
Ask HN: Best general Biology book? - OisinMoran
Studying EE and have realized that my knowledge of basic biology, among other things, is quite poor and want to improve it.<p>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 &amp; physics background and a solid chemistry base to work from so I won&#x27;t shy away from anything that gets nitty gritty and may actually prefer that.<p>Would also love any recommendations for the best online courses of the same. Open to anything!<p>Thanks!
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gus_massa
Here the "standard" initial biology book is the Curtis:
[https://www.amazon.com/Biology-Helena-
Curtis/dp/087901394X](https://www.amazon.com/Biology-Helena-
Curtis/dp/087901394X)

It's targeted to first year biology students, so it's light in the math part.

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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.

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OisinMoran
Ooh thanks that's sounds great I'll have to give it a look!

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0x54MUR41
I would recommend "Campbell Biology". This book is usually used for olympiad
preparation. But, you may check it out first.

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mikecke
Campbell biology

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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).

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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.

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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.)

