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Ask HN: Best general Biology book?

13 points by OisinMoran ↗ HN
Studying EE and have realized that my knowledge of basic biology, among other things, is quite poor and want to improve it.

Quite interested in neuroscience, genetics and a bit of nutrition but looking for a broad and thorough book that starts from the basics. I have a good math & physics background and a solid chemistry base to work from so I won't shy away from anything that gets nitty gritty and may actually prefer that.

Would also love any recommendations for the best online courses of the same. Open to anything!

Thanks!

12 comments

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mfn
I'm currently reading through 'The Machinery of Life' by David Goodsell, and I'm really enjoying the intuitive explanations it has of the basic workings of cells. It's not a textbook by any means, but it provides a gentle intro to thinking about biological systems and seems like a great starting point.
OisinMoran
Ooh thanks that's sounds great I'll have to give it a look!
mikecke
Campbell biology
OisinMoran
Great thanks! I think my friend studying biochem may have this to lend. He didn't seem entirely sure that it was the best out there though, would you disagree?
sn9
It's the standard intro text and it's good enough.

I don't know that it stands head and shoulders above comparable texts, but it does what it sets out to do.

I believe it comes with a study guide which can be useful for self-study.

If the cost of a book is unappetizing, MIT's Intro to Biology on edx is great and free.

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veddox
That's the standard introductory book we use at university. (Introductory meaning that most of it will see you through to your bachelor degree.) I find it a very good book with clear explanations and well-designed graphics. A nearly equivalent option would be Purves.

Downsides: if you're only looking for a cursory introduction to a few themes, it's probably going to be too thick (weighs in at ~9 pounds) and too expensive (> $100).

caw
Only if you buy the newest edition; an older edition should work fine for self-study since there's no classes to keep up with, and OP won't need the online component. I'm sure there's significantly cheaper copies of older editions where people just want to get that behemoth out of their bookcase.
sn9
I think the rule of thumb is that biology textbooks are 5 years out of date by the time they're published, so getting a slightly older edition is very practical.
veddox
True - and as the OP doesn't want to go into research, a few years out of date won't matter. (After all, it's not like there's been any major breakthrough in biology in the past ten years.)
0x54MUR41
I would recommend "Campbell Biology". This book is usually used for olympiad preparation. But, you may check it out first.