ISBN: 0072933569
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Avg Cusomer Rating: 4
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Summary: A Good Introductory Textbook
I found Marine Biology by Castro to be a fairly good introductory textbook to marine biology. The reading is not too technically difficult that an average high schooler could comprehend most of what is said without becoming lost in science talk. There are plenty of pictures and diagrams to supplement the reading and make the pages appealing to the eye without boring you to death. However, as most academic textbooks go, reading alone is almost never enough to fully understand the material. I used this book as part of an introduction to marine biology course and found it to be very helpful to read before lectures. It can be a little dry at times and hardly goes into full detail of topics, but being an introductory book, it fully met the needs of my course. Overall, it's a good textbook that I'd recommend to someone taking an introductory course to marine biology.
Summary: Marine Biology w/ OLC bind-in card (Hardcover)
This book when purchased NEW is shrinkwrapped and has the ISBN 0-07-293356-9. The shrinkwrapped package contains the Marine Biology textbook (ISBN 0-07-250934-1) which contains "The Premium McGraw-Hill Online Resources" access code (ISBN 0-0-250935-X). If you are buying a used book keep in mind that the online access code may only be used once and is not transferable, so if any of the previous owners have used the code it will not work for you. If your instructor uses Blackboard or WebCT, you may NEED a valid access code. A new access codes may be purchased from the McGraw-Hill "Premium" Site for $12 if you get stuck with a used book without a valid OLC code.
The book is great, I highly recommend it to anybody interested in the subject. For instructors though, I feel that this book based on the length and the number of chapters is probably better suited for classes on the Semester system (16 weeks) rather than those on the Term system (11 weeks.)
Summary: Excellent for newcomers and veterans alike
Anytime you look for a sourcebook on a specialized topic such as Marine Biology, you want to make sure it covers all the groundwork. By that, I mean the full foundation of the field needs to be established. What Castro and Huber might lack in specifics, they make up for by encompassing the true nature of Marine Biology and what it entails.
For anyone new to Marine Biology, this is the book to go with. It is well structured and covers everything in an instructive, yet simple to understand manner. There are a plethora of illustrations, diagrams, and tables to help aid the reader, and the text is well placed. The information touches most everything, including the very nature of Marine Biology, the habitats involved, the diversity presented, and even man's impact on the stature of the subject. I have no complaints on the presentation, and any inexperienced learner should find themselves involved in a very fascinating subject.
For those already experienced in Marine Biology, there is still much included that will catch your eye. Although the text is obviously leant for beginning, I found myself quite interested in much of the text and enjoyed analyzing and recalling sections of the field that I hadn't dealt with or devoted time to for months or even years.
There are some weaknesses, but most are minor or insignificant. Because Marine Biology is such a diverse field, it is near impossible to include EVERYTHING the subject entails. This text leaves some intriguing (albeit small) parts out, but overall I did not feel cheated about what I might have missed. There was also little focus on evolutionary associations, but then again, this is designed for a beginner and I expected little in this regard.
Overall, one way or the other, I feel that Castro and Huber have really developed a text that is very nearly a "can't miss" in Marine Biology. I recommend it to anyone, from the newest pupil to the most experienced professor. The bottom line is that you WILL learn.
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