Thanks for the suggestions for an intro bio text. Several people =20 asked me to post my replies. They are posted below without attribution.
Mike I think the new 8th ed. of Campbells is your best choice for the =20 following reasons: This is an introductory course and if you find single texts that =20 may be too advanced for your students. Campbell is designed for a =20 two semester course as your describing and you may want to examine =20 the new 8th ed there have been some significant new changes from the =20 7th ed. and finally... your students would have to buy 2 text books vs. one =20 and they would probably complain about that. ******************* Take a look at Freeman and Herron "Evolutionary Analysis" from =20 Prentice Hall. If I had a course on evolution, that would be my =20 text. Instead I use it as a supplement in my Ecology and Evolution =20 class. I think it's excellent especially the first chapter on HIV =20 and "evolutionary thinking", and the many examples and applications =20 for Hardy-Weinberg. ***************** I will be interested to see the responses you receive. I have similar =20= concerns and am hoping to drag my department away from Campbell. =20 Lawson's =93Biology: an inquiry approach=94 seems like a potential =20 alternative to Campbell, but sadly I haven't' been able to make time =20 to get beyond the pretty cover. It may not be an appropriate single =20 semester text but seems heavy on evolution, diversity, and ecology. ***************** I would encourage you to contact the publisher. Many publishers will =20 now tailor a text to your specific needs. We had Campbell and Reece =20 customized to our needs. I don't know the price, but I believe it was =20= less expensive for the students. It was thinner and came in a soft =20 cover form--so the students could bring it to class. Basically, they =20 put together whatever chapters we requested. I am now teaching Intro =20= Bio at Quinnipiac University and using: Audesirk, Teresa and Gerald =20 Audesirk. 2008. Biology: Life on Earth. 8th Edition. Prentice Hall, =20 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. 636pp. I definitely DO NOT recommend this text. It does not cover any topic =20 in enough detail to let students get beyond a very cursory =20 understanding. ************************ I'm a recent Carleton alum and though this is an obviously biased =20 recommendation (as one of my profs was an author) I really liked the =20 into textbook we used: Raven...and Singer. ************************** Dr. Michael C. Swift Biology Dept. St. Olaf College 1520 St. Olaf Ave. Northfield, MN 55057 Tel: 507-786-3886 Fax: 507-786-3968
