Can anybody recommend a good book for Biology?

[Godfather80]

I'm a 9th grade Biology teacher at a private Jewish school. I love teaching, but have found this course to be incredibly difficult. To start, my textbook is extraordinarily bad. It is insanely detailed at times and horrifyingly vague at other times. At no time does the book make any attempt to connect or unify the ideas it presents. Also, I am by no means an expert in biology in my personal life.

I only took over the class 4 weeks ago after the previous teach quit. I will be teaching it again next year from the start, which is encouraging, but I fear that I'm not up to the challenge of supplimenting the textbook's shortcomings with my own knowledge of the subject.

So, basically, I'm looking for a book FOR ME that ties together the ideas of biology systematically and tries to help the reader gain some perspective on the near-infinite minutia.

If anybody can recommend such a book, I'd be grateful.

[RJT]

So much to those who complain that we don't talk enough science here on the forum (i.e. no responses to the OP).

[RJT]

Not that this answers your question - just curious - can you simply change the course textbook even if you do find a good one?

[RJT]

BTW and FYI there are some idiots over at OOT who think Goodfellas is a better movie than both Godfathers (I & II).
I didn't bother to set them straight. Some folk are better off in their ignorance. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[atrifix]

I can wholeheartedly recommend Elliott Sober's book, Philosophy of Biology, although I doubt that is what you are looking for. That deals more with the philosophical issues in evolution.

If you're looking for just enough to teach high school, just find a decent textbook (at a library, or google) and start reading.

[Johnny Bravo]

Biology book by Campbell and Reece is good. Explains things in detail and is complete. I have the 6th ed. The 7th is probably already out.

[chrisnice]

Id just go down to the best university around you and buy the BIO101 book that they use.

[aeest400]

The Campbell book has been the standard text for quality universities over the last 20 years. It's in its 7th edition. There isn't really a runner up you should consider.

Here's a link and description.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080537146X/104-2241292-0250333?v=glance&n=283155

Book Description


Neil Campbell and Jane Reece's BIOLOGY remains unsurpassed as the most successful majors biology textbook in the world. This text has invited more than 4 million students into the study of this dynamic and essential discipline.The authors have restructured each chapter around a conceptual framework of five or six big ideas. An Overview draws students in and sets the stage for the rest of the chapter, each numbered Concept Head announces the beginning of a new concept, and Concept Check questions at the end of each chapter encourage students to assess their mastery of a given concept. New Inquiry Figures focus students on the experimental process, and new Research Method Figures illustrate important techniques in biology. Each chapter ends with a Scientific Inquiry Question that asks students to apply scientific investigation skills to the content of the chapter.

[gdsdiscgolfer]

Campbell/Reece (Campbell recently died, so the 7th was the last one he had direct influence on--I personally prefer the 6th)

[Godfather80]

Thanks to everybody's recommendations. This is just the information I need.