positivism of their methodology constitutes a misunderstanding of nature and reflects the concealed ideology of classical liberalism that is responsible for the indifferent ravaging of natural resources and environments. So behind the fine words Wilson is really a spokesman and ideologist for the problem, not the solution.
A Plea for the Religious & the Secular to Work Together for the Biosphere
Thank you Edward O. Wilson for taking this burden on your shoulders; for making the plea to the religious among us to abandon the Dominionist principle that the Earth is here to be bent to humankind's will and save the biodiversity that makes our lives livable.
One long appeal
When Charles Darwin published "The Origin of Species" he declared it to be "one long argument".Today, less than 150 years later, Edward O. Wilson explains that the one species omitted [except for one sentence] from the "argument" is devastating the life of the planet.In one long appeal to a fictional Baptist pastor, Wilson describes what is clear to all but a few dedicated die-hards - life on this planet is in deep trouble.The die-hards are firmly identified in the opening passages; Christians in the US who regard themselves as "biblical literalists".Such folk expect the Apocalypse soon and saving the environment is of little concern.
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Subjects:  1. Biology    2. Creation    3. Environmental Science    4. General    5. Life Sciences - Evolution    6. Philosophy & Social Aspects    7. Religion & Science    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Christianity    11. Science / Environmental Science    12. Science: General Issues   

Reviews (27)

Richard Louv Defines the Environmental Issue of the Decade
Richard Louv's message of hope - for change and for a greater future - may be the key to keeping us all sane for generations to come.
silly nostalsgic nonsense
Having spent most of my adult life working in the non-profit conservation field, and as a parent, and as someone who had the good fortune to spend lots of time in nature as a child, I read this book in the hopes of learning important things. That turned out to be a forlorn hope.
A Compelling Case for Change
The heavens declare the glory of God;
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Subjects:  1. Child Care/Parenting    2. Child Development    3. Child Development And Rearing    4. Children and the environment    5. Family & Relationships    6. Family / Parenting / Childbirth    7. General    8. Nature    9. Parenting - General    10. Psychological aspects    11. Psychotherapy - Child & Adolescent    12. Family & Relationships / Parenting    13. NATURE / General   

Reviews (35)

This is a terrific insight into the Sierra and to the Park Service Rangers
I loved the book. I spent 20 years backpacking in this same area every summer in the same time span and loved the insights and details of the author regarding the environment. Wallace Stegner gave advice (detailed in the book) to Randy about how difficult it is to write in general about nature. Eric Blehm successfully overcomes this difficulty. I felt back in the mountains and reliving my experiences due to his details. Thank you Eric. The dedication and professionalism of the park rangers in the search is a tribute to these men and women. Thank you to them also.

Who, or what killed Randy Morgenson
Eric Blehm's book "The Last Season is the biography of a Sierra Nevada National Park Ranger, Randy Morgenson. Despite decades of experience and an intimate knowledge of the terrain in which Morgenson patrols, he goes missing. Blehm captures the search and rescue operation that spans over years and in the process details Morgenson's life history.
A stunning book abouthuman nature and the natural world
I will admit that I usually do not do things like review books. This book though has been one of the most enduring books that I have ever read. In a most tragic way it shows one mans bond with the natural world that few if any will ever match. Then it goes on to show the nature of those closest to him, and the profound impact he left on their lives both in life and in death. Reading this book has totally changed my outlook on the natural world. Thank You Eric Blehm for delivering the "Gospel" of Randy Morgenson to me. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1942-    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. General    7. Morgenson, James Randall,    8. Mountains    9. Outdoor Skills    10. Park rangers    11. Parks    12. Sequoia National Park (Calif.)    13. Sports - General    14. United States    15. Nature / General   

Reviews (6)

Worth the money
This book contains some of the most spectacular photographs I have ever seen. There are amazing close-ups of reptiles, amphibians, and insects, aerial views of Africa, and stirring photos of mammals. A few photos are disturbing to see, such as the look of a terrified baby monkey clinging on to its mother shot dead by a hunter. Each photo is printed FULL size on thick quality semi-glossy paper on a single side, so if you wanted to, you could cut out certain photos and put it in a frame. Best of all, the author mentions that "The proceeds from the sales of this book go to fund conservation efforts in Africa".

Unique Book
This book is amazing, in its presentation and its content. The photography is first rate for an expedition of which pictures were not their main objective. The journal entries in the second book of the set will make you feel as if you are part of the trip especially if you have been to Africa before. I highly recommend this book as a coffee table piece or as a fascinating read.

Beyond words
This book is an absolute masterpiece. One of the best of our times. Dr. Faye's journey itself was incredible. His mission or obsession to save the central African is relentless. This book is a tribute to him, Nick Nicols, whose photography surpasses anyone's both in quality and purpose, and to the deepest, darkest Africa.
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Subjects:  1. Environmental Conservation & Protection - General    2. General    3. Nature    4. Nature / Field Guide Books    5. Nature Photography    6. Photo Essays    7. Photo Techniques    8. Photography    9. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    10. Wildlife    11. Photography & Photographs    12. Photography / General    13. The Environment   

Reviews (11)

GOOD Reference, LOTS to Read
My favorite chapters included Kingdom Fungi, Photosynthesis,excretory system and structure and function of chloroplasta.Like a previous reviewer, I used this book to prepare for the biology section of the DAT (Dental Admission Test).This is a good reference, it explains with examples that get the facts to stick to your brain.Yes, it requires studying, but then again what subject doesn't?
Too much information... Just make it simple
I was looking to get up to speed to teach an intro bio class for community college.After reviewing bio texts, I bought this book thinking that it would be a great summary, review and offer quiz questions for bio.I wanted it to be to the point, revelant,and a pithy supplement.Unfortunately, I was disappointed.This book didn't highlight or sum up bio.It went into in-depth discussions that might be of interest to grad students. I looked at Biology the Easy Way and liked it much better.

A useful supplement for freshman college or high school biology
The basics in biology haven't changed in a long while.If you're in a high school or college biology class, you should have a copy of this book.In it, you will find a concise, clear review of the theory, followed immediately by lots of problems with detailed solutions.My students tell me this Schaum's made a positive difference in their understanding.
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Subjects:  1. Biology    2. Biology (General)    3. Life Sciences - Biology - General    4. Outlines, syllabi, etc    5. Science    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Study Guides    8. Biology, Life Sciences    9. Science / Biology   

Reviews (4)

Vague and Disappointing
It's too boring and basic for my taste.I wanted a more advanced textbook.Alot of people say that this book was okay, but for me, I give it a 1/5.I'm not satisfied with Mader's Biology.I don't agree with alot of the stuff that was said like:The US population will have minorites (Black, Asian and Hispanic) as the majority in the next two decades.That is bull!White people have children and their children of course reproduce...even when they are teens because some don't mind.I aslo think that this textbook is simple also, as one person said.It's too basic.It tells you what a Penis is and it tells you the function of the other organs in your bod.However, she fails miserably to add how to take care of the organs and diseases that can come from doing things.Sure she has STDs down, but it doesn't tell how a baby forms in the stomach or how big a baby is when it's born.I haven't read everything, but I skip around because my class hasn't started yet.

Simple
Mader's "Biology" makes every thing simple with its easy-to-understand language and figures. Great EM shots, summarized tables, and applied examples are a few of the several features of the book. Also,summaries at the end of each section and chapter make it easy to reveiwwhat you have read in a short time. In addition, I have to note that thebook is very simple. i.e. College students may need more detailes, althoughthis book is very useful to them!

Boring But Understandable
Like most biology books full of big words and irrelevent terms this 4th edition biology book by Mader was quite easy for me to understand the scientific terms considering this was my first science course. This easy toread book is a must for those who struggle with the harsh technical termsin science ... 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   

Editorial Review

Richard Dawkins is not a shy man. Edward Larson's research shows that most scientists today are not formally religious, but Dawkins is an in-your-face atheist in the witty British style:Read more

Reviews (299)

Only for intelligently-designed readers! (Tee hee!)
What is very entertaining about this book is reading the very silly and scientifically-baseless reviews that gave the book one star.
fatih for faith
I tried hard to read this book as an intelligent challenge to my faith - only to find that Dawkin's arguements require a leap of faith also- something about how irrational he is about religion - seems to dump his scientific mind and operate on raw emotion - sometimes something more like hate at times.
The Leading Author makes Sense
"Dawkins is the leading author about evolution for the general public. His explanations work and make sense." ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Evolution    2. Evolution (Biology)    3. Life Sciences - Evolution    4. Natural selection    5. Organic Evolution    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Science / Evolution   

Editorial Review

With its colorful coral reefs, excellent birding, and tropical temperatures, Florida remains a popular vacation spot for the ecologically minded. In this concisely detailed volume you'll become acquainted with the state's geologic origins, natural history, and diverse habitats (salt marshes, mangrove swamps, prairies, and woodlands). A field guide assists in the identification of some of the region's wildflowers, trees, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, mammals, and birds, including the elusive manatee, three species of dolphin, and the rare snail kite. An extensive sampling of the area's best parks, preserves, beaches, forests, islands, and wildlife sanctuaries, with thorough descriptions and visitor information on 50 destinations, is also included. For instance, the section on Everglades National Park includes information on wildlife viewing possibilities, driving directions, and popular touring attractions inside the park (such as Shark Valley, where a 15-mile loop via foot, rental bike, or tram affords close views of alligators, anhingas, and wading birds). Lesser-known areas such as Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and Withlacoochee State Forest are also featured. More than 1,300 color photographs heighten the quality of this handy compilation. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Good resource
I use this as a guide for creatures in South Carolina. It has helped identify snakes and insects. It has great pictures.

Both more and less than what I wanted
I wanted a bird guide that would cover all Florida birds. It did not include all birds, including the one I needed to identify, which turned out to be an atypical muscovy duck. There are more than 2,000 confirmed sightings of this bird in Florida, so I really think it should have been in there. It had identification for lichens for heavens sake but not all the birds.
Mile wide and inch deep
This is the BEST nature guide I have found for Florida, but unfortunately that is not saying much. I have been spoiled by the wealth of naturalist and natural history books available for all different parts of the west, books which not only tell you how to ID a species, but which also give you enough information to feel like you know it afterwards.
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Subjects:  1. Florida    2. General    3. Natural history    4. Nature    5. Nature/Ecology    6. Reference    7. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    8. Nature / General   

Reviews (4)

Genetics: From Genes to Genomes
Great figures to go with the text. Not a quick read, but it is a great genetics resource.

Genetics:From Genes to Genomes
I found this book extremely verbose and unorganized.It would serve as a great reference book for a lab researcher or grad student.But it's way too technical and dense for an introductory genetics class.The authors do a poor job presenting the material in a comprehensible way to an undergraduate genetics student.Not recommended.

Great general Genetics textbook
I think this is a great text book for General Genetics class! In fact, this is the text we have been using at UC Berkeley.
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Subjects:  1. Genetics    2. Life Sciences - Evolution    3. Life Sciences - Genetics & Genomics    4. Science    5. Science/Mathematics    6. Biology, Life Sciences    7. Science / Genetics   

Reviews (54)

what you want is the fourth edition
I'm sure this book was great in the 90s, but this is the 21st century, when you can buy the fourth edition.There has been a ton of advancement between 1994 and 2002.

This is a GREAT textbook
This book made studying and preparing for tests easy and enjoyable. Highly recommended, especially for those who are going to take the GRE Subject test. At later stages of your career, textbooks even the greatest ones will be largely irrelevant, as you will have to search for up-to-date articles and reviews.

A perfect introduction to the subject
I will say that I had no trouble in reading and understanding this book. All subjects are nicely elaborated and picturized with detailed schematics or with electron microscopy pictures. Scanning electron pictures are the best but very minimal.All basic concepts are covered structure of cell, protein synthesis, DANA , cell structures,nerve cells, atp, etc. You may want to skip better books when it comes to biochemistry or developmental biology but this book gives smooth introduction all subjects and than you make your direction. Compared to book written by Karp, I prefer this one for wider coverage but Karp has some sections called "experimental pathways" that open your vision to latest developments. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cells    2. Cytology    3. General    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Life Sciences - Biology - Molecular Biology    6. Life Sciences - Cytology    7. Molecular Biology    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Cellular biology    11. Science / Biology   

Reviews (1)

Beautiful Edition of Cabinet of Natural Curiosities
Beautiful book...I'd been waiting for a more palatable ($) edition of this book for quite awhile and was happily surprised at the quality. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Art    2. Art & Art Instruction    3. General    4. Individual Artist    5. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS   

Editorial Review

This is the be-all and end-all of mushroom books! Truly an encyclopedia of mushroom facts and lore, lavishly illustrated with full-color photographs, literally everything you need to know about mushrooms, edible or not. Arora has taught mycology for close to twenty years and has hunted and photographed mushrooms across the North American continent. Threaded through the book are his wry and humorous observations and comments, making what could have been a rather dull, "just-the-facts, ma'am" reference book into a really enjoyable read. The stunning photographs of the incredible variety of fungi are fascinating and eye-opening, and while the author gives clear and factual information, the mysterious allure of mushrooms in their countless shapes, sizes and colors is only increased by this huge and delightful book. --Read more

Reviews (29)

A Must Have
I am a biology teacher and own two tracts of woods.I bought two cheaper books thinking, foolishly, that I would then be able to identify most mushrooms.Cheap and thin is easy to carry in the woods, but this is the "mushroom bible" all naturalists should own.Arora handles a jargon rich science exquisitely.His use of humor in a virtual textbook takes away the thick book intimidation factor.Academia could learn a lot from David's style.I wish all the pictures were in color, but that would increase the price and thickness of the volume tremendously.I will add a few other field guides with color pictures for referencing. I now have a hard time believing there are still copies available for sale.I don't know who in their right mind would sell such a volume.I'll have mine until the end.

actually good beginner book
I love this book.
This Book Is Great!
After reading this book, I have a hard time reading other mushroom books.This one is just such fun to read!I subconsciously am looking for other mushroom books to be less dry and as funny as this one, but it just ain't happenin'.I really recommend this book both for the information it contains and the pleasure that you get from reading it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. California    2. Gardening / Horticulture    3. General    4. Identification    5. Life Sciences - Bacteriology    6. Mushrooms    7. Nature    8. Nature/Ecology    9. Pacific States    10. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS   

Reviews (14)

I LOVE THIS BOOK
I LOVE THIS BOOK, THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE BEAUTIFUL!I BOUGHT THE BOOK FOR MY 8YR OLD NIECE, EACH TIME I VISIT, SHE WANTS ME TO LOOK AT IT WITH HER! YOU WILL NEVER BE BORED! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO OWN THIS BOOK.IT ALSO LAYS GOURGOUSLY ON YOUR COFFEE TABLE.
Great book for non-readers
This was a gift to my dad who spent many years in South America as a young boy and has worked with zoos providing animals for care and protection.He was amazed at the book and never put it down for several hours after reading it.A great conversation piece for the coffee table.

Untamed
This was an awesome book witht he pictures and everything. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1953-    2. Animals    3. Bloom, Steve,    4. Collections, Catalogs, Exhibitions    5. Individual Photographer    6. Nature    7. Nature/Ecology    8. Photography    9. Subjects & Themes - Plants & Animals    10. Wildlife photography    11. Individual photographers    12. NATURAL HISTORY, COUNTRY LIFE & PETS    13. Nature / Animals    14. Photographs: collections   

Reviews (5)

Oversimplified
The book is reasonably good at explaining simple concepts.
An excellent textbook that teaches by example
In a word - wow. This is an outstanding textbook for undergraduate biology students. The number of practical, real life examples exceeds anything else I have seen in a statistics book, permitting the student to follow theory immediately with concrete practice. Examples are drawn from all axes of biology as well - physiology, biogeochemistry, pharmacology, microbiology, animal behaviour and more. I have been disappointed with previous textbooks which fall down in the following ways: 1) too much emphasis on the mathematics of calculation, or 2) lack of practical introductory treatment of moderately advanced topics which are nonetheless necessary to practitioners. This book for me strikes a very good balance between understanding the underpinnings without getting lost in equations, and getting your hands dirty with data in order to learn by example. Coverage is as wide as necessary today: introduction to logistic regression,and a clear treatment of interaction in two-way ANOVA. I do note that multiple regression is not touched. The sole drawback: sticker shock. It will be difficult for students to pay for a book that costs about $100 US. But at least you get what you pay for in this case.

I DON'T HAVE IT YET
I wish I knew where my book was... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Agriculture    2. Biometry    3. General    4. Life Sciences - Biology - General    5. Life Sciences - General    6. Medical statistics    7. Probability & Statistics - General    8. Science    9. Science/Mathematics    10. Statistics    11. Biology, Life Sciences    12. Mathematics / Statistics    13. Mathematics for scientists & engineers    14. Probability & statistics   

Reviews (10)

Endearing Ocean Story
What an endearing story about the ocean.As an avid SCUBA diver, I loved the idea of a baby whale following a swimmer along the coast because it lost its mother.
A book for everyone
This is a great book.Easy to read and it paints a beautiful story of one woman's experience.I could not put it down and wanted to read the end first to see what happened.I passed it on to my husband, 11 year old son and 14 year old daughter.It is a nice book with a nice story.Not too many of those books out there now.Will make a great gift for anyone who loves to read.

Take a pass on this one
The idea behind this book was a good one and the reason that I purchased it in the first place.The opportunity to swim with a baby whale in the wild is something many of us only dream about, yet Ms. Cox got to experience it firsthand and it makes sense that she would want to share that story.Unfortunately, this book does not get the job done.It is so poorly written that I had to force myself to keep turning the pages.I kept hoping that maybe I just needed to get used to her writing style, but there is no style... it's just written badly.The narration is often choppy, the paragraphs don't flow, and much of the detail about the ocean seems a bit over the top.As one other reviewer put it, it's as if every detail of her every swim in the ocean was combined into that one day.Not very realistic. If you are going to enjoy this book at all, perhaps a little suspension of disbelief is in order.Whole sections are just plain boring, and to add insult to injury, the illustration on the front of the book is not that of a gray whale (the species that Cox swims with in the book).It's a sperm whale.A small thing, yes, and a decision made probably more for marketing purposes than out of ignorance, but it still serves to make the overall package even less honest or appealing. After plodding through about half the book, I finally quit and returned it for a full refund.Save your money. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1957-    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. California    4. Cox, Lynne,    5. Fishes    6. Marine Life    7. Marine Mammals    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Personal Memoirs    11. Santa Catalina Island    12. Swimming    13. Women    14. Nature / General   

Reviews (5)

Excellent, Mind and Eye-opening book
Just like the author, I've always been fascinated by clouds. I find myself constantly looking up at them. I don't know about other people, but they seem just as beautiful as they always have, even the ones that will pour down. When people come across new knowledge, it usually comes with new appreciation.
More Heads in the Clouds, Please
"Blue skies, smiling at me," goes the Irving Berlin song, "Nothing but blue skies do I see."Berlin thought that was a good thing, but Gavin Pretor-Pinney would not.For him, clouds are there to be enjoyed, and they make that blue more beautiful by its being in the background.He does not feel there is anything depressing about having "a cloud on the horizon" and he sees no reason that we should link clouds with catastrophe, as in "clouds of doom", or with ill-will as in "clouds of suspicion".He feels clouds are underappreciated, and so a couple of years ago, he founded the Cloud Appreciation Society, complete with badges.As he says, "Of course, an organization only exists when it has a website," and indeed the CAS has one, full of photographs and poems by members, a picture of the Cloud of the Month, and chat rooms, with this stated purpose: "If you've got something to tell us, we'd love to hear it. But only if it is about clouds. Otherwise we're not interested."Pretor-Pinney would like us all to be cloudspotters, and has produced _The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds_ (Perigee), a witty and informative volume for those who want to take an educated view of his favorite subject.He emphatically agrees with John Constable, who could paint clouds like no one else: "We see nothing truly until we understand it."The book cannot fail in its mission of increasing both understanding and seeing.
Cloud-lovers delight
This is a terrific book for anyone who likes clouds, the sky -- the outdoors, really. It's a delightful, readable combination of basic information (on cloud types, for example) and interesting, cloud- and weather-related anectdotes and stories. The humor can be corny, but there is plenty of it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Clouds    2. Earth Sciences - Meteorology & Climatology    3. Meteorology (Specific Aspects)    4. Nature    5. Observer's manuals    6. Science    7. Science/Mathematics    8. Weather    9. Nature / General   

Reviews (3)

Visionary - Uncompromising - Accessible
Simply put, this book serves up excellent insights into the only future of architecture and the hope for our injured environment... sustainable design. McLennan is more than an author or advocate... he is a deep green thinker who practices on a daily basis what he preaches. Of the many great books available on this subject I found this one the most comprehensive. The Philosophy of Sustainable Design encompassing not only the materials, technologies, and methods available to green designers but it highlights the leaders, champions and innovators who are driving the green building movement forward. This book offers information (and inspiration) for the seasoned and the novice. Read it, share it and read it again!

The Quintessential Green Warrior
Jason is the quintessential green warrior.Young, enthusiastic, exceedingly bright, and seemingly undaunted at the prospect of swimming against the current, Jason shares with us his passion for sustainable design.Having spent the formative years of his career working with the veritable giants of the sustainable design field, Jason shares his unique perspectives and experiences that today's up and coming green warriors can only dream of.
Better than Natural Capitalism
This book is the new heavyweight contender of green building titles. If you liked Natural Capitalism by Hawkins and Lovins, you'll enjoy this book. It's more comprehensive and uses facts and figures more judiciously. I'm impressed with the author's courage to make predictions in a chapter on the future of sustainability. This book should be required reading for all architecture students. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Applied ecology    2. Environmentalist thought & ideology   

Reviews (11)

More useful than other beginner's texts but...
As someone who recently retired from analyzing ecological data after a decade of it, I found this book to be pretty good one-stop shopping.I wouldn't say it's an introduction to stats so much as it is a systematic compilation of all the "traditional" statistical topics (t-tests, regressions, etc).As such, it contained some useful formulas that do not occur in regular "Stats 101" texts, such as sample size estimators for various analyses.
The medium?s viewpoint
I had been teacher of Statistic by several years in some universities of Mexico and the Zar book had been a common company in my classroom all the years. Certainly it is not to begginers, but it is very usefull to proffesors. It usually have answer to assess uncommon series data, as non-normal data, or missing data. The book work almost all the time with data series that have normal distributions, and use non-parametric statistical tools to work with other series distributions. There are other books that deal with it best, considering, by example, tests to data with Poisson or binomial distributions (the common in the biological sciences). However, to undergraduate students, and some graduate students, the Zar "normal" approach work fine. Graduate research or doctoral research is done better not with other book in hand but with other statistical approach in mind, and unfortunately there is not only book to do it. Well, in that case, the Zar book help to understand some of the main points to make high statistical analysis.

The beginner's viewpoint
Frankly, I am aghast that the publisher calls this book accessible and appropriate for beginners.I purchased it as the required text for an introductory biometry class, and it has contributed very little to my understanding of biostatistical analysis.After chapter 7 (at best), it is simply incomprehensible.The mathematical notation requires far more than a high school algebra background, and the wording is extremely terse.Yes, it does offer real-world examples, and yes, it does offer a large range of statistical tables, and I am sure that it is good reference for people who are already working as statisticians and who have advanced degrees in statistics.However, it is misleading to call Zar a good introductory text - it is completely inappropriate for beginners.It is too concise in a situation where more words would be useful.Sokal and Rohlf 2nd ed. is far better; Fowler et al. also proved helpful. ...