The Biology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-06 09:50:56
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：D.K. Publishing
- ISBN：0241437466
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Summary
Why do bees know how to dance？ Where do plants get sugar？ How do animals know their mothers？ Who discovered germs？
The science of biology is the story of our quest to understand the living world and explain how its organisms work and interact - whether microbes， mushrooms， or mammals。 In answering these and many other questions， we've discovered the mechanics of plants， animals， and the human body; explored the mysteries of DNA and genetic inheritance; and learned how to develop vaccines that control diseases。
Written in plain English， The Biology Book is packed with short， pithy explanations of more than 95 momentous ideas in science， from cell theory to evolution by natural selection。 Themed chapters explore key areas of the life sciences including ecology， zoology， and biotechnology， tracing the history of scientific thought and introducing the scientists who shaped the subject， such as Carl Linnaeus， Jean-Baptiste Lamarck， Charles Darwin， and Gregor Mendel。 Coverage of topical issues such as cloning， neuroscience， human evolution， and gene editing brings the story right up to date。 Step by step flowcharts help to unpick complex theories， diagrams demystify biological processes， illuminating quotes make the ideas and discoveries memorable， and witty illustrations enhance our understanding of the science。
Whether you're new to the subject， a budding botanist or molecular scientist， an avid student of the living world， or keen to keep up with and understand current ethical and scientific debates， The Biology Book is for you。
The science of biology is the story of our quest to understand the living world and explain how its organisms work and interact - whether microbes， mushrooms， or mammals。 In answering these and many other questions， we've discovered the mechanics of plants， animals， and the human body; explored the mysteries of DNA and genetic inheritance; and learned how to develop vaccines that control diseases。
Written in plain English， The Biology Book is packed with short， pithy explanations of more than 95 momentous ideas in science， from cell theory to evolution by natural selection。 Themed chapters explore key areas of the life sciences including ecology， zoology， and biotechnology， tracing the history of scientific thought and introducing the scientists who shaped the subject， such as Carl Linnaeus， Jean-Baptiste Lamarck， Charles Darwin， and Gregor Mendel。 Coverage of topical issues such as cloning， neuroscience， human evolution， and gene editing brings the story right up to date。 Step by step flowcharts help to unpick complex theories， diagrams demystify biological processes， illuminating quotes make the ideas and discoveries memorable， and witty illustrations enhance our understanding of the science。
Whether you're new to the subject， a budding botanist or molecular scientist， an avid student of the living world， or keen to keep up with and understand current ethical and scientific debates， The Biology Book is for you。
Reviews
Steve
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I enjoyed this book。 The entries are well written， with crystal-clear explanations。 From a historical perspective， the book has a fairly global view。 The Directory towards the end of the book was also interesting， containing brief entries on scientists not discussed in the main body of the work。 Each sub-chapter in the book also contains a Context section to show what happened chronologically before and after the subject of the entry。 The timelines were also very useful。 The book had an encyclop I enjoyed this book。 The entries are well written， with crystal-clear explanations。 From a historical perspective， the book has a fairly global view。 The Directory towards the end of the book was also interesting， containing brief entries on scientists not discussed in the main body of the work。 Each sub-chapter in the book also contains a Context section to show what happened chronologically before and after the subject of the entry。 The timelines were also very useful。 The book had an encyclopedic feel to it， with enough information to hold my interest but not too detailed， so I never felt bogged down。 I found the art in the book to be excellent。 I had two quibbles with the book。 One is a trend towards discussing medical concepts and the other is identifying scientists by their nationalities instead of where their work was done。 To me the latter is more important。 This book could be of interest to people with or without a biology background。 Thank you to NetGalley and DK for the advance reader copy。 。。。more
Cary Morton
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I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review。This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting。 The book does a good job of presenting a huge amount of information on Biology and its study。 If you have more than a casual interest in the topic but don't want to slog through scientific papers， then this book would be an excellent fit for you。Although the book is toted as explaining big biology concepts simply， I don't think that description is en I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review。This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting。 The book does a good job of presenting a huge amount of information on Biology and its study。 If you have more than a casual interest in the topic but don't want to slog through scientific papers， then this book would be an excellent fit for you。Although the book is toted as explaining big biology concepts simply， I don't think that description is entirely accurate。 This isn't a beginner book - it's more of a mid-range read。 It isn't something I'd recommend to a younger reader， but I do think it's an excellent source of information， so I'd recommend it to someone who wants to learn more about biology， past what you'd find in the average textbook。 。。。more
Carolyn Bragg
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Amazing。 This book is， essentially a collection of articles covering a variety of biology topics。 The basics， theory updates， condensed timelines of events and discoveries， and little-mentioned facts that were so interesting， I wanted to share them with someone immediately--so they could share my awe。I enjoyed reviews of topics I learned about in school， and new approaches that are helping us learn more。 My favorite section was Brain and Behavior; specifically about the clever ways animals use t Amazing。 This book is， essentially a collection of articles covering a variety of biology topics。 The basics， theory updates， condensed timelines of events and discoveries， and little-mentioned facts that were so interesting， I wanted to share them with someone immediately--so they could share my awe。I enjoyed reviews of topics I learned about in school， and new approaches that are helping us learn more。 My favorite section was Brain and Behavior; specifically about the clever ways animals use tools （including fire）。 And there were discoveries I hadn't read about， such as combining gasses in a glass container and seeing that amino acids had formed inorganically！I read everything I can about many areas of science--for the fun of learning。 This book was a treasure trove of information I could spend months reading and learning more about。 Each article gave me food for thought that I wanted to enjoy， yet I was so excited， I wanted to speed ahead as well。The directory of scientists was wonderful， the glossary helpful， the "In Context" mini time-lines enlightening， and the index a life-saver （if you are trying to find a specific subject）。The two things I was disappointed in: 1） The lack of structure is disorienting and confusing。 As much as I was charmed by the article approach， the absence of subheadings made using the book clumsy。 Within the main headings， there are only article titles to give you an idea what the section is about。 And when the titles are supposed to be clever， or you are going back through to find something you read， it's extremely difficult to find a topic。 2） There was no article about muscle memory。 Of course， every scientist has their own favorite subjects。 However， in a book of this type， I felt it deserved a mention because it is so key to our understanding of the way our brain-body connection works。 Especially as cases of dementia and brain related illnesses are rising。For content， I give The Biology Book 4/5 stars， and for organization， 3/5。It's a wonderful collection of exciting information， and I recommend it to any child， teen， or adult， who wants to understand more of what they are learning in our fast-paced world about biology。 。。。more
Isay
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I’ve been a fan of books from DK Publishing since I was in elementary school。 Their books are well-illustrated， with clean layouts。 I own several other books in this series （Big Ideas Series） and have enjoyed reading all of them。 Complex ideas are explained in bite-sized chunks that a layperson can easily understand。 Helpful timelines， photos， and diagrams are sprinkled throughout the text。 It’s a good refresher for concepts I’ve forgotten from high school and college。 Teenagers to adults would I’ve been a fan of books from DK Publishing since I was in elementary school。 Their books are well-illustrated， with clean layouts。 I own several other books in this series （Big Ideas Series） and have enjoyed reading all of them。 Complex ideas are explained in bite-sized chunks that a layperson can easily understand。 Helpful timelines， photos， and diagrams are sprinkled throughout the text。 It’s a good refresher for concepts I’ve forgotten from high school and college。 Teenagers to adults would all be able to learn basic Biology concepts from this book。 I’d love to buy a hardcopy of this once it’s out。#TheBiologyBook #NetGalley 。。。more
Alicia Bayer
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This is a very text-heavy light primer on all kinds of biology。 It's more about the history of biology than the most recent knowledge that we have today。 There are many photos and illustrations and it's broken down into very small sections on a large number of topics。 I found these kind of lacking as a science nerd， as they're presented in rather black-and-white， outdated ways with far more focus on what someone discovered 200 years ago than what we are just starting to discover。 It often oversi This is a very text-heavy light primer on all kinds of biology。 It's more about the history of biology than the most recent knowledge that we have today。 There are many photos and illustrations and it's broken down into very small sections on a large number of topics。 I found these kind of lacking as a science nerd， as they're presented in rather black-and-white， outdated ways with far more focus on what someone discovered 200 years ago than what we are just starting to discover。 It often oversimplifies and leaves out important information， so it's definitely a "dip your toes" kind of book rather than a full text。 I was considering it for my teenage sons for part of their homeschool biology curriculum but I do not feel that it would be a good fit for that。 It seems better suited for adults because of the wordiness， though you really need additional materials to get the full picture of most topics covered。 It's still a very interesting and visually appealing book that many are likely to find educational。I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review。 。。。more
S Tondra
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