Biology
#681 of 2,654 all-time
Biology
Peter Raven
10 people recommended it in 5 threads, 2010–2023.
What people on Hacker News said
To add context to the "hard" scientific content, there are also interviews with leading researchers in biology who provide their points of view on the main themes of the book.
Nonetheless, it is a superb entry-level college textbook that covers the entire breadth of modern biology.
The text is very understandable and gives more background information than is needed for a typical introductory lecture to any given topic (while still emphasizing the salient points so you don't get confused).
Plus, the illustrations are simply excellent: pretty to look at and a huge help for understanding.
On the whole, I find it to be one of the most aesthetically pleasing textbooks I know.
As an aside, I wish I had an iPad version of that biology text when I took that class, if only because it was a monster book that weighed down my backpack.
Having used Raven's biology text, which is a good textbook but would've tremendously benefited from something like this because of how much data you need to retain for biology, this makes me pretty excited for THE FUTURE.
Where it comes up
- Inkling: interactive textbooks on the iPad. 2010 · 4 recommendations
- OpenStax – openly licensed textbooks 2018 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: What's the best textbook you've read? 2018 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read? 2023 · 1 recommendation
- A Brief History of the College Textbook Pricing Racket 2016 · 1 recommendation