Biology (2024)

This is the book that got me to the semifinals of the USA Biology Olympiad. That I did not progress further is user error; the authors of this superb text certainly held up their part of the bargain.

As a textbook, it gets 5 stars. This isn't just a biology textbook, it's the biology textbook - I can see how it has achieved its reputation. It can double as exercise equipment, is part encyclopedia, and is over 1300 pages, but it still manages to feel concise and approachable. The authors/editors were also somehow able to achieve a remarkable consistency of style - it feels like a single person wrote the entirety of this massive tome. The style itself is lucid, engaging, and, most of all, intelligent; the authors clearly care about linguistic precision, something which many scientific types seem to neglect. (See MIT's freshman composition course.) In fairness, I have noticed that biologists' writing skills seem to be generally superior to those of scientists of other disciplines. Anectodal evidence may be statistically insignificant, but I know what I've observed.

I'm giving it 4 stars because I reserve my 5-star ratings for undisputed, canonical classics of world science and literature. Biology is not such a book, but neither could it be. What is it? A splendidly written, encyclopedic, definitive, and even enjoyable introductory textbook which gave me an outstanding education in the essentials of the life sciences. I will return to it often.

One of the best biology textbooks, reading through it is very easy and the language is pretty simple, I studied this in my first year of university and now years later I'm going back to it for some basics.
I highly recommend it.

"Biology is the scientific expression of our desire to know nature. We are most likely to protect what we appreciate, and we are most likely to appreciate what we understand."

It took me more than a year of (almost) daily reading to finish Campbell Biology. It was time well spent. I might not recommend anyone else to try a similar feat, but reading Campbell Biology from cover to cover definitely increased my understanding and appreciation of nature and science.

Some parts (such as the chemical formulas) might not interest non-students such as myself, but the book is full of interesting details and explanations of the world around (and within) us. Science is full of beauty and discovering how our world works can be a surprisingly emotional experience.

After 12+ months of reading, I only have one question: what am I going to do now with all this free time?

Campbell's Biology is an EXTREMELY incredible book.

Even if you know NOTHING about biology, but you are interested in biology the book will make it possible for you to master all the concepts to create a firm basis.

If you are already a student of biology it will help you crystallize what you already know, it will help you give your knowledge a good structure and refresher course.

Everything is explained extremely well. The questions at the end of chapters help you test your mastery of the topics. The illustrations are very informative and awesome.

Can't recommend this book enough. A must have for every biologist and layman alike.

I got this book for National Biology Olympics. My instructor always reminded me this is a key book but I just thought this book doesn't cover the subjects that Olympics require many more details. However I followed her advice or maybe I just enjoyed the book. This book provides you critical thinking skills about global health issues such as the problem of flu pandemics, Thalidomide drugs, legal issues, social affects etc. and solution-oriented approach on these issues. The drugs based on artificial compounds and its affects on neural systems, I still think about it. It's not also only biology, it is about EVERYTHING. If we get a very well understanding about cell structure, we may be inspired to build architectural out resistant systems. If we know about the energy mechanism in human body, in animals, plants or in nature, we may be able to create sustainable energy resources. Disciplines also need to be more connected since world is being more connected. It doesn't matter what your major is, this book helps you to understand things better and develop your problem solving skills.

Reference for life.

I wasn't going to review Biology by Neil A. Campbell, because well...
1. It's ubiquitous.
2. I studied from the sixth edition in high school for Biology AP and the eighth edition for first-year Biology, and while I read it, there were definitely places I didn't because I didn't have to or didn't want to or I fell asleep or I briefly wanted a social life.
3. Where the hell do I get off thinking I am expert enough to review a first-year textbook about biology?

But then, I remembered:
1. Until those free-source online textbooks gain user-friendliness and traction against the capitalist beast that is the textbook system, it will remain ubiquitous. (And boy, is that rant about the abuses of the textbook business long, off-topic, and totally for another day.)
2. That means I spent two years with it, and if nothing else learned via idea diffusion while my head rested on its glossy pages because I got an A- grade average. (Idea diffusion is college student urban myth that is going to be proven any year now, just you wait and see.)
3. What else is education for than to teach you that you know nothing?

In short, I like it, actually. Even if the prose gets unwieldy at times, and the layout gets overwhelming... there's always a beautiful picture of a tentacly nautilus I can doodle into my notes or an interview with scientist who gets grants to give IQ tests to ants or something on the next page.

Can't hurt to get in that mythical volumes edition though; your back will probably thank me.

Also my prickly second-quarter Biology professor had a signed edition with him always. That level of respect has got to mean something. Rating: 4.5 stars

It reads almost as easily as a novel. It's a page turner. It leaves you feeling blown away by all the details that we as mankind have learned about nature. The order of how the concepts and facts are introduced are part of what makes this book great. You read about how we have come to understood it and you get a glimpse of what is yet to be discovered. It makes you appreciate and get a feel for the complexity of life. It is written in such a way that anyone with a good proficiency in English can understand it.

100 hours and 5 years off my life due to sleep deprivation I'll never get back

currently working from my home office (my brother's desk) and he has his certificate for finishing AP bio and it reminded me that i can put this on goodreads because i legit read this entire thing. COVER TO COVER i read EVERY CHAPTER and for WHAT? WHAT valid reason did they hve to make us to that... blood sweat and tears and i got a B and still nightmares even after 4 years

Üniversitenin ilk senesinde aldığım ve biyolojiyi resmen çocuk oyuncağına çeviren kitap. Her konu hakkında bir başlık var ve İngilizcesi o kadar basit ki rahatlıkla çalışılabilecek bir kitap.

İçinden çıkan kartta online derslere de katılabiliyordunuz ben aldığımda, umarım o uygulamayı geliştirmişlerdir.

Better than Chen

The definitive study material for all high school biology competitions. The textbook is written in a slightly informal tone that keeps the book readable. Diagrams are strategically dispersed throughout the chapters to supplement and clarify text.

Having read both the 7th and 9th editions, I found that the 9th edition was well edited to contain more up-to-date information but there was some crucial information left out that was in the 7th edition. In particular the 9th edition omits a chart of the essential amino acids and a chart of the classes of antibodies. If you are reading the 9th edition to prepare for USABO be sure to be aware of what was omitted.

Actually, the best book I've ever read.

As far as college textbooks go, this was my favorite to read and study from. The text is clear, concise, and extremely interesting. After all my classes, I would immediately sell my textbooks for whatever scraps I could gather, but this books still sits on my shelf. For anyone interested in biology, this could be a great read; for any student, a must read (mainly due to being a required class text).

hope this will be the last time i have to read this textbook

i was struggling to pay attention and absorb information in class, so it was helpful to read the textbook on concepts that i wasn't confident in! presented in a very clear way

some spelling errors lol

wrote my midterm yesterday and i think it went well :))

I had to read this entire thing so I might as well count it towards my reading goal…

All jokes aside, this book is very informative and a good resource for SciOly, APs, and any other high-level biology courses/competitions.

I'm not one to review textbooks used for school on Goodreads, but this one is good enough for me to make an exception.

Though I didn't read the entire textbook, I did have to read about 75% of it for my college courses in General Biology I & II. I thoroughly enjoyed using this textbook for my Biology classes as well as for personal study and reference. Each section is clear, concise, and, above all else, interesting; I was never bored while sifting through its hundreds of pages. I learned a lot from this textbook (as well as from my excellent Biology professor!) and was able to take stellar notes from it. As well, the illustrations, photographs, charts, and other accompanying graphics greatly enhanced the text and provided a means through which visual learners can thrive in lieu of hours of reading.

Were it not for this exceptionally well researched, brilliantly written textbook, I would have struggled to pass my Biology classes. Thankfully, I was able to pass with flying colors because of this textbook. If you're lucky enough to have a professor that utilizes this particular textbook in their class, you will not be disappointed.

Autentycznie to jest nagrubsza książka jaka przeczytałem i o dziwo w całości xD

Excellence.

The most complete and accurate chemistry book I've ever stumbled upon!

Low key only got through the first 25 chapters in time for that AP test

0/10 do not recommend taking AP bio

Za cxuja tego nie orzeczytam alej będę udawać że to przeczytałam i ma 5 giwazdek pozdraiwan kocham biol chem mat

read a sizable chunk of this (maybe like half?)

mmm just mediocre but not bad
i liked how the sections were organized but bonus points because its bio
learned some cool new things!
clear and concise and explained things well
would sometimes find myself falling asleep though so,,

also one of my bio profs wrote this so hi chris moyes

lol i forgot to update this right after my bio exam so this is a tad late

True to its universal acclaim, a very good overview book to get fluent in Bio and honestly having read more advanced texts in certain areas, I could see how the text didn't shy away from (very subtly) hinting or alluding towards more advanced things.

A very good springboard to further inquiry in Bio.

Also I find it somewhat ironic I read it because in y1 I half-jokingly made a pact with someone not to do bio or memorization. Oh well

Campbell Biology is an excellent resource for any general biology course, offering a detailed overview of key concepts, supported by vibrant illustrations. The standout feature is the end-of-chapter online quizzes that greatly assist in reinforcing understanding. Though the depth of content can be overwhelming at times, the book is overall a valuable tool for learning biology. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

So glad I'm done with college Bio 1. Can't wait for Bio 2 next semester 🥲

carrying my hkust course 🙏

Campbell biology is the bible of biology.
If you are someone who wants to go from zero to hero in biology or someone who frequently asks questions and wants the comprehensive and simply explained answers or if you want to get someone who hates biology interested in it, look no further. This book has it all.
With its extremely simple, yet meticulous explanations, it equips you with an in-depth understanding of the subject.

The paragraphs and sentences flow in an understandable and very logical manner.
I usually struggle with science books because when they talk about complex concepts many questions arise in my head. This book is the only book that created lots of questions in my head and replied them right in the next sentence or next paragraph. Thus, it saved me a ton of energy and time from going through the internet or other books to find the answers.

I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to have a deep understanding of any part of biology and wants to have all the knowledge in one place especially first-year university students.

OK, so I haven't read the entire 1350+ pages. I've ONLY read the ~400 related to the course I'm teaching (the first three units), but this is a very well -written text, they explain rather complex biological processes in a simple and logical progression and manner. Out of the opening 22 chapters my only issue is that they don't consider prokaryotes to have a cytoskeleton. But, on the plus side they treat prokaryotes very well in other sections, such as transcription/translation, making accurate up-to-date points and giving archaea their due too. I was particularly impressed with how succinct and comprehensible the metabolism chapters are. Figures are among the best I've seen in a text - though I haven't seen many General Bio texts in many years to be honest.