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intereact!Peter H. Raven, Ray F. Evert, Susan E. Eichhorn
Edition: 7
Retail Price (not our price): $140.60
ISBN: 0716710072
ISBN-13: 9780716710073
Publication Date: 2004-12-17
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 944
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5
1) The Bible of Plant Biology [Rating: 4 out of 5]
You know, Raven's Biology of Plants is the Bible of plant biologists, but I'm just not a great fan of it. Campbell's Biology (anything over the 5th edition) does a better job of explaining photosynthesis and if a book ON plant biology is trumped on perhaps THE most important aspect of plant biology by a book of general biology, I find that quite sad. Descriptions and examples were not always the best choices. There is nothing in here that excited me about plant biology and I'm a plant biologist. The text is flat.Good coverage on all the major plant lineages. A bit weak in the evolution department. Not that it is absent, just thin. Putting the ecology chapters online and still trying to sell this as part of the text is ...ahem...borderline dishonest. If I wanted an eBook, I'd buy an eBook. When I want a text in my hand, I expect it to be all there. What am I to do should I need to reference those chapters in the field? Not that I would ever take this text into the field. It's just not all that.2) Good overview of plant biology [Rating: 5 out of 5]
The book, which covers all major aspects in plant biology, is a good reference for students. In the 7th edition some aspects are treated more in deep, including current knowledge and using a plain language and effective figures. Two chapters on ecology lack, but actually I do not miss them, because their themes, though undoubtedly important, are treated by disciplines other than botany.3) Way too general [Rating: 3 out of 5]
Even though many teachers recommend this book, its information is way too general for a serious botany course. For example, if you want information on about Division Anthocerotophyta, you'll only find about 5 paragraphs. It is a good book for general doubts, but once you want deeper knowledge, I would really recommend Bold's Morphology of Plants and Fungi. Don't be tacken aback by its publication date (1987): it is still the most used and reverenced book on the subject. It's the Bible of botanists (just like the Alberts for Molecular Biologists), and it will come in handy whenever you study algae or fungi also.4) Great books [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I bought this at Amazon.com from an Awesome Deal I found on DailyTool.com. Good price I got for this book.5) Lame shortcut, However good information [Rating: 2 out of 5]
An extremely informative series (Biology of plants versions) well written and in depth. They ruined it with the 7th edition however, by putting two chapters( the ones on ecology) on the internet. So the book, even though it says it's 800 and some pages, actually is thinner than the old 6th version. Our teacher couldn't believe they had done this, as this was part of the curriculum. So, not only would we have to pay about $120 for this book, but also have to print about 100 pages.... That's a sick way to make more money out of books, i'm tired of book companies screwing students just to make some more money. I returned the 7th edition and got the 6th edition, which has basically the same information and ALL the chapters included in the book!I don't like being this harsh, because i absolutely love the information this book has. Reading it has added another dimension to my understanding of plants. The Ecology chapters missing in the 7th edition are awesome reads, however and probably contain the best real world information that students should have. As such, i have to praise the 6th edition for it has changed my life for the better!!! :)