|
Description: For courses in Vertebrate Zoology, Vertebrate Biology Function, and Paleontology. Widely praised for its comprehensive coverage and exceptionally clear writing style, this best-selling and up-to-date exploration of vertebrate life employs a phylogenetic perspective and utilizes an evolutionary theme to integrate ecology, behavior, anatomy, and physiology.
|
|
Review Summary: DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!!! |
Date: 2008-11-17 |
|
| |
|
Details: Unless this book is specifically required by a class in which you're currently enrolled, you should NOT buy this book! I bought this book, but when I went to their website to download the web content, Pearson told me that ONLY qualified employed instructors were allowed to not only look at the content, but download it as well. This INCLUDES ALL OF THE COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE BOOK. They published the book in two-colour ink, black and blue, to save on costs by providing the colour images from their website. You will not be given access to these colour images by the publishers!!! In my opinion, this publisher is just ripping off people's money, and giving them a misrepresented product which is inferior in quality. If you have a choice of which vertebrate zoology text to buy, DO NOT BUY ONE FROM PEARSON PUBLISHING!!! They're still giving me the runaround just to even LOOK at the pictures from this textbook which I already purchased($>100!!!). I may end up returning it if no resolution is reached!!! |
| |
|
Review Summary: Enthusiastically recommended as a college-level text. |
Date: 1999-03-12 |
|
| |
|
Details: Vertebrate Life would serve as an excellent upper-level college textbook to anyone interested in becoming informed about vertebrates. Professionally, I am a physicist, who after visiting the American Museum of Natural History's Hall of Vertebrates, wanted to learn more about the subject. Even after reading Vertebrate Life, I don't think that I could point out the squamate bone on a fossilized skull. On the other hand, with 733 pages, it is unfair to critize this book about a lack of coverage! The authors provide several pages of excellent references at the end of each chapter. So, if I really wanted to be able to identify a squamate bone, I'm sure that I could have found out from one of references. However, I was troubled by a number of typos, some of the them serious. Figure 15-3 appears to have the second half of the figure repeated as the first half. It would have been nice to see missing illustrations. Figure 3-6b identifies the Otic capsule as "Optic capsule" at one point. This confused me for a while. Even with all this, I was fascinated by what I read, and read the entire book, cover to cover, all 733 pages worth. For the serious student of our natural world, I would recommend spending full price for this book, and plan on spending more than a few hours with it. |
| |
|
out of 2 Reviews
