5 comments about Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song.

1. I recently sent this book to a relative that lives in the south east of Montreal in Quebec. The birds are the same as the ones in Vermont which is only 30 minuts from her home. She was d elighted with the book and the recording. She did comments that the birds songs were the same as heard in her neiborhood, which is Sherbrooke area. I had again look for quite a while and finally found it in Amazon. I am always pleasantly surprise to find this at my friendly Amazon. Thanks



2. An excellent and entertaining book providing good audio of North American bird's songs. Provides the ability to actually listen to wild North American bird's songs that one would hear while walking or sitting in the outdoors. A fun and entertaining book as you read about a bird, listen to its song and compare or observe the color of the bird's plummage.



3. I received this book as a gift a few years ago, and since then, I have given 4 of them as gifts to my bird-loving friends! I also shared it with a friend who just turned 3 years old. She enjoyed learning the names of the birds and the sounds they make. I have learned to identify birds by their sounds, without even seeing them!



4. This is a very good book. I bought myself one and this one I sent to my brother in Idaho. I LOVE this book. If you are a bird lover, you need this book.



5. After owning one for a couple of years, I got another as a birthday gift for my brother in law...there were several new choices available, mostly less expensive, but I decided on this, because I KNOW it, and trust the content...one thing everyone should be aware...with many birds,the calls recorded are not the ONLY calls of the spieces,but usually the most prevailent...so don't be surprised if you hear something different...

5 comments about Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure.

1. Paul Offit's writings and his behavior have consistently reflected his strong commitment to both children's health and to science. This book underscores the many problems that can occur when emotion-driven rather than science-driven actions impact: treatments, resource allocations, policies, and ultimately health outcomes. "Autism's False Prophets" is well written and I couldn't put it down. Recognizing that Dr. Offit is donating all royalties from the sale of this book to autism research, I just ordered four more copies to give to friends.



2. I really enjoyed this book (though I enjoyed his biography of Maurice Hilleman more). I started going to online discussion groups when we got our first modem over fourteen years ago (I still chuckle at the responses about "dyslexia" I got when I asked about "dyspraxia", which is what my oldest child was diagnosed with in 1991). As I moved around on Compuserve, briefly on Usenet, and on the Apraxia-Kids listserv, I saw these events unfold.
   
   At first I could simply say "No, vaccines are not the cause of apraxia/dyspraxia, my kid had his seizures before any vaccine"... and it would be accepted and we would go on discussing insurance and school issues. Then "they" came, and "they" would not take "no" for an answer. "They" would send nasty-grams if anyone challenged anything they wrote. One tried to get me booted from the listserv just because I tried to explain that the MMR vaccine never contained mercury (a sure sign that someone does not know the issues is when he/she says "the thimerosal in MMR").
   
   Also "they" started to promote all sorts of cures. I spoke against craniosacral and essential oils, and received nasty-grams that I had a closed mine (in frustration I told her to go bother the writers of paper saying that BC Health should not fund craniosacral therapy). Then I wrote an email to the group trying to explain that chelation was a "bad idea"... lots of nasty grams, including one telling me I was dangerous!
   
   I found out from someone else that one of "them" was actually employed by a prominent DAN! doctor who sold the stuff she was promoting. So I left.
   
   Just a couple of months later Roy Kerry killed a kid through chelation just because he was autistic. The interesting thing is that the owner and the moderator of the listserv do not live far from where that happened.
   
   I was tempted to sign back up to see what the reaction was, but I resisted. I went on with my life. That support group had nothing that I needed. Since my kid was older all I could do was explain what we had gone through and suggest books. I decided to stick with my local folks who I could talk to in reality.
   
   This book shows exactly who "they" are... they are the ones who want to blame the vaccines, they are the ones who want to skew science to their own conclusions, they are the ones that want to take advantage of desperate parents, they are the ones who want to divert scarce public funds from educational therapies to some phantom cause/cure... especially for there are kids like mine with OTHER disabilities!
   
   If you are interested in how special interests have taken over an issue and caused more harm than good... get this book!



3. After thirty years as a pediatrician I have read volumes of literature on the controversies in health care and do so with a cautious optomism. Dr. Offit has authored an enjoyable summary of a complex subject.I read it overnight. I've passed my copy on to another in my group and will order more for my loaner library.



4. I now have a book to give all the important people in my sons' lives. This is a powerful book based on real science and fact, not opinions. Thank heavens there are people like Dr. Offit strong enough to weather the storm of popular opinion.
   
   I mourn for a generation of our children not being protected from harmful illnesses due to a misguided attempt to protect them. I have sympathy for the parents like me who have had to struggle to come to terms with their children's autism. I have nothing but scorn for the politicians, lawyers and corrupt doctors who have taken advantage of my fellow parents for their own personal gain. I am sickened by the media who continue to give the spotlight to minor celebrites as if they were experts in this field.
   
   But I am thankful for Dr. Offit, Amanda Peet and all the others out there trying to protect our children. The people who are not making a penny on this but are saying what needs to be said from concern (those of you who have cried out against Dr. Offit may not know he is donating the porceeds of this book to Autism research). I thank you Dr. Offit and my two sons with autism thank you.



5. I encountered Dr. Offit on Sirius Doctor Radio and heard about this book there. This book clears up all the falsehoods and bad PR about vaccines and it's a fast and interesting read. I only wish that I had this book when my children were infants and receiving their vaccines as it would have removed any lingering doubts that were floating around in my head at that time. Any parent expecting their first child or with young children should read this book and you too will realize that vaccines are not controversial with regard to autism. The studies have delivered consistent and definitive results that MMR and thimerosol do not cause autism. If only Dr. Offit could get as much coverage as Jenny McCarthy, many more people would be enlightened.

5 comments about Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small.

1. I found this book to be most interesting and yes at being almost an inch thick..and being a busy mom and not the fastest reader..Im still reading. If one is simply wishing to fill a bookshelf then that would be a major waste..but for really wishing to learn new things and go for improvement and appreciation of life ..of all it's intended richness..this is a great book.



2. The book was recommended to me by an animal totem reader. Explains the totems in depth. Good reference book for those seeking additional information regarding animal totems.



3. Excelent book, easy reading, diagrams and ilustrations hepls undertanding. A step by step introduction to power animals and the mystery and magic of mystic life, and how you can use it in our own life to heal or improve it.



4. This is by far, my most useful and favorite book. I cannot believe that one person can know so much. Unreal. I highly recommend it for anyone with an interest in animal symbolism.



5. For the animals covered, this books gives a surprising amount of detail about possible meanings of animal symbolism relevant to working with images in my dreams and meditations. I didn't find as much available for fish and reptiles, more for birds and mammals.
   
   The author's perspective seems to be respectful of each animal and the wisdom of the reader. It does not attempt to be a cookbook of "hard and fast" analytic interpretations. Instead it offers helpful suggestions drawn from the animals' role and behavior in the wild, as well as symbolic meanings from a mythic or cultural viewpoints.
   
   Fun to read...cover to cover.

5 comments about Color Atlas of Anatomy: A Photographic Study of the Human Body (Color Atlas of Anatomy (Rohen)).

1. This my first foray into a photographic anatomy book and I was quite pleased, that is not to say it did not have its issues.
   
   The first thing you will notice with this book is, it's very high quality and attractive. It's a beautiful cover, sturdy material and the pages are thick and rigid. There are few, and for most people, no accidental tears that can occur with thinner pages.
   
   The content itself was very thorough, but not complete. While nearly all structures in the body are shown, not all are labeled, which can easily lead to some confusion when trying to classify it, two examples I recall are the labial veins or in certain pictures identifying the maxillary vs transverse facial artery. Basic mistakes, but they'll happen if you need this book to learn. Of course, the pictures are so clear, if you have a schematic atlas, the labeling may not even be necessary, but for me I prefer everything labeled. On the same topic, they add at least one schematic representation of what structure they are representing (not near the depth of a separate atlas though), and when a secondary visual is needed they would highlight with paint. Examples of drawings, trajectorial lines of the femoral head, General architecture of a synovial joint, Meningeal coverings of the spinal cord.
   
   Overall, this book gives a great understanding of how an actual human body will look but could be difficult to learn from; it's best to have an idealized view of it, such as Netter's or Grant's.



2. This book is a med student's best friend. I was having a difficult time learning anatomy from Netter, and hated spending time in the cadaver lab, so this book really saved me. I also like how the labels are numbered, with the answers on the bottom of the page, so you can cover them and quiz yourself.



3. everyone raves about netters but last i checked the human body was actually a confusing mass of vessles, nerves and muscles and not picture perfect. yokochi's photographs help you get ready for any lab practical, show multiple views of everything and it's really great b/c if the axillary artery shows up every time the thorax is being shown, even if it's just off to the side in the arm, it's labeled every time, from every angle. that's the best part, multiple views and nothing is left out just because it doesn't fit into the section, it it's there, it's labeled.



4. Everyone should buy this. It's way better than Netter's and is great to review before and after a gross anatomy lab.



5. This book is absolutely amazing and I highly recommend it for any anatomy student with lab practicals. Rather than having to find a partner, drive to the school, and sit in the lab with a bone box, I was able to study by myself in my own living room. I would not be without it!

5 comments about The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World.

1. In "The Botany of Desire", author and gardener Michael Pollan turns the tables on our view of domesticated species by presenting a would-be "plant's eye view of the world". His premise is that humans may have a more reciprocal relationship with domesticated plants than we like to believe. Perhaps the plants use us to propagate themselves as we use them to satisfy our desires. To explore this idea, Pollan recounts the horticultural histories and the human desires that created them for 4 domesticated plant species: the apple, which satisfies our desire for sweetness, the tulip, cultivated for its beauty, marijuana, for intoxication, and the potato, which gives us control. A fruit, a flower, a drug, and a staple food.
   
   Pollan dedicates a section of the book to each of the 4 plants. The histories of the species are not comprehensive but focus on key events which affected its "artificial selection" and made the plants what they are today. For example, the history of the apple focuses on the introduction of seedlings onto the American frontier by Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman in the early 19th century, spawning an explosion of edible species from what were originally trees planted to make applejack. The section on the tulip predictably talks about "Tulipmania" in 1630s Holland, usually cited as the first "bubble" of the modern global economy, but also addresses the "Tulip Era" in Constantinople, funny and failed attempts to make the tulip useful, and the unending quest for a black tulip.
   
   Likewise, the section on marijuana focuses on the tremendous advances in horticulture spawned by the War on Drugs that forced growers indoors in the 1980s. The discussion of the potato is particularly timely, as it talks about the genetically modified NewLeaf potato, which includes genes from Bt bacterium whose toxin is lethal to the Colorado potato beetle. This potato is designed to rescue the agricultural industry from its toxic and unsustainable strategy of pesticides and fertilizers. It's also designed to prolong the viability of monoculture, around which much of the agricultural industry in built but which is historically and currently problematic.
   
   An interesting aspect of the evolution of these domesticated species is that three of four of them are cloned species, not planted from seeds or allowed to reproduce sexually. They're in trouble for lack of genetic diversity. They've been over-domesticated. So we shall see if Michael Pollan's thesis that the plants have put us in their service as much as we have them holds up. It seems we've made them quite vulnerable. But that premise provides an interesting entry into the subject of horticulture. Michael Pollan is opinionated, and everyone will not agree with his view of marijuana or NewLeaf potatoes, but I do think readers will see his point. "The Botany of Desire" is thought-provoking and timely.



2. In style and substance this is one of the best books I've read in recent years, as well as one of the most enjoyable. It also broadened my perspective in several areas. I highly recommend.



3. I was continuously amused and enlightened about many things in this book; suffice it to say I dog-eared quite a few pages as I wanted to go back to re-read certain passages for the perspective, perhaps for the phrasing, or for the knowledge.
   
   Humans certainly have the desire and the ability to bend nature, but a good lesson learned in this book is to let nature be itself, even as you make it do your bidding!



4. Mr Pollan had a great idea for a book--evolution of 4 different species of well know plants from the plant's perspective as influenced by humans. There's about 30 pages of good information to this end. The rest is horribly long and painful unrelated tangents that he clearly enjoys writing about, but have absolutely nothing to do with the subject. For instance, in covering apples he talks for freggen ever about John Chapaman, aka Johnny Appleseed. Who cares about Appleseed's sexual frustrations with a potential 10 year old bride??? Who cares about his love of sleeping in hollowed out logs, or on the snow if sleeping in the log would disturb some insects??? If you're ridiculously bored and don't mind reading about random garbage you might like this book. If you're looking for enlightenment on this subject or like a well executed book, don't even think about this one.



5. It tends to ramble in the philosophical arena, but I found his writing well researched and the questions thoughtful and thought provoking. I would recommend it for a book club or philosphy group.

5 comments about Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.

1. The author in this book basically researches sex researchers and their work: sexual anatomy, function, and response. She does this with certain misgivings, as sex research, even in modern times, has largely had to fly under the radar. Researchers often have to battle insinuations that they "enjoy" their work just a bit too much.
   
   She travels widely to investigate any number of relevant topics. The subjects are both human and animal; and the use of a variety of technologies from MRIs, ultrasound, and personal devices receives attention. A major focus of the author is on the understanding and overcoming of sexual dysfunction, ranging well beyond recent obsessions with ED.
   
   She does all of this with understated humor, even volunteering herself and her husband for some not-so-discreet ultrasound imaging. The book is definitely not without merit and is interesting, but it is scattershot - a little bit of this, a little bit of that. It tends to bounce along the surface alternating among the scenario, equipment, the science, the researcher, the participant, etc. More focus and organization are needed, but is still a pretty good contribution to a field that seemingly cannot be discussed forthrightly in the pseudo moralistic US.



2. A curious coupling of science and sex indeed, the book ranges from the hilarious, to mundane and at times boring, and to downright disturbing. Looking past the social taboo of sex and research, Mary Roach offers an interesting perspective on the scientists, and the results of their research based from the last 100 years of work in the area. However, while graphic details abound, there seems to be no point to the overall story - version two is in order.



3. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mary Roach's writing is entertaining and informative. This book provides an introduction to the study of sex, and I now find myself wanting to learn more. I don't think this is a book for people who have already completed a lot of research or study on sex, but for those who want an introduction to the topic, this book is fabulous. Highly recommended.



4. I read the British paperback edition of 2008. Mary Roach, who has tackled Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife in a popularly funny and fascinating way, now takes a close look at what scientists have indulged in, when it comes to sexuality. There may be some enlightenment on sexuality itself, however, this book is more about what various scientists from around the world have concerned themselves with and how they have approached their sexual agendas. Which covers about anything from electroshocks against wet dreams to electroejaculation. From human upsuck stimulation of sows to the nagging question wether dead people may have an orgasm. Some questions remain unanswered, others are never asked, but this book doesn't intend to be a complete guide to human (and beyond) sexuality. It is more of a personal quest of the author, seeking a look at what sex scientists keep themselves busy with. As such, it is funny by subject matter alone, for example, when it comes to the past millennium-long European thought process that the uterus would be an independent creature within a woman. Also some still contemporary myths get debunked, such as the dogma of various branches of religion that ejaculation and/or orgasm causes ageing. The opposite is the case in reality. Mary Roach decided to include humorous remarks in addition. A lot of them. Personally, I thank her for that. This makes a welcome departure from the many dry textbooks I am reading. And laughing is also prolonging life expectency. I don't find her humor all that adolescent as some other reviewers, especially not if compared to the usual Hollywood juvenile sex comedy. But then again, different people, different humor.
   
   Which also seems to apply to the use of footnotes. Usually, I detest them. Mary Roach is the first author of whom I find them fun to read. In her books they are unnecessary for the main text, but bring a moment of joy to the reader who shares my sense of humor. Here's a tip for those who feel distracted even by these footnotes: You may chose to ignore them. No harm done.
   
   You may also be interested in The Science of Orgasm (little overlap only) and specific quests like Female Ejaculation and the G-Spot: Not Your Mother's Orgasm Book! (Positively Sexual).



5. I laughed and laughed over Roach's first two...and gave them to my mother as gifts. She also laughed out loud at them. So I was hoping to get some easy xmas shopping done here and get her third book for mom...but obviously that is not going to happen. This third book is just as funny and interesting, but hell if I can get it for my mother. Thanks a lot, Mary, and you owe me a mom-appropriate gift idea this year.

5 comments about What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? (Caldecott Honor Book).

1. This book is really hands on, and gets lots of talking and questions going with my 3 and 5 yr olds. It's a clever book and we've had a lot of fun with it.



2. One of the loveliest and most thought out books to hit children's bookshelves in years! The information is so interesting and presented together with such unusual paper art the book just captivates its reader. Ann Clarke, author of People Are So Different! based on tolerance and understanding.



3. A very beautifully illustrated smart book, WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A TAIL LIKE THIS helps kids think outside the box. My 3 year old daughter found it interesting the some creature have ears, mouth, etc. in other place then us humans. The book that starts with a question ends with wanting to ask more questions like the one my daughter asked, "Why do flies have 6 legs and spiders have 8?" I really couldn't answer why but I think this book helped her be more observant.
   
   Interestingly beautiful illustrations help grab attention too, that was the reason I purchased this book in first place. The artist captures every necessary detail with his unique, almost surreal style which permeates throughout the book.



4. I bought this book for my preschool classroom. The kids can't get enough of it and they love guessing which tail belongs to which animal. It's a great early reader for them too!



5. This book has amazing images of collage to create animals, and students love the content as well!

5 comments about Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body.

1. I had to get this book for a class. I wasn't really looking forward to reading it to be honest and it turned out to be quite a surprise. I absolutely enjoyed it and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in this subject.



2. If you are interested in a good, nontechnical book on how much our body design owes to our evolutionary past, this book could be for you. Shubin is an excellent writer. There is not a boring page in the book. He has a real knack for making complex ideas understandable without talking down to the reader. This is lost on a few reviewers who seem to mistake clarity for lack of depth. If this book turns some readers on to investigate science more deeply, that will be a great thing.
   
   In particular, his account of the evolution of wrists, ears, eyes, and even animal bodies themselves, as evidenced by both fossil evidence and DNA similarities makes it clear that if a "Designer" were responsible for all this, "he" would be more of a tinkerer, making use of old parts and forcing them to do new things. Naturally these changes took millions of years to happen, being the slow result of tiny mutations in each generation of life. This is the thing that is so hard to comprehend for most who doubt this explanation for life's diversity. One can't directly comprehend two billion years of life's evolution. But science shows us that its record is written in our bodies themselves. We all carry this record, and we should be proud that we've made it this far.



3. As interesting and informative as other reviewers have promised it to be.
   If one is a Creationist however, you will not like this book.



4. In terms of physical makeup, how did human beings get to be what they are? In order to provide some answers, the author's journey of discovery took him to a remote site in the Arctic to look for fossils. This site fit the requirements of containing exposed sedimentary rocks dating back some 370 million years ago, to the time when previously found fossils begin to show terrestrial rather than purely aquatic adaptations. With a combination of luck and skill, he succeeded in finding what he was looking for: the fossil remains of a creature that had the anatomy not quite of a fish but not quite of a land animal either. From that starting point, the author provides anatomical examples of how human adaptations - everything from limbs to teeth to the inner ear - can be seen to have evolved from much simpler organisms.
   
   The study of fossils and anatomy does have its limitations in that only gross similarities can be noted; the process itself is hidden; and there is not much that can be done experimentally. But the subject matter can be approached from a different angle. The author recounts initial experimental methods in embryology that found an "organizer" site of cells that appears to control growth in embryos. When these types of cells of one species were substituted for another, they still enacted their role of organizing. Significant progress since the 1980s in genetics, especially the discovery of the Hox gene, has unlocked the role of DNA in explaining how the "organizer" works. Scientists can then search out the similarities of DNA in different species.
   
   The author combines his knowledge of paleontology and anatomy with genetics and molecular biology to posit how single celled organisms could have developed the means to combine together over time to the point of developing bodies. The details here are rather sketchy - as this book is a primer not a technical work. The study is limited to a discussion of how certain anatomical structures developed as life became more complex. It is interesting to consider the external circumstances that were at work. The primary motivation for assuming more complexity appears to be the desire to evade predators. The first appearance of bodies appears to have coincided with a noticeable increase in oxygen in the earth's atmosphere.
   
   One note: This book is about science not religion, but I could not help but being struck by an analogy the author draws between developing life and the construction of a building: the role of DNA in the cells of a body is analogous to there being a blueprint of a building in every brick. In other words, instead of the plans coming from the outside, life develops from plans from within. On the basis of this insight, it should be fair to say that intelligence has to be inside rather than outside; that is, the Intelligent Designer is not separate and apart from all of Creation.



5. This is a somewhat breezy overview of the deep links between humans and all other animals that have lived on earth, including not merely fish but worms, jellyfish and even the earliest one-celled creatures. Choosing different aspects of the human body (e. g. hands, heads, sense of smell, hearing, vision etc) Shubin describes how they developed from features present in ancient forms. The earlier forms often served quite different functions but were modified over eons of time in ways quite traceable through the fossil record or DNA. Indeed one of Shubin's main points is that the ancient forms were not replaced but were virtually endlessly modified over time to assume and support (often awkwardly) new functions and support different ways of life. The bodies of living animals (including humans) are thus in many respects Rube Goldberg devices, jury rigged amalgams of various parts, many of which originally served far different purposes.
   
   Shubin writes clearly and with obvious enthusiasm for his subject. The book is short and is an overview intended for a general audience. It does not presume any scientific background nor does it present detailed argument or evidence for its positions. It is not aimed at those who are familiar with the field. There is a subtext against intelligent design, but this position is never explicitly articulated much less argued. It is present only in the implications that follow from Shubin pointing out how many of the modern forms fit their current functions clumsily. The drawings in the book, unfortunately, are only sometimes helpful. The book also has fairly extensive suggestions for further reading. Overall a very good, and very basic, work of popular biology.

4 comments about The Book of Animal Ignorance: Everything You Think You Know Is Wrong.

1. I defy you to read even a few pages of this little book and not be tempted to yell out to whoever else is in the house: "Did you know that ...?" The other person will laugh and say "You made that up!"
   
   This is a perfect book for people who love animals and/or arcane bits of trivia. It is a bestiary of 100 animals -- some common, some you've probably never heard of -- all with secrets you would never guess. You'll never look at your dog the same way; did you know that Labrador retrievers can correctly identify lung cancer in humans 99 percent of the time... just by smelling their breath?
   
   Each animal gets two or three pages, with a couple of black and white illustrations. Organized in alphabetical order, you won't want to stop until you get to the lowly, fascinating worm. Did you know that ribbon worms will eat their own bodies if their food supply runs out? They can eat up to 95 percent of themselves and still survive.
   
   No, I didn't make that up.
   
   John Lloyd and John Mitchinson also wrote The Book of General Ignorance.



2. a book from which i can truly say i gained a wealth of information...whimsically written while maintaining an informational voice...only caveat i can complain of is the authors' consistent failure to provide a simple description of each animal's size...given that some of the animals were previously unknown to me, i would have appreciated the information..



3. Fantastic buy! I've passed the book on to so many friends and family members already. Everybody's talking about it. I find myself quoting animal facts to strangers. I'm definately a smarter person for having read it.



4. I learned a lot that I never knew about the animal world in a fun and easy to read format. Very enjoyable and informative, I highly recommend it.

5 comments about Clinically Oriented Anatomy (5th Edition).

1. As 1st year med student, this book has been extremely helpful in bringing the gross anatomy lab memorization to actual practice. Clinical "Blue boxes" very helpful and interesting. Also lists muscles with innervations and blood supply very clearly.



2. Moore's Anatomy text was a great buy for me. I used it in my 2nd year anatomy course and am now using it in 3rd year anatomy. Diagrams are clear and concise and there also a variety of additional boxes which supply info about the types of disease/trauma states which significant impact on anatomy. A great buy for any biomedical anatomy major or medical student.



3. This book was helpful in understanding the clinical applications and benefits in knowing and understanding one's anatomy. It made the simple and complicated anatomical topics digestible, and it helped organize the body easily.



4. This is an excellent text no matter what health profession you are in. I very rarely read the text. The pictures accompanied with the tables are basically what I used. You would see the picture and have a table of origin, insertion, action and nerve. If you really want to go into depth then you can read it. Moore did a great look at and then I would recommend a real life atlas such as Rohen to compliment the cartoons with cadaver pictures.



5. Here is the low down. This book is not a book that you can even consider reading through! It is, however, one of the best references that you can buy. I felt like the text was clear and detailed on every anatomical part that I wanted to know about. In medical school, there were times that I needed to reference something because I didn't understand. This book did a great job of filling that roll. It is comforting to know that I have this one on my shelf, and I am still referencing it. The pictures are clear and informative, but it is a text. It is not an Atlas or a review. It will explain things to you in words with a few picutres to supplement. In hindsight, however, it wasn't necessary. It is nice to have, but you can do without if your class doesn't requre it.