5 comments about Clinical Neuroanatomy Made Ridiculously Simple (3rd Edition; Book & CD-ROM).

1. A brief overview of neuroanatomy in a clinical setting that makes a difficult subject accessible in an outline form.



2. I'm in the process of preparing for neuropsych boards and this book has been a great reference for me. It helps explain concepts so that they are easier to retain for later recall. I recommend this book for anyone studying for boards or will be working with students and residents.



3. The book is an excrelent summary especially useful for first or second u=year sutidents of medice



4. I had to get this book for class, and I only found it slightly useful. I had some problems in class understanding the different spinothalamic tracks, and I went to this book when nothing else was making sense. It did help me finally understand that whole part of neuroanatomy, however it probably took me an hour to get all the useful information from the book and 30 min to do the CD. (The CD was helpful but not nearly enough.) Basically, it was a very good opening book when I was confused, but I quickly had to turn to High Yield to actually learn something.



5. This book is PERFECT for anyone in the medical field who wants to shave off all the fat regarding clinical neuroanatomy.
   
   This book is meant to be used as a supplemental study tool and not as a primary source for information. For those overwhelmed by the extreme detail of scientific neuroanatomy, this book gives a simplistic overview of what is critical information as well as a guide of subjects to focus on when reading for detail with a primary source.
   
   Of the Made Ridiculously Simple books I have read, I think this one is the best (including the famous Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple).
   
   The schematics in the book are perfect diagrams for what to look at in actual CT/MRI cross and sagittal sections, more of which can be found on the CD-Rom
   
   While I do wish it had a little more details of the pathway circuits and neurotransmitters involved, the point of the book is to eliminate all of those details.
   
   It may not be comprehensive, but it comes very very close.

4 comments about Biology: A Guide to the Natural World (4th Edition) (MyBiology Series).

1. I found this book to much easier to read and understand from all the previous textbooks assigned to biology courses. The graphics and tables and examples are completely explained. The format asks questions and answers them in a simple, easily understandable text -- not like the mumbo jumbo that a person would have to read over and over to finally understand its meaning.



2. There were many formatting errors in this book, such as the glossary columns being switched around-"G" doesn't belong in the middle of the "F" vocab. Some of the page #'s listed in the index were not correct. If you must use this book then you should know that the info can normally be found close to the page listed in the index. The figures/tables were very useful and restated the text in an organized manner, which helped the flow of the writing.



3. This is a required textbook for my intorductory biology class. Well laid out, easy to read. Tone is sometimes too conversational, I have to really pay attention to the facts. I saved nearly twenty dollars buying at amazon rather than at the school bookstore.



4. I LOVE biology but this book was about as boring as a biology text can get.

2 comments about Biology.

1. I had an issue with this purchase because when I bought the book, I didn't realize it was a study guide. Indeed, it wasn't ADVERTISED as the study guide to accompany Robert Brooker's BIOLOGY, and I thought I was purchasing the actual textbook. It was simply called "Biology," by Robert Brooker, albeit a paperback book. It was rather pesky to be required to send it back and buy a new one, etc., since the labling wasn't right. Thank you for correcting the title, though it would have been helpful earlier on.



2. Although this is a nice book to look through with tons of pictures and diagrams, the authors seem to enjoy making these concepts as difficult to understand as possible. I realize that this book is for science majors, but that doesn't mean that it shouldn't try to break this information down into a way that is more easily understood.

5 comments about Biology.

1. I used this textbook in AP Biology almost a decade ago and I still have fond memories. It is concise and well written. It's also a good basic reference but perhaps not as detailed as Alberts Molecular Biology of the Cell. Unlike Alberts, you can read this one cover to cover!



2. Thank god I bought this book! I had just recently forgotten my biology book for a project I have to do over Christmas break, which was a newer book for the curriculum and instead of having to search for second rate information over the internet this book contains everything you need. In my opinion the new Standard Prentice Hall Textbook is only a quarter of the quality of this book.



3. This is an exceptional textbook. Each topic (covered clearly and thoroughly) lays the necessary foundation for each successive topic. The diagrams provide further clarity to the material and are placed accessibly on the same page as the written text. I highly recommend this text to anyone who wants a solid grasp on the fundamentals of biology.



4. Hands down, Campbell's Biology is the most beautifully written and illustrated biology textbook on the market and has remained so through many, many editions. I am a plant biologist and was pleased to see that even at the introductory level, this book gave plant life equal prominence with animal biology. If you want to fall in love with biology, this is the text to get you there. Campbell and Reese accompanied me through freshman biology, every upper level undergrad and graduate biology course I took, and finally served as an indispensable reference when studying for my qualifying examinations. I don't currently teach intro bio, but if and when I do, Campbell and Reese will lead my selections for the textbook.
   
   On more practical matters for the potential book buyer--While it is fantastic to have the most up-to-date edition, we are talking intro bio here. So you really can't go wrong by grabbing a discount copy of the sixth edition and hanging onto it for dear life. Every edition of this text is worthy of a place in your permanent collection. And it is heads and shoulders above a crowded field of competitors. Couldn't offer any higher praise than this.



5. This book set the bar for general bio classes. I've seen this text used in high school AP bio classes as well as many college bio classes. It is well organized and provides an great explanation for things you need to understand. The picture help to further understanding.

5 comments about BRS Gross Anatomy (Board Review Series).

1. This is a great review book. The questions make you realize just how well you know your anatomy and understand each concept.



2. This book is a good review and supplement to class notes for Anatomy class exam prep. It is a great resource for Anatomy Shelf Exams. I found it too detailed to use thoroughly for board preparation.



3. Very succint review of all of gross anatomy. The pictures are okay, but you should probably keep an atlas of human anatomy around. The questions after each chapter are indicative of the questions I've experienced in medical school. Overall, this is probably the best way to prepare for class and boards.



4. I wish I had used this book when I took the course instead of reading it for board review. It is fairly detailed and requires a lot of time.



5. This book is very intense. For those of you familiar with the BRS series the golden books of the series include physiology and pathology. These books are very well written and easy to understand. This is in direct contrast to what this book is. I would compare it to the BRS neuroanatomy. These books are extremely long and very detailed! Much too long for a quick board review book, so don't be deceived by the title. I cannot over emphasize enough how weighed down in detailed these books are. Although high yield facts are present in the books, they are mixed in with very low yield subjects and this makes it difficult to discern what the most important things to remember are. In other words, reading this book is not going to be pleasant. After reading the BRS neuroanatomy multiple times, I feel like throwing up every time I consider that I might read it again to refresh. This book gives me the exact same feelings. You are hardly reading anything. It is just fact after fact given in bullet point format with no flow between information, making 100% recall almost impossible even after reading each chapter 3 times (unless of course you have idiot savant capabilities). You will definitely understand anatomy more fully by memorizing this book, but be prepared to make a major investment of time and effort. As an alternative, take a look at high yield and USMLE road maps.

3 comments about Essential Biology with Physiology (2nd Edition) (Campbell Biology Websites Series).

1. I used this book to homeschool my 13 year old daughter, who went on to obtain a 750 on the SAT II Biology. I also taught a class to homeschoolers using THE WAY LIFE WORKS (much cheaper) as the main text, but using many of the CD-ROM activites from ESSENTIAL BIOLOGY as class material. I especially liked the MendAliens for genetics problems! There are many useful activites, quizzes, and chapter tests, wonderful graphics. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand "essential" biology.



2. My 16 year old just finished this book for homeschool biology. It was comprehensive, thorough, yet easy for her to follow. The illustrations are excellent and prolific. It had quizes she could take to track her progress. I highly recommmend this book for high school biology.



3. I am learning a lot of things from the book and study card useful for class.

No comments about Living in the Environment, Enhanced Homework Edition (with CengageNOW, Cover Sheet, Audio Book, Essential Study Skills, InfoTrac Printed Access Card).

5 comments about Introduction to Genetic Analysis.

1. The questions in the back of each chapter are really helpful. Sometimes the chapter itself is a bit vague. The chapter describing bacteria genetics was done very poorly. Even my TA agreed that the way it's written is hard for beginners to understand.



2. Covers the topics very basically. Good for an undergrad class but not anything more.



3. I found this book to be confusing and hard to decipher at times!! I sometimes had to read the paragraph several times to get it and then I would find later in the book somewhere, what I was confused about was explained somewhat better. This book caused me to waste a lot of time trying figure out things. Perhaps better organization would be helpful. I wouldn't recomend this book.



4. We use this book as the main textbook in my Genetics class. Although I agree that the problems at the end of the chapters are quite useful, I think most of the time the book never gets to the point.
   1.Its historical facts sometimes make more than half of the chapters and it really annoys me, specially if I need to learn the concepts for next day.
   2. Sometimes concepts are explained with examples, examples which may not be clear for everyone and may not help get the general idea.
   3. The order of the book is kind of mixed, some concepts which have already been mentioned in early chapters are not explained until some chapters later.
   
   As famous as this book is for Genetics, I do not recommend it for students like me who need to understand the concepts and apply them next day at a lecture and who have had already a good background of cellular and molecular biology.



5. After having studied this book whole-heartedly for an entire semester, I feel that it just doesn't do a very decent job of relating the material in an inviting manner.
   
   The topics are typically unorganized and almost seem to ramble, resulting in frequent, incoherent jumps. As such, I was forced to read and reread each and every sentence to try and follow the authors' intended message. Moreover, the authors' have seemingly tried to insert unnecessarily long words where their shorter, more easily understood counterparts would've more effectively conveyed the meaning of the text. After all, verbosity leads to unclear, incoherent things.
   
   In conclusion, I would not recommend the purchase of this book. The authors' are not well versed in textbook construction as it seems they put less effort into instructing the students and more effort into writing an impressive-sounding, but generally over-inflated, book.

No comments about Inquiry into Life.

5 comments about A Photographic Atlas for the Microbiology Laboratory.

1. the item I purchased wasn't complete, it was missing another lab book that was supposed to come with the atls. i have sent it back for my full refund.



2. I bought this as a first year medical student in hopes that it would simplify and better illustrate the complicated world of microbiology. In the end, it was a totally useless book. The pictures are average but really low yeild. If you are a med student trying to find pictures, I strongly reccomend you look elsewhere. If you are an undergrad and have tons of time on your hands, get it and waste a nice weekend or two. Otherwise stick to the assigned books. If you are a proffesor who has chosen this as an assigned book, shame on you!!!



3. The images are great for referencing the different cells charachteristics under a microscope. Convenient when you are studying somewhere besides lab.



4. i was happy to receive the textbook i needed ...it took a little longer than i expected to arrive...there were two page missing from the text and they were placed in the book for me to tape back in



5. This was a required text for my micro class. It was sometimes a little helpful, but it mostly didn't have the answers to my questions. It covers too much in too few pages. The only time that I really found it to be helpful was in reading test results. When I wasn't sure if, for example, my VP broth had really changed color enough to be a positive result, the large glossy pictures were nice. However, when I was trying to figure out colonial morphology, only about half the terms that we were supposed to know were covered in the book. Not so helpful. So, as I stated earlier, this book is helpful when it covers the information that you need, but I was never sure if what I was looking for would be covered in the book.