Biology: A Self-Teaching Guide, 2nd edition

Book Description

A complete course, from cells to the circulatory system
Hundreds of questions and many review tests
Key concepts and terms defined and explained

Master key concepts. Answer challenging questions. Prepare for exams. Learn at your own pace.

Are viruses living? How does photosynthesis occur? Is cloning a form of sexual or asexual reproduction? What is Anton van Leeuwenhoek known for? With Biology: A Self-Teaching Guide, Second Edition, you'll discover the answers to these questions and many more.

Steven Garber explains all the major biological concepts and terms in this newly revised edition, including the origin of life, evolution, cell biology, reproduction, physiology, and botany. The step-by-step, clearly structured format of Biology makes it fully accessible to all levels of students, providing an easily understood, comprehensive treatment of all aspects of life science.

Like all Self-Teaching Guides, Biology allows you to build gradually on what you have learned-at your own pace. Questions and self-tests reinforce the information in each chapter and allow you to skip ahead or focus on specific areas of concern. Packed with useful, up-to-date information, this clear, concise volume is a valuable learning tool and reference source for anyone who needs to master the science of life.

Customer Reviews:

Easy to learn, great reference for college biology.......2004-09-05

I found this book to help me to clarify the concepts learned in my biology textbook. Cell biology, Evolution, Origin of Life and Animal Physiology were explained with simple language. It was actually more enjoyable to read then my textbook. What I really found outstanding was the following which I got on amazon--
The Ultimate Study Guide for Biology: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations (Volume 1 isbn;1933023007, Volume 2 isbn; 1933023015, Volume 3 isbn; 1933023023)
These 3 study guides had similar questions to my college biology exams. Well worth the investment because it made my studying much more effective.

Best Biology Book Ever Written.......2004-01-04

For the money you can't beat Steven Daniel Garber's biology book, "Biology: A Self-Teaching Guide." He has done what virtually no one has ever been able to do. Explain biology in clear, succinct, beautiful brushstrokes that actually get each and every important concept and term across to both the casual reader and the frantic student trying to cram before the next exam. Garber has a knack for telling a story. Any story. Be it about insect blood or about impulses traveling down a nerve cell. He only says what the reader must know. No frills. But he always says it beautifully. In a manner that actually makes this book hard to put down. Now tell me the same thing about another biology book in the history of the world. I'll bet you can't. He's the best technical writer ever. And I mean ever.

Biology: A Self-Teaching Guide.......2002-12-20

Clear, succinct, explains everything really well. I wish all my texts were this easy to understand.

Not a good survey of the material.......2000-04-04

Do not be misled by the generally high quality of Mr. Garber's previous work. The "self-teaching" guide is more vocabulary list than textbook. Critical missing features include (a) some notion of life as _process_ rather than a lengthy list of elements of cell anatomy, (b) poikilothermy appears in end-of-chapter questions, but the text does not compare it with homeothermy in any useful way, (c) comparative anatomy illustrations are not drawn to scale, making it difficult to make appropriate comparisons. The vocabulary lists and end-of-chapter multiple choice questions would save a first-year teaching assistant some time preparing for classes for non-majors. The book is not much help in acquiring a general understanding of the basic science.

Calcium in Biology (Self-Teaching Guide)

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Calcium in Biology (Self-Teaching Guide)

Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Biochemistry | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Physiology | Basic Science | Medicine | Subjects | Books

Life's Basis: Biomolecules (Self-Teaching Guides)

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Life's Basis: Biomolecules (Self-Teaching Guides)
Gary E. Parker , and Thomas Robert Mertens
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Physical Anthropology, Human Evolution (Wiley self-teaching guides)

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Physical Anthropology, Human Evolution (Wiley self-teaching guides)
Ivan G. Pawson
Manufacturer: Univ Microfilms Intl
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0471672807

Plant Life Cycles (Self-teaching Guides)

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Plant Life Cycles (Self-teaching Guides)
Thomas Robert Mertens , and Forrest F. Stevenson
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Biological science, a self-teaching study guide to accompany The human organism and the world of life, ([U.S. War dept.] Education manual EM 496)

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Biological science, a self-teaching study guide to accompany The human organism and the world of life, ([U.S. War dept.] Education manual EM 496)
Frank Gary Brooks
Manufacturer: Pub. for the United States armed forces by Harper & brothers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Natural History | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007FQDB8

Book Description

Footprint Andalucía, thoroughly revised and updated for this fifth edition, is the one-stop practical guide to this seductive region. Containing detailed coverage of Granada, Seville, and Córdoba, this guide features the best places to sleep and eat from paradores to paella stalls, activities including rock climbing and beach lounging, and the full range of festivals and special events — all set in the context of the region’s colorful history dating back to Roman times.

Footprint Andalucia Handbook: The Travel Guide (3rd Edition)

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Buildings and Birds

Footprint Andalucia Handbook: The Travel Guide (3rd Edition)
Rowland Mead
Manufacturer: Footprint Handbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

Footprint Handbooks | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1900949830

Customer Reviews:

Buildings and Birds.......2001-07-05

This book covers the architectural and natural wonders of Andalusia, but skimps on helpful information about restaurants, shopping, and to some extent, lodging.

Book Description

Children discover and explore the rich heritage of ancient cultures around the world through fascinating myths, legends, festivals, and stories of the culture. Detailed maps and vivid illustrations show how various people lived and what they accomplished. Each book in this popular series contains five easy-to-do art projects- complete with unique punch-out stencils for making many of the traditional arts and crafts still produced today. Ages 8+

Customer Reviews:

Ideal workbook for social studies classes teaching diversity.......2006-06-17

This workbook is an excellent introduction to the culture of the Inuit people of Alaska. It starts with a short description of their location, traditions, and a folk tale. This is followed by a set of stencils depicting the creatures of the Inuit mythology. They can be removed from the book and used to make trace drawings. It ends with a series of projects involving the making of traditional Inuit items.
An ideal workbook for social studies classes teaching the diversity of world cultures, I strongly recommend it for late elementary and middle schools. It can also be used by children who just want to learn more about the Inuit.

Book Description

This book describes a powerful and flexible technique for modeling of behavior, based on evolutionary principles.

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DYNAMIC MODELING IN BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY.
M. And c. Clark Mangel
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WQ5BOW

Book Description

This book explains how precise numerical analysis is constructed with C++. Included is a CD-ROM which contains executable Windows 95 programs for the PC and which demonstrates how these programs can be used to solvetypical problems of elementary numerical analysis with precision. The book also provides exercises which illustrate points from the text and references for the methods presented.

. Ordinary differential equation solver demos

. Numerical integration demos

. Polynomial root finder demos

. Complete demo C++text files

. Book explains all methods demos use

This book is an excellent choice as a text for a course in numerical analysis for advanced undergraduate or graduate students. It is also an invaluable reference for anyone concerned with precise numerical solutions to common engineering problems.

Customer Reviews:

Solid treatment of material........1999-11-23

The author presents a useful compilaton of concepts with the sort of rigor and completeness that is important for analysts and programmers to adopt. You would probably need to review the appendix to know if your particular area(s) of interest are covered. I will say that all general concepts are covered to some degree, but "obviously" it is impossible to hit all the side streets. The book isn't a monster, so if you want to explore something specific... you'll have to extrapolate the concepts on your own. Thankfully, this book makes it easy to do so.

In my opinion, the inclusion of software was a real treat for those that want/need to get their hands dirty to understand the concepts. Much appreciated! As a negative mark, I'm a fan of keeping the software on the disk and the program listings out of the text. On the plus side, no printer needed? :->

I had a fairly strong reaction to Tim's review. I appreciate what he's trying to say, but I REALLY don't believe the author should be weighed down by a requirement to produce code for re-use. More frankly, if you intend to lift someone else's work as your own... this is probably not the resource for you. There are a number of legitimate repositories (NASA, Univ of GA, others) where you can purchase analytical routines for your purposes.

Gosh... should I even have to say this? I suppose if you want to xerox a few chapters for your dissertation, I *also* suggest you go elsewhere.

Back to seriousness, the code in the book was easy to follow, and mine are the words of a programming novice, even. Buy the book, read it, learn something. Good book.

Good presentation of an important subject.......1999-06-17

This text is a very good presentation of important material that is not readily available elsewhere. The author provides intuitition, mathematical rigor at a reasonable and effective level, and working source code for ready-to-use programs on disk. He chose his subjects well, focusing on numerical integration, root finding, linear equation solution, eigenstructure, optimization, and ordinary differential equations (including boundary value problems). This covers the majority of what is needed in practice. His discussions of techniques for keeping track of error limits at each stage of computation, and thus enabling computation of results to arbitrary and known accuracy, is rigorous enough to satisfy most critics, yet it can be understood by anyone with a solid grounding in undergraduate calculus. I do have two criticisms. First, no explicit algorithms appear in the book. The mathematical developments are complete, but very far from concise. I would give a lot if he presented each technique as a page or two of ALGOL or some other rigorous algorithm specification. Going from mathematics and intuition to practice involves a huge leap. Second, his source code is exceptionally poorly commented. More specifically, he has practically no comments at all. To add insult to injury, his coding style is confusing. He has an extremely annoying habit of placing multiple unrelated C++ statements on each line, resulting in programs that are very short and wide. Because the algorithms are quite complicated, it is often ridiculously difficult to figure out what is going on in the software. In fairness, it should be emphasized that many people would not be bothered by these problems. They are frustrating to me because of the way I use such texts. I am a consulting programmer who develops specialized scientific and numerical apps. As such, I regularly use numerical library routines. My shelves are lined with these books, and my subroutines library is extensive. But I write the routines myself, often in assembler for speed, or with special features. I cannot use canned routines. Thus, my task of using this text to extend my subroutine library to fill in gaping holes involving exact computation, is extremely frustrating. Between not having any algorithms stated in the text, and having to fight my way through cryptic source code on disk, I tear out what little remains of my hair. It is like having a luscious treat dangled just barely within reach. You can get it, but a lot of effort is needed. I do not wish to end on this down note. Overall, the material is important and presented quite well. This is a book that definitely belongs in the library of any programmer who regularly uses numerical methods. I recommend it.

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He does it again

LET US NOW PAY HOMAGE TO UNCLE GORE

Gore Vidal..Just About the Best!

Vidal sharpens his knives once more

PRESCIENT, PROFOUND, AND ENTERTAINING: CLASSIC GORE VIDAL

The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000
Gore Vidal
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Vidal, Gore | ( V ) | Authors, A-Z | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

United States

Decline and Fall of the American Empire (The Real Story Series)

Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

Dreaming War: Blood for Oil and the Cheney-Bush Junta

Imperial America: Reflections on the United States of Amnesia

ASIN: 037572639X
Release Date: 2002-06-11

Book Description

Like his National Book Award—winning United States, Gore Vidal’s scintillating ninth collection, The Last Empire, affirms his reputation as our most provocative critic and observer of the modern American scene. In the essays collected here, Vidal brings his keen intellect, experience, and razor-edged wit to bear on an astonishing range of subjects. From his celebrated profiles of Clare Boothe Luce and Charles Lindbergh and his controversial essay about the Bill of Rights–which sparked an extended correspondence with convicted Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh–to his provocative analyses of literary icons such as John Updike and Mark Twain and his trenchant observations about terrorism, civil liberties, the CIA, Al Gore, Tony Blair, and the Clintons, Vidal weaves a rich tapestry of personal anecdote, critical insight, and historical detail. Written between the first presidential campaign of Bill Clinton and the electoral crisis of 2000, The Last Empire is a sweeping coda to the last century’s conflicted vision of the American dream.

Customer Reviews:

He does it again.......2006-07-05

I'm delighted with my recent purchase, "The Last Empire" By Gore Vidal. Its combination of literary, political and pop culture essays was replete with fresh information and insights, and I was pleased with its lack of political correctness. Although a few of the essays run on a little too long, the prose sparkles. The man is a genius. I wish, as Gore certainly does, that he were 20 years younger so he could keep up the good work.

LET US NOW PAY HOMAGE TO UNCLE GORE.......2006-04-09

In The Last Empire, Gore Vidal mentions Jean Paul Sartre, "...who once observed that the bourgeoisie theater will put up with the most harshly accurate depiction of the human case, as long as there is no hint that a solution might exist. What is, is, and must ever be." Almost all the essays in this book, like almost all the ones that have earned Uncle Gore the title of the finest essayist of our time, aim to destroy this "What is, is, and must ever be." And they succeed brilliantly. Their content, let us say, is enormously critical to their success; but even more critically, Gore Vidal's essays succeed because he is the finest American non-fiction prose stylist and humorist since Mark Twain.

The last time I saw Uncle Gore on TV was two years ago or so, looking good and saying, "Fighting terrorism is like fighting dandruff." A couple of other recent-to-me Vidal comments are, and I paraphrase, "One's sexual practices have nothing to do with anything except one's sexual practices." And, "Of course African-Americans drop out of school before going to college, out of boredom not incompetence." Like many of Vidal's comments, these may initially sound implausible or sincere but struck off for popular consumption, but upon mature reflection, as they say, their literal truth is undeniable.

From The Last Empire, here are three more gems of Vidal's wonderful prose style and humor-while-rocking-the-ship, followed by his tribute to the man I opine is his favorite fellow American anti-imperialist and humorist:

Gem 1 - "Most establishment American journalists tend to be like their writing, and so, duly warned by the tinkle of so many leper-bells, one avoids their company."

Gem 2 - "...who would care about Pericles today had he not given a sublime funeral oration - as reported by General Thucydides, Retired - in which he reminded the Athenians that an empire like theirs, no matter how larcenously acquired, is a very dangerous thing to let go? Ditto now, as Perot would say."

Gem 3 - "Even our wise hero, Edmund Wilson, didn't really write all that good himself."

Finally, Vidal's tribute - "Mark Twain is our only...Mark Twain....(His) is simply a voice like no other."

So is Uncle Gore's.

Gore Vidal..Just About the Best!.......2005-05-28

Though definitely far from perfect, Mr. Vidal's wry comments, and sharp eye for nitwits and blather, always make for entertaining, and thought provoking reading! He has some nice things to say about Charles Linbergh, and even praises much of the politics and courage of the #1 Crooner, Frank Sinatra,(at least during Frank's early progressive days). Gore may be a bit harsh on Mr. Updike, calling him about the only pro-Vietnam War author out there, and someone who near blindly goes along with the politicians on war and peace. His assault on Updike's novel "In the Field of the Lilies" is definitely over the top. (I though it was a fine book!). He has nothing good to say about Pres. Truman, in Mr. Vidal's opinion the founder of the National Security State, and his comments on 1954 Guatemala are truly a revelation! His tales about Clare Luce and his ambivalence about FDR also provide amusement and some serious thought. And when he learns 47 years later that none other than Thomas Mann was reading his early book CITY AND PILLAR, he is most pleased, to say the least! Even if one does not always agree with Mr. Vidal, he always provides more than money's worth of hilarity and provocation!

Vidal sharpens his knives once more.......2004-02-11

A collection of Gore Vidal's essays covering the years 1992-2000, "The Last Empire" is a fine addendum of sorts to the epic "United States."

Vidal is once more concerned primarily with the subjects of art and politics, and he's at his best when his two preoccupations meet, as they do several times in this volume. Vidal, perhaps out of rivalry, perhaps out of genuine contempt resulting from objective analysis, makes a meal out of author John Updike in "Rabbit's Own Burrow," the lengthy essay that may be the highlight of this collection. When Vidal brings out his carving knives, you may sometimes pity whomever he deigns to dine on, but you're likely to be satisfied with the feast he serves.

Vidal can be nice, too, and his thoughts on Frank Sinatra shortly after the crooner's death, are enlightening for anyone who squirmed at the sight of the Voice's seemingly illogical embrace of conservative politics after a lifetime of populism. Elsewhere, in his reaction to the death of Richard Nixon, you're not entirely sure where he stands. Vidal seems to have a grudging respect for the man he did so much to villify.

Vidal's massive ego takes to the stage in "A Note on The City and the Pillar and Thomas Mann" in which he shares with us entries from Mann's diary praising...Vidal! It could almost be too much to take if Vidal weren't so amusing even at his most insufferable.

Vidal is the last of the great curmudgeons, but unlike most of that breed, he resists being fully lovable. His sense of superiority keeps even some of his most avid admirers at arm's length, but whether one agrees with his views or not, he never fails to make you think and to laugh.

PRESCIENT, PROFOUND, AND ENTERTAINING: CLASSIC GORE VIDAL.......2003-10-31

Gore Vidal is one of those writers who always challenges, excites, and stirs up my thinking. While I do not fully endorse all of the views in "THE LAST EMPIRE: ESSAYS 1992-2000", I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. He is one of the best.

In terms of clarity of thought and analysis, Gore writes on subjects as varied as Sinclair Lewis, Mark Twain, JFK, FDR, Truman, Charles Lindbergh, John Updike (one of the funniest, most thoughtful and scathing essays in the book), "bad history", race relations, and the U.S. political system.

Here are two examples of the passion and conviction Vidal brings to this book:

1) "...I invite the Senate to contemplate Vice President Aaron Burr's farewell to the body over which he himself had so ably presided: 'This house is a sanctuary, a citadel of law, of order, and of liberty; and it is here in this exalted refuge; here, if anywhere, will resistance be made to the storm of political frenzy and the silent arts of corruption; and if the Constitution be destined ever to perish by the sacrilegious hands of the demagogue or the usurper, which God avert, its expiring agonies will be witnessed on this floor.' Do no harm to this state, Conscript Fathers." (essay on 'Birds and Bees and Clinton')

2) "What will the next four years bring? With luck, total gridlock. ... With bad luck (and adventures), Chancellor Cheney will rule. A former Secretary of Defense, he has said that too little money now goes to the Pentagon even though last year it received 51 percent of the discretionary budget. Expect a small war or two in order to keep military appropriations flowing. There will also be tax relief for the very rich. But bad scenario or good scenario, we shall see very little of the charmingly simian George W. Bush. The military - Cheney, Powell, et al. - will be calling the tune, and the whole nation will be on constant alert, for, James Baker has already warned us, Terrorism is everywhere on the march. We cannot be too vigilant. Welcome to Asuncion. Yes! We have no bananas."
The Nation 8/15 January 2001 (Essay on 'Democratic Vistas')

Download Description

Nobody makes the fur fly in a more elegant and civilized fashion than Gore Vidal. A new collection of provocative, witty, and eloquent essays displays his unparalleled range and inimitable style as he deals with matters literary, historical, personal, and political.

Customer Reviews:

Great.......2007-07-30

The narration is below par but the book is so great that you'll want to save this one for that long drive.

Gore Vidal. The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000. : An article from: World Literature Today

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Gore Vidal. The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000. : An article from: World Literature Today
Marvin J. LaHood
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from World Literature Today, published by University of Oklahoma on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 663 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Gore Vidal. The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000.
Author: Marvin J. LaHood
Publication: World Literature Today (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: University of Oklahoma
Volume: 76 Issue: 2 Page: 160(1)

Article Type: Book Review

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