Introductions to the subject

Biology: the unity and diversity of life

C. Starr and R. Taggart 10th edn, Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2004, 933pp. Includes CD-ROM and access to INFOTRAC, $120.95. ISBN 0534274137.

www.info.brookscole.com/starr10 [COMPANION]

Good undergraduate textbook covering all areas of the biological sciences. Introduction followed by seven parts: Principles of cellular life; Principles of inheritance; Principles of evolution; Evolution and biodiversity; Plant structure and function; Animal structure and function; Ecology and behaviour. Glossary; Subject and Application indexes. Accompanying website includes links to related sites, quizzes, tutorials.

Calculus for biology and medicine

C. Neuhauser 2nd edn, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004, 822pp. $128.00. ISBN 0131234412.

Written exclusively for students in the biological and medical sciences showing throughout how calculus can help understand phenomena in nature.

1st edn 2000.

Experimenting with humans and animals: from Galen to animal rights

A. Guerrini Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003, 165pp. $18.95. ISBN 0801871972.

Seven chapters: Bodies of evidence; Animals, machines, and morals; Disrupting God's plan; Cruelty and kindliness; The microbe hunters; Polio and primates; Conclusion: Human rights, animal rights, and the conduct of science.

Series: Johns Hopkins Introductory Studies in the History of Science.

Five kingdoms: an illustrated guide to the phyla of life on earth

L. Margulis and K.V. Schwartz See entry no. 2848

A history of molecular biology (Histoire de la biologie moléculaire)

M. Morange Harvard University Press, 1998, 336pp. Translated by Matthew Cobb, $22.95. ISBN 0674001699.

21 chapters in three parts: The birth of molecular biology; The development of molecular biology; The expansion of molecular biology. Appendix gives definition of terms. Well written – and well translated – volume. Good, rather different, introduction to this arena.

‘Well-researched and clearly written … Morange is critical of the triumphalist and reductionist claims of molecular biology, and ends the book by reflecting on its place in the life sciences. Writing from Paris, he is able to stand back from the orthodox story with its focus on ‘les Anglo-Saxons’, giving credit to others such as Nobel prize-winners André Lwoff, Jacques Monod and François Jacob.’ (New Scientist)

Human molecular biology: an introduction to the molecular language of health and disease R.J. Epstein See entry no. 3570