Concepts of Biology

Read more about Concepts of Biology

Reviewed by Rebekkah Vail, Biology adjunct professor, University of Saint Francis on 7/10/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This textbook has all of the units we typically cover in BIOL 122. It is written for college non-biology majors and actually has more information than we can utilize in a single semester class. It is easy to link to the syllabus and Canvas and has additional information if students need to look deeper. The Table of Contents has easy to use links. This book does not have enough information on human evolution, tissues, or the integumentary system (all in the syllabus and lab for BIOL 122) as the CK-12 College Human Biology textbook does.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Thus far, I have not found any inaccuracies. Content is factual, well diagramed and easy to read.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Because this is a digital book, it can easily be updated as information changes. It is also easy (and cheap) to order a hard copy of the book. This book does not have the interesting case studies at the beginning of chapters like the CK-12 College Human Biology text has.

Clarity rating: 4

While this book is written in an easy-to-read way with bold-faced terms, they are not hyper-linked to provide more information. There are no embedded videos that may give students more information like the CK-12 College Human Biology text has.

Consistency rating: 4

This book can be used out of sequence with vocabulary terms in bold. But this book does not have hyperlinks that refer a student back to previous information like the CK-12 College Human Biology text has.

Modularity rating: 5

Each section can be used as a stand-alone reading assignment. Relevant information can easily be linked to syllabus and Canvas like CK-12 College Human Biology text has.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Like the CK-12 College Human Biology text, this text also has an easily organized, sub-headed table of contents.

Interface rating: 5

I have not found any bad links, charts or diagrams that do not display, etc. It also has a highlighting tool that allows students to condense important information.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not noticed any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This book has more diagrams and photos of Caucasian people than of people of color. It is not culturally insensitive or offensive.

While Open Stax Concepts of Biology is an acceptable book to use with my BIOL 122 students, I would to prefer to use CK-12 College Human Biology. https://flexbooks.ck12.org/cbook/ck-12-college-human-biology-flexbook-2.0/
This was not one of the choices on the drop-down menu, so I could not review it, but I did a side-by-side review of both books.

Reviewed by Michellei Fisher, Lecturer, Leeward Community College on 11/20/22

This book provides a comprehensive foundational overview of biological concepts suitable for 100 level introductory biology courses. It is broken down into six units which cover diverse topics from cellular division and genetics to population. read more

Reviewed by Michellei Fisher, Lecturer, Leeward Community College on 11/20/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Although concepts are simplified as an introductory text, content is accurate and error-free. To my knowledge, I have not encountered any typos or major grammatical errors, broken hyperlinks/image files, or conceptual content errors in this textbook.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Content is up to date and covers major changes in the field of biology within the last 15 years including genetic cloning, genetically-modified organisms, and a modern approach to taxonomy. However, recent notable biotechnological breakthroughs are not discussed (i.e., CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing).

Clarity rating: 5

Text is written in an approachable manner that retains its technical accuracy. There are graphics and metaphors throughout which help illustrate more abstract concepts- instructors are provided these as .jpgs in the "Instructor Resources". The chapters are manageable for students and can be ready on average in about one hour.

Consistency rating: 5

Text is very consistent throughout, especially where employing more modern approaches to phylogeny and taxonomy. The chapter structures are consistent and at the end of each chapter, there is a list of key terms, a chapter summary, and review questions.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is broken down into six units and 21 chapters that easily lend itself to a modular format. I find that one chapter per module (about one week of work) works best for students in terms of content digestion, although if chapters are short I may assign two to a module. Chapters are not overly self-referential, and can be reorganized easily for course needs.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The layout of the book is intuitive- it begins with biochemistry and the cellular unit, working through tissues/organisms and genetics to end with a discussion of population ecology. This format ensures students have the foundational understanding of the cell before discussing items of higher organization.

Interface rating: 5

This book is exceptionally well formatted - I have not encountered any display or interface issues to date and haven't received any complaints from students.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not encountered any major grammatical or spelling errors in this book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This book is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way and makes efforts to include multi-cultural names in questions and examples. However, I feel that the book would have benefitted from inclusion of some additional cultural examples or interpretations of the concepts presented in the book.

Notably, the book includes free instructor resources like a quiz question bank (organized by chapter), pre-made PowerPoint slides, and other course materials I've found helpful. Students are also able to download the pdf directly rather than being limited to viewing it within an internet browser like some other OER texts. Overall, I can't recommend this book enough for the quality content and exceptional formatting.

Reviewed by Zhihan Carpenter, Adjunct Professor, Tidewater Community College on 7/30/22

The book covers all the major topics for an introductory biology course. The QR code makes it easy for tech-savvy students to access supplemental materials that provide them helps outside the classroom. The glossary is easy to navigate. read more

Reviewed by Zhihan Carpenter, Adjunct Professor, Tidewater Community College on 7/30/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content of the textbook is accurate. Some concepts are simplified but it is still level-appropriate for an introductory course.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content of the book is up-to-date. The text is written in a way that necessary updates will be relatively easy to be added, such as "Genetic Engineering" in chapter 10 Biotechnology.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written clearly and is easy to understand. The key terms and the chapter summary at the end of each chapter provide alternative explanations for major concepts.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent overall in terms of the formatting and the structure of each chapter. Some chapters are more developed than others in terms of the level of detail of the topics, but it is acceptable.

Modularity rating: 5

The content of the book is divided into six units, with three to five chapters within each unit of study. Each chapter begins with an introduction and ends with a summary followed by review and critical thinking questions. In the middle of each chapter, the text is easily divisible into shorter reading portions.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the book are clearly presented. The contents are very organized. Special content "Careers in Action" is helpful to students in making connections between concepts learned in class and the real world.

Interface rating: 5

The book is easy to read online. The images are informative and clear.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book has no major grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is written based on science and is culturally sensitive.

This is an excellent book for an introductory biology course. It is easy for students to access online for free. For some students, paper based books are preferred. It would be reaching out to more students if a print version is accessible for free. Thank you.

Reviewed by Evan Fiedler, Adjunct Faculty, Tidewater Community College on 7/18/22

The textbook is exceptionally organized. There are 6 essential units with content divided into 21 chapters. Prior to the content, there is an explanation of the use of the digital highlighter for students to make virtual notes. read more

Reviewed by Evan Fiedler, Adjunct Faculty, Tidewater Community College on 7/18/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Historically, evolution has been a hot topic in biology where there may be biased content. Not in this textbook, the evidence is presented (from fossils to homologous structures), and the key mechanisms of the process of speciation.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is being updated to current relevant changes in science. Including the coronavirus in the chapter on immunity (which opens with viruses as the topic), is evidence that this is achieved. I teach genetics as well, and the textbook includes a very thorough chapter on Genetic Engineering.

Clarity rating: 5

The sentences are well-written with key terms and concepts in bold. In addition, there are illustrations, video links, and questions to check for understanding.

Consistency rating: 5

Yes, the explanations gradually bring you into the content with relevant studies or historical events/facts, and then introduce terms and concepts.

Modularity rating: 5

Yes, from the Table of Contents, any chapter and/or subsection can be accessed with one click-of-a-button. And each subsection, has the content that you would expect in a collegiate-level textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Yes, the book is organized to align with College Biology being taught in two semesters. The units on chemistry, cells, respiration, photosynthesis, and biotechnology, precede the units on diversity of life.

Interface rating: 5

Yes, the textbook includes images/charts/graphs on almost every page; the clarity is excellent and the illustrations are relevant.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar appears flawless, and the authors make an effort to include sentences that are concise as well as informative.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text focuses on representations of life in the natural world. There does not appear to be any culturally insensitive material. Even in the section describing population growth, the explanations are unbiased, and the moral dilemma with a one-child policy is explained without criticism of China as a country. As a matter of fact, it is shared that several citizens of China still have more than one child.

I am really impressed with the thorough, up-to-date, relevant content in this textbook. It would be an excellent choice for General Biology courses.

Reviewed by May Coulson, Adjunct Faculty, City Colleges of Chicago on 5/27/22

Most of the chapters and information are sufficient for a basic non-majors biology course- I think the links with QR codes are appropriate for the tech savy student and still basic enough giving the specific website (URL) for those non-traditional. read more

Reviewed by May Coulson, Adjunct Faculty, City Colleges of Chicago on 5/27/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I think most of the material is accurate as can be, however being an open resource instructors have other options to supplement the materials if they choose to use this particular text source as their text book for the course.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

I think the connection to current event and other aspects that highlight applications to real world examples that a non major or even a majors student, who is not quite sure what field of Biology or science they want to pursue is helpful since Biology is NOT just about studying cells.

Clarity rating: 5

I think most of the content lay out is very clear for students to follow- again instructors may supplement and/or change the layout of the materials, for example I discuss photosynthesis before discussing cellular respiration in my general Biology courses.

Consistency rating: 4

I think for the most part the layout and way of organization of the materials is fairly consistent, I like the end of chapter glossary as well as questions that also include critical thinking questions to help students focus on the terminology as well as apply them to more thought engaging type of critical thinking types of assessments

Modularity rating: 5

Yes, I think each section of the topics are divided in an easy enough format. This appears to be similar to most publisher textbook layouts that I have used over many years

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Organization is fine
again instructors may supplement and/or change the layout of the materials, for example I discuss photosynthesis before discussing cellular respiration in my general Biology courses.

Interface rating: 4

Most of the figures, tables and graphs are very basic- free content, however depending on the institution if using this OER text as supplemental or perhaps instructor can supplement with other figures, tables, video etc.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

I did not notice any grammatical errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Overall I think this is a great basic biology text book, comparable to publisher (textbooks that cost more).

Reviewed by Kai Blaisdell, Visiting Assistant Professor, St. Mary's College of California on 5/28/21

Concepts of Biology includes almost everything that I would normally include in a one-semester General Biology course. In Chapter 5, I found the coverage of environmental adaptations in photosynthesis to lack depth, and I included another resource. read more

Reviewed by Kai Blaisdell, Visiting Assistant Professor, St. Mary's College of California on 5/28/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

One instructor resource is a list of errata that can be downloaded as a pdf; errors that have been found by users and updated. The list is short, and errors appear to have been corrected. I encountered no inaccuracies that affected my class.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Generally content and terminology are up to date. For example, I am pleased that the Citric Acid Cycle is not called by the older convention of “Krebs Cycle”. However the genetic engineering content could be updated. In Chapter 10 there is a link to a video about genetic engineering that was created in 2003, eighteen years ago. A simple explanation of CRISPR gene editing is needed.

Clarity rating: 5

Concepts of Biology is very clearly written, with a consistent layout that is easy to navigate. Each section opens with clearly stated learning objectives that I modify and add to my own teaching materials. Each chapter has an alphabetical list of key terms. Each section of a chapter is a good length and clearly written. The entire book can be searched for a particular word or phrase – there must be an exact match. For example, “genetic engineer” yields no results, while “genetic engineering” is found in two chapters.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is consistent both internally and with most conventions in the Biology Discipline. Chapter organization and writing style are consistent among all sections.

Modularity rating: 5

I am particularly pleased with the sections of the text. Bite-sized sections can be assigned to accompany lecture, video, practice questions, and in-class lecture or lab activities.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Sections and Chapters are organized in a manner similar to most mainstream Biology textbooks. The organization is such that it would be easy to include or omit entire sections. I can quickly find any topic through the Table of Contents.

Interface rating: 5

The first thing that I notice is the sleek, responsive, intuitive user interface of OpenStax; it is easy to navigate the table of contents to open a specific section of each chapter. Pearson has a similar but less responsive interface for its eBooks. Many of the images are just okay; some are fairly hard to see. Many images are quite nice, and I have used them in my teaching materials when teaching with a non-OER text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Generally I have not found grammatical errors. The text sometimes treats the word “data” as plural and other times as singular. The phrases “This data” and “these data” are both used.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This text could be improved by highlighting and showing images of a larger proportion of non-white, non-male researchers. Most researchers who are highlighted are historical, white, and male. As for non-scientists, examples appear to be culturally sensitive. The book has avoided some missteps common in other texts; for example Concepts of Biology thankfully does not focus on human populations in its explanation of life tables.

The cost of STEM textbooks is a true barrier for many students; a substantial number of students will not buy the textbook, will share with a peer, settle for an older edition, and at the start of the semester many ask whether the textbook truly is needed for class. Then a number of students do not obtain their textbook until after the class has begun. This dynamic is detrimental to their learning.
Students who are not STEM majors may see a Biology textbook cost as an even greater barrier; why pay big money for a textbook that they will use for one semester, and then never need again? Offering an open education resource textbook is therefore an appealing option that also assures that all students will have access to the course textbook. There are some pretty nice, expensive, biology textbooks for nonmajors’ General Biology. I have used two non-OER texts that are quite popular, and I was concerned that making the switch to an open education resource would be a downgrade for student experience.
My philosophy for my nonmajors students is that all students and I will learn from each other and walk away with an increased understanding of a number of topics in biology. Understanding biology and the process of science can help us confidently analyze biology-related headlines in the mainstream news, and can enable us to advocate for our selves, families, friends, and communities in biology-related decisions. If a textbook is free and online, students will have access to this resource during class and for the foreseeable future; this extended availability aligns with my teaching philosophy.
Instructor resources are provided: PowerPoint slides, Microsoft Word test banks, and in-depth answers for practice questions. There are course cartridges for Canvas and Blackboard. There are links to other resources that have been created by the instructor community. Students can access practice questions with suggested answers. Students can choose to work with the textbook in a browser, as a pdf, or even order a hard copy for a low price.
One thing that I particularly like for students about the OpenStax platform is that other quality textbooks are centrally available in the same platform. For example, if a student is researching a particular topic in depth for a paper or presentation, I can direct them to a relevant section of OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology or Microbiology.
My conclusion is that requiring OpenStax Concepts of Biology instead of a more expensive alternative for a nonmajors’ Biology course provides an overall improvement for student learning.

Reviewed by Joseph Harari, Adjunct Instructor, North Shore Community College on 5/24/21

Highly comprehensive for a two-semester intro to biology course. Almost every topic that would be taught in BIO1-BIO2 is covered extensively. Animal behavior could be a topic to add for future editions. read more

Reviewed by Joseph Harari, Adjunct Instructor, North Shore Community College on 5/24/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is objective, accurate, and I could not detect any errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Highly relevant and up to date in terms of content. Career suggestions are relevant for today. Biotechnology techniques mentioned are commonly employed in modern labs.

Clarity rating: 5

Text is easy to understand and read. Flows nicely for students.

Consistency rating: 5

Everything is laid out consistently with the same format throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

Text is well broken down into individual modules that are suitable for reading assignments and frequent stopping points.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Topics are presented in a logical manner that are consistent with the structure of most biology courses

Interface rating: 5

The interface was very clear and not distracting to the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors detected. A few extra spaces here and there should be deleted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No culturally insensitive content was recognized.

I think this book would be an excellent resource for a one-year introductory biology course. It covers all of the fundamental principles of biology and includes QR codes to several videos, activities, and websites that engage the student throughout. The authors' language is friendly and inviting, enticing the reader to continue. The only aspect that could be improved is imagery and figures, which can sometimes seem rudimentary and inconsistently illustrated.

Reviewed by Kent Cubbage, Biology Professor, Aiken Technical College on 3/11/21

The book covers all of the major and germane concepts associated with a two semester non-majors course. read more

Reviewed by Kent Cubbage, Biology Professor, Aiken Technical College on 3/11/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The book covers all of the major and germane concepts associated with a two semester non-majors course.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Information is accurate, with no apparent errors. There is no bias of any kind.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Relevant, well-established biological concepts useful for any knowledge base. Some newer biotechnology advances should be added.

Clarity rating: 5

The textbook is clearly written. Clear and concise. Very readable for a non-major.

Consistency rating: 5

Depth and breadth is consistent throughout the chapters. Well organized and well labeled sections.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is divided into manageable, readable sections. Headings are labeled well.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Text is organized in fashion similar to textbooks of its type. Therefore the flow is solid.

Interface rating: 5

Images and tables are presented in a way that properly supports the text. No obvious navigation issues of note.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Error-free from a grammatical standpoint.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Text is inclusive.

Reviewed by Adele Doperalski, Senior Professorial Lecturer, American University on 2/26/21

This book is a good survey of important biological concepts that are appropriate for non-major undergraduates. read more

Reviewed by Adele Doperalski, Senior Professorial Lecturer, American University on 2/26/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is a good survey of important biological concepts that are appropriate for non-major undergraduates.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate, error-free and unbiased. The content is in a simplified form, but that allows instructors to add detail where they see fit for their course customization.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Most of the information covered is well established biological concepts and will not change. If changes do need to be made or updates needed, the topics are presented in a way that these changes/updates will be easy fixes. The biotechnology chapter should be updated to include CRISPR as well as some of the new forms of vaccines that we are seeing emerge.

Clarity rating: 5

The textbooks is clearly written. Bolded terms with a key words list at the end of each chapter help highlight important terminology in the field that non-majors should be familiar with. With those words highlighted, the textbook does a good job of limiting unnecessary jargon that does not help with understanding. The figures and links to videos help with understanding.

Consistency rating: 5

Chapter organization is consistent throughout the textbook which makes for easy, quick navigation. The subject of each chapter is examined at the same depth of knowledge which again allows for instructor flexibility in adding their own details to in class information delivery.

Modularity rating: 4

This textbook is easily divided into chapters with subheadings for smaller sections. It is easy to pinpoint the exact the reading to assign for students for each topic. The text, in most places, is not large intimidating chunks and nicely broken up with figures or videos although there are a few sections of long text blocks that could be broken up.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics flow in a logical fashion.

Interface rating: 5

This text is easy to use and navigate. All links to external videos worked and loaded quickly.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no obvious grammatical issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find any culturally insensitive or offensive language in this textbook.

Overall, this is a great textbook for a non-majors introductory biology course. I find it hard to assign an expensive textbook to students who won't use it again so having this OER option is wonderful. I would like to see answers to the questions at the end of the chapters so that students can self-assess their knowledge as well as a few sections that highlight the contributions of a diverse set of scientists to the field of biology.

Reviewed by Collin MacLeod, Biology instructor, Rogue Community College on 8/17/20

All concepts typically covered in an introductory biology course are thoroughly and concisely covered. read more

Reviewed by Collin MacLeod, Biology instructor, Rogue Community College on 8/17/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

All concepts typically covered in an introductory biology course are thoroughly and concisely covered.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The accuracy of this textbook is unimpeachable. The textbook does a great job of accurately explaining the science of life for a nonmajors course.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Concepts of biology will be up to date for many years to come and students who thoroughly study the book will have a well rounded introduction to the science of life as it pertains to current issues facing our society.

Clarity rating: 5

The book clearly explains each concept. It assumes the reader knows little about biology, introduces them to the concepts with a minimum of unnecessary jargon, and is well supported with visual aids.

Consistency rating: 5

From chapter to chapter there is a similar degree of depth and breadth. Each chapter is organized in well labeled sections, and each chapter ends with a summary of key concepts as well as review questions.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter is divided into sections so an instructor could easily assign only some of the sections for a given chapter. For example, chapter 4 is divided into 5 different sections, each of which has a numerical heading as well as a title. Ex: 4.2 Glycolysis.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The textbook follows the order of a typical introductory biology textbook. Substituting this book for another requires little adjustment.

Interface rating: 5

The book includes hyperlinks to videos, and all of them worked at the time I wrote this review. The images never failed to load, and the book can be ordered in print form as well for around $20.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammatical errors in this textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Concepts of biology makes meaningful cultural connections when pertinent and is suitable for a diverse student body.

Concepts of biology is a great textbook for a nonmajors biology course and instructors should adopt this course as opposed to more expensive options that offer little if any additional value.

Reviewed by Kristen Kane, Adjunct Faculty, Mount Wachusett Community College on 6/28/20

There wasn't really an area of my introductory biology course that wasn't covered in this text. Very thorough. read more

Reviewed by Kristen Kane, Adjunct Faculty, Mount Wachusett Community College on 6/28/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

There wasn't really an area of my introductory biology course that wasn't covered in this text. Very thorough.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I didn't find any mistakes as I was looking through the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I think that much of the content of this text will not change, but it would be easy to update sections as needed.

Clarity rating: 5

I think that it is very helpful to have the key terms not only listed but defined. The search feature is really helpful for quickly looking up terms as well. This text is well written for its audience and is not overly wordy, which students appreciate.

Consistency rating: 5

Each unit follows the same framework for each unit which is helpful for students to be able to easily navigate the text. Terminology seems to be consistent throughout, often initially defining a term and then broadening that definition as necessary.

Modularity rating: 4

There are some sections with larger chunks of texts that could be broken up to create more white space but overall I think it would be easy to assign various chunks of material for reading.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This text is organized in much the same order as most introductory biology texts.

Interface rating: 5

No issues navigating and images appeared clear. The links were all functional and helpful.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No glaring errors except that I noticed Sun was capitalized in section 1.1.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I didn't notice anything culturally insensitive or offensive.

I really liked this text and would definitely consider its adoption for my course. The embedded links and animations are helpful. I'd love to see a link to an interactive periodic table added. The Career Connections sections are great as students are often unsure what they want to do within the field and these give some good ideas. One thing that I was disappointed about was that there were no answers anywhere for any of the questions. The Visual Connections questions, in particular, should be answered somewhere so that students can check for comprehension. Overall, well done!

Reviewed by Kristin Osborne, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Maritime Academy on 6/23/20

This textbook surveys the essential topics of biology in the appropriate amount of detail for non-biology major undergraduates. read more

Reviewed by Kristin Osborne, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Maritime Academy on 6/23/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook surveys the essential topics of biology in the appropriate amount of detail for non-biology major undergraduates.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate, error-free, and without bias.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Examples highlighting scientific advances pertaining to the subject matter are included in each chapter. They were chosen
for their relevance and can be easily updated. I particularly liked the "careers in action" highlights to provide connections between the subject matter and real-world importance from a career perspective. It provides a new appreciation for learning the material and emphasizes its importance in the context of undergraduate education.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is written clearly and concepts are well-articulated.

Consistency rating: 5

The terminology and framework of the text is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook is easily divisible by chapter and major headings within chapters, if desired.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The textbook has excellent organization and presents material in a clear, logical format. There is an outline of major headings at the start of each chapter, providing a roadmap for the reader.

Interface rating: 5

No interface issues were encountered with images, charts, or other display features. All QR codes tested were active, relevant, and accurate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

None were identified.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

None were identified.

This textbook provides a comprehensive survey of biology concepts and principles suited to teaching first-year, non-biology undergraduates. It is well-organized and the material presented is clear, relevant, and accurate. I appreciate the inclusion of QR codes which directs students to complementary materials, thus supporting other modes of learning. The supporting materials for instructors are of excellent quality. The critical thinking questions at the end of each chapter can serve as interesting writing prompts and/or discussion starters. I look forward to offering this textbook to my General Biology students in the future as a high-quality, no-cost option.

Reviewed by Amanda Rumore, Assistant Professor, Randolph College on 12/19/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book is the perfect amount of content for an introductory, non-majors biology course, especially those taught in a condensed, single-semester format. All of the major units are covered without excessive detail and organized in a logical sequence from microscopic to macroscopic level (Cell Structure/Function --> Genetics/Molecular Biology --> Evolution and Diversity of Species -->Animal Biology --> Ecology).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I did not come across any profoundly inaccurate statements but found many topics are oversimplified. This is not a concern as long as the instructor adds complexity where s/he feels is necessary.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text focuses more on fundamental principles but adds new research into just about each section. Usually there is not enough content within the text on these newer topics and gaps would need to be filled in by the instructor.

Clarity rating: 5

Vocabulary is suitably defined throughout the text and topics are kept well separated by headings to provide natural breakpoints in content.

Consistency rating: 5

Each section is relatively the same length and appropriately longer or shorter when necessary. There is a consistent “voice” throughout which makes reading consecutive sections much easier on the reader.

Modularity rating: 5

The sections are organized in a logical manner and allow for the instructor to nicely “package” the sections in which s/he intend to use in class. It is easy to select the desired content by chapter and sub-section.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is well organized and flows with a uniform tone throughout.

Interface rating: 5

I did not run into any broken links. I never had issues accessing the materials and the sidebar/drop-down menus were very helpful. The search function was easy to use and very reliable.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

None that I came across at this time.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

There are not many cultural or historical references. Mendel, Watson/Crick/Franklin, and Darwin are the only scientists described in more detail than an image description. The text fails to provide examples that break the stereotypical pattern of scientists and does not introduce students to scientists from different cultures. There is no reference to even general research ethics or examples of current bioethical concerns.

A good choice for a non-major or survey course in Introductory Biology. I just used it for the first time this past semester and plan to continue using it in future iterations of the course.

Reviewed by Jessalyn Sabin, Biology Instructor, Minnesota State on 6/30/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This textbook covers all of the major areas in basic biology: the chemistry of life, cell respiration, photosynthesis, cell structure, genetics, evolution, cell division, biotechnology, species diversity, body systems, and ecology. The concepts are described at the appropriate depth for an introductory biology course, such as Human Biology. Each chapter contains references, appropriately defined key terminology, a chapter summary, and content review questions. Supplementary images and diagrams are comprehensive, as well, and reflect and enhance the textual content.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found the content to be accurate to the degree that we cover materials in a non-majors course. There are items that are simplified slightly, but this is the case in all introductory texts. I feel comfortable with the accuracy. I did not find any glaring errors or biases in the content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The topics are up-to-date, and they would be easy for an instructor to supplement with cutting edge information. At this level of coursework, much of the information does not change at a rapid rate. The Career Connections sections are great ways to get students thinking about how this information can tie into a profession in "real life". The Chapter 10: Biotechnology section may need to expand as CRISPR and other technologies become more integral to our understanding of genetics in the future. Human population change is well addressed, and this material is presented in a compelling way. It does show the intersection of policy, human behavior, and biology. I wish that more information had been presented in the animal diversity sections (15.6 in particular) regarding how humans fit into the scheme of biodiversity.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is very clear and easy to read. Terminology is listed alphabetically and defined in the "Key Terms" section of the chapter. It would be nice if the key terms were hyperlinked from the in-text highlight to the "Key Terms" section. This would make it slightly easier for students to navigate looking up those terms. Explanations for complicated jargon is provided in text, often with illustrative examples.

Consistency rating: 5

Terms are used similarly across chapters and contexts. The design of each chapter is consistent, and the flow of ideas is similar in each chapter and subsection. The choice in chapter arrangement is logical, as well. Concepts introduced in earlier chapters (ie: DNA role, structure, location), is consistently used in later chapters to ground and frame new ideas.

Modularity rating: 5

I love the modularity of the text. It feels less intimidating to read the online version when it is broken down into digestible sections for non-majors students. It would have helped to have even more images scattered throughout, but overall there are not many large swaths of text. There is some self-referential content, but only as much as to be expected when revisiting concepts later on in the text. There is not a lot of disruption in the flow of each section, which is great for clarity and ease of use. I much prefer this text layout to many of the commercial texts I have used in the past.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in each chapter are separated out by section, then each section is organized by headings that relate to specific concepts. This ties into the learning outcome goals that are stated at the beginning of the chapter, and the same order is followed throughout. I found the organization to be intuitive and clear. The table of contents in the web-version side bar is an easy way to logically order the material. It is easy for readers to quickly find the content that they are looking for. The search function is also incredibly useful for students looking for a specific topic or an earlier lesson.

Interface rating: 4

Text arrangement is smooth and easy to follow, images and charts are clear. I did follow one link in chapter 2, which is supposed to take the reader to a U.S. Geological Service Water Science webpage. Instead, I was directed to some file index. Once clicking the first linked item, I was able to find my way to the website, but the navigation could have been more smooth. Other links that I tried were fine. Some of the passive transport videos that were linked in chapter 3 were a little clunky in the animation, but most others were great.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not pick up on major grammatical errors in this textbook.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not find the text inherently culturally insensitive or offensive. However, the text would have benefited from some auxiliary content that showed women and people of color in the sciences. In 2.3, the sickle cell anemia content could have included more about what racial backgrounds are likely to be impacted, based on historic geographic relationships with malaria. Someone else mentioned in their review that Rosalin Franklin's true contribution to the understanding of DNA structure was very limited in the DNA discussion. There were very few images of human bodies in this text, though many of the illustrations in chapter 16 depicted very "peachy" toned skin, which reflects as Caucasian.

This textbook will be sufficient for an introductory, basic biology course. I would feel comfortable using the material as presented. The material is easy to keep up-to-date, which is great when building case studies and other learning materials off of the text.

Reviewed by David Rudge, Professor, Western Michigan University on 5/30/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Concepts of Biology provides a comprehensive overview of all topics that would typically be taught in an introductory biology course, from the molecular and cellular basis of life, to the structure and function of the human body, ecology and evolution. Unlike competitors, this text includes an overview of the diversity present in animals plants, and to a lesser extent, fungi. Indeed, I’m inclined to think the text as a whole goes into more detail and covers more topics than are typically possible in a one semester biology course for non-majors, but the overall organization of the book does provide instructors with the opportunity to ignore whole sections. The text also has sections devoted to discussing issues that are the object of widespread public concern, such as bioconservation. The index is helpful in that students are not merely directed to a page number where the topic might be mentioned, but rather the section where the topic is initially introduced and defined, so it functions also as a glossary. Each chapter also contains key terms that are defined in easy to understand language.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

One of the standard problems associated with introductory texts is that in the hope of simplifying the material for students (or some other motivation) a topic/concept is defined in a way that technically is inaccurate. For instance, the textbook I currently use refers to evolution “the ability of organisms to collectively evolve” as a property of living things. I certainly appreciate the desire to have the topic of evolution be front and center, but I worry that included as part of a definition of the characteristics of life the author is perpetuating a misconception that organisms, not populations evolve. Likewise, it claims organic compounds are molecules that contain carbon bounded to other elements. No, carbon dioxide is not an organic compound. Thankfully the present textbook commits neither of these errors. As someone trained in history and philosophy of science, I focused specifically on the section devoted to the process of science. I do think the authors missed an opportunity in connection with their discussion of “the scientific method” to draw explicit attention to the fact that not all science is done in a particular order, that what scientists share in terms of methodology is more appropriately referred to as a family resemblance rather than a list of discrete steps to be done in a particular order. A mere assurance that scientific reasoning at the end of the discussion is more complicated not sufficient. I’m also really bothered by the penchant of this treatment, and also the textbook I am currently using, to use non-scientific examples to illustrate the method of science. Figuring out why your toaster doesn’t work (or how to bake the best cookie) are examples of engineering problems, i.e. applied science. The connection to theory and the idea that the results will contribute to some larger explanatory base are completely lost when using such examples. I realize the authors want readers to appreciate that at a fundamental level, scientists are simply systematically using critical reasoning in a way that we all use in all contexts. But there is a world of difference between claiming the type of reasoning we use to figure out why a toaster is not working is the same sort of reasoning scientists use, on the one hand; and what I fear most students will take from this example.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text does a fairly good job of systematically attempting to connect each topic of discussion to issues potential students will care about, so that the science per se is not presented in an overly abstract way. While biology (and other sciences) are currently undergoing revolutionary changes particularly with reference to the scope of our understanding, I rather doubt an instructor of an introductory course in biology will find the material presented here as dated.

Clarity rating: 5

Of the aspects of the book I’ve been asked to comment on, this seems to be the most difficult to ascertain in that it really depends upon the level of student one teaches and the learning objectives of the course. I have to share that in my opinion the explanations provided in this book are at an appropriate level for non-majors.

Consistency rating: 5

Throughout the book has a straightforward organization that will facilitate learning by students. Terms are used consistently throughout the text.

Modularity rating: 5

As mentioned above, I think one advantage of this book is that it has adopted a modular approach to topics, which allows the instructor to pick and choose which topics will be included without having to worry that the student must have read the preceding section to make sense of a given reading. So, for instance, one might decide to have students read one of the sections under Chapter 10 Biotechnology and not worry about assigning only the introduction and the section on genomics and proteomics.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book provides a traditional organization of topics, nature of science, molecular and chemical basis of life, cell biology, cell reproduction and genetics, molecular biology, evolution, animal structure and function, and finally ecology. I typically like to have students study ecology (interactions among organisms and their surroundings over short periods of time) prior to studying evolution, which I portray as the long term consequences of these interactions occurring longer periods of time with reference to shifting gene frequencies. But I see no reason why I couldn’t continue to do this with this book.

Interface rating: 5

I personally prefer a paper copy to the electronic environment, but I have to admit this was quite easy to navigate and I did like the use of occasional animations to explain difficult concepts.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

The history in this book is pretty standard, brief and somewhat simplistic in its interpretation. For instance, there is a missed opportunity in Section 9.1 to discuss the historical role gender issues have played in the portrayal of the history of research on the structure of DNA with reference to Rosalind Franklin’s important, yet neglected role in the discovery. She is mentioned, but only as the source of x-ray crystallography photographs and data. In general, this textbook does not have a discussion of cultural issues and consequently anyone identifying a discussion of science and culture as a learning objective would need to supplement the text. This is not a text that would overtly encourage students to question the stereotype that for the most part, science is the playground of wealthy white male geniuses living in the past. There is nothing in the textbook that is overtly insensitive, but what the text does not say speaks volumes.

Reviewed by Wendy Ryan, Professor, Kuztown University on 5/17/19, updated 11/9/20

The text is comprehensive and covers all topics typically covered in an introductory biology course. The active links will make it easy for students to use, and while there is no comprehensive glossary, key terms are defined at the end of each. read more

Reviewed by Wendy Ryan, Professor, Kuztown University on 5/17/19, updated 11/9/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I didn't thoroughly assess the entire text, but the information presented appears to be reasonably accurate. Tonicity and osmolarity are not correctly defined or used, but unfortunately this isn't an uncommon occurrence. I checked a few of my other pet peeves and didn't find any additional issues.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text appears to represent a good balance between new research and fundamental principles. It also seems as if much of the cutting edge content is set apart in some sort of feature or active link, which should make it reasonably straightforward to incorporate new results and ideas.

Clarity rating: 5

I found the explanations to be clear. Technical terminology is used when needed, but also includes contextual and descriptive text that would make it easier to understand.

Consistency rating: 4

I didn't find any substantial or disruptive changes in moving between chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

I like this aspect of the text, particularly since I'm not planning on using the entire text for a one semester non-majors biology course. The organization follows a logical order, but the chapters are sufficiently focused and self-contained to make it easy to select a subset of the available chapters and then potentially use them "out of order". This compartmentalization continues at the level of the chapters, again making it easy to select content appropriate for a particular audience or course.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The material is well organized, within the framework of the text and also within chapters.

Interface rating: 4

I had no issues with the in-text links or links to external resources.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I didn't thoroughly vet the entirety of the text, but I encountered no issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I didn't really find any particularly cultural references within this text. It seems as if there may have been a particular effort to avoid this by not including any (or many?) images of actual people. In the sections on body systems most of the figures are diagrams or art renderings of representative structures..

Reviewed by Jennifer Price, Visiting Assistant Professor, East Tennessee State University on 4/25/19

All major concepts covered in introductory non-majors Biology courses, plus some, are covered here. I like that key terms are presented at the end of individual chapters in which they are introduced and relevant. There is also an effective index. read more

Reviewed by Jennifer Price, Visiting Assistant Professor, East Tennessee State University on 4/25/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not find any obvious errors or biases.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Topics are presented in a general enough way that frequent changes in certain areas, such as phylogenies, should not pose much of a problem.

Clarity rating: 5

I feel that the language used in this book is far more accessible to non-majors Biology students than most of the other textbooks out there. Students would find that this flows more easily and there are fewer pauses and halts to interpret true meaning.

Consistency rating: 5

I saw no area of obvious inconsistency.

Modularity rating: 4

Most of the text is divides well and broken up with figures and images, but there are a few places with blocks of text that are a little to large and possibly overwhelming in appearance to students. Those could be easily addressed and broken up with a couple of small additional images for context. Also, some of the sections begin with photos that have long captions that must be read to understand the significance of the photos. I feel that it would be more effective to either move those down a little and subsequent to a brief introductory paragraph, or make the caption much more brief and less complicated.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I really like the order and organization of topics within this book.

Interface rating: 5

No problem with navigation; very straightforward and user friendly. I like that subtopics drop down when clicking on major topics instead of filling up the screen with everything, which would be aesthetically unpleasing and visually overwhelming. All links to images and charts worked.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors that I noticed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not detect or notice and offensive or culturally insensitive material. Mentions of race and ethnicity were presented in a neutral and unbiased fashion.

I am highly likely to adopt portions of this textbook into my non-majors online Biology courses this coming academic year. I am fond of the connections here between the academic material and current events and practical applications for today's non-majors, and many textbooks overlook the importance of establishing these relationships for students.

Reviewed by Karen Arbuckle, Instructor of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas Cossatot on 4/24/19

I have been using this OER textbook for my online and traditional biology classes for several years now. I am very pleased with the comprehensiveness of the materials provided in the book. This book meets all of our class outcomes and objectives. read more

Reviewed by Karen Arbuckle, Instructor of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas Cossatot on 4/24/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have yet to find any inaccuracies in this book. It is very well written and reviewed.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Even over the last several years I've found that all the material (as well as presentation of the material) is still relevant.

Clarity rating: 5

To be honest, this text book excels in clarity more so then any of the textbooks we used to use from big name publishers.

Consistency rating: 5

The terminology and framework are consist throughout the book.

Modularity rating: 5

Since I'm using this for a one semester biology class, I only use certain chapters. I set my classes up into weekly modules and have found that this textbook meets this need very well.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I prefer the chapter arrangement of this book to previous books I've used.

Interface rating: 5

I have never had any problems with the book's interface. The students have found it quite easy to use too.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I haven't found any grammatical errors withing the book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I have found the textbook to be very culturally inclusive.

Reviewed by Amanda Brammer, Associate Professor , Northshore Technical Community College (NTCC) on 4/22/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Concepts of Biology contains a wealth of information on biology and covers every topic that a general book should. It contains an extensive table of contents, which is organized by unit, by chapter, and by section within each chapter. This makes it easy to find the relevant material. Each chapter has a list of vocabulary terms and their definitions. The book also contains an excellent index of key terms at the end of the book.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I read most of the chapters in the book and could not find any significant errors in content. I paid particular attention to the chapters that fall under my area of expertise and found them very well written and error-free. The book is unbiased and presents the material accurately and fairly.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content in Concepts of Biology is up-to-date and I feel that the unavoidable necessity for updates will be fairly easy to complete. The text is a general biology book so it shouldn’t need to be updated too often. Since this is a 2013 edition, I assume it will be updated within the next few years.

Clarity rating: 4

Concepts of Biology is very easy to read and understand. I feel that it is very well written and interesting. One of the few criticisms I have of the book is that it contains a lot of information for a non-majors book. I have read most of the significant non-majors and mixed majors books available from traditional publishers, and this book has much more information than any of them. This does not affect my choice to use this book in my non-majors courses because I choose which information to include and which to leave out in my courses. However, some instructors might find the book daunting for a non-majors text.

Consistency rating: 5

I could not find any significant inconsistencies in the Concepts of Biology book in either terminology or in framework.

Modularity rating: 4

One of the few criticisms that I have of the book is that some of the chapters are too long. For example, all of the animals are covered in one very long chapter. Perhaps it would be better to split the material up into a chapter on invertebrates and a chapter on vertebrates (many other biology books present the material this way). However, even though some chapters are very long, the book contains many subheadings that help to organize the material and make it more manageable.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

One of my favorite things about the Concepts of Biology book is its organization. I like the order in which the chapters are covered. The book contains an extensive table of contents, which is organized into units, chapters and chapter sections and is very easy to navigate.

Interface rating: 4

Concepts of Biology is easy to obtain with just a few clicks of a mouse. I did not have any issues with interface issues or display features for the book. The images and charts are pleasing and informative, however, it would be nice if the number of visuals could be increased in future editions. I find that students like the visuals and it helps to keep their attention. The only issue with navigation that I found is that several of the URL’s in the “Concept in Action” sections of the book didn’t work.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I could not find any significant grammatical errors in the Concepts of Biology book. It appears to have been very well proof-read in all aspects.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Concepts of Biology is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. Since it is a biology book, there are not a lot of pictures of humans, but the ones that are in the book are culturally and ethnically diverse. The topics that could be considered controversial are broached in a sensitive manner to all.

I have chosen to implement Concepts of Biology into my non-majors courses at Northshore Technical Community College. I believe the book is very well written, easy to access and an excellent choice for my courses. I am a proponent of OER resources and I know this book will be available to my students from day one at no cost. I am excited to see how this choice will impact my students.

Reviewed by Timothy Rohrbach, Assistant Professor of Biology, Richard Bland College of William & Mary on 4/5/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The topics presented are the traditional biological topics covered in a first-year general biology course. The depth of each topic is appropriate for a non-major biology course. I appreciate the learning objectives listed at the beginning of each section along with the open-ended critical thinking questions in the chapter reviews. The index is very useful and each Unit contains a glossary for relevant terms.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate and I did not discover any glaring inaccuracies or bias information.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The authors do a decent job of making the content relevant to students. The "Career Connection" sections are a nice bridge between the textbook information and real-world experiences. Ultimately, I believe having a few more examples of real-world science connections would make for a stronger impact on students not majoring in biology.

Clarity rating: 4

Overall the language used is very clear and appropriate. One item that would increase clarity is having more images to help visually explain the information. For example, I think it would be beneficial to have potential energy graphs demonstrating the difference between exergonic & endergonic reactions. Currently this section has no illustrations accompanying the written explanation.

Consistency rating: 5

There is great consistency in the textbook. The layout and terminology used is consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

The scientific information is presented in a logical manner for a general biology course. Within the the Units, each section has clear learning objectives to prepare students for the upcoming reading. Each Unit has a nice review with accompanying questions.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The organization of the topics flows from a small microscopic lens to a large macroscopic focus. This approach is very similar to traditional biology textbooks from publishers such as Pearson. At the end of each chapter there is a review with multiple choice and short answer questions. Several end of the chapter questions require looking at images. Unfortunately the images are not present but instead, a hyperlink is provided that directs students back to the text. It would be nice to have the actual picture present and not a hyperlink.

Interface rating: 4

Overall, the interface is easy to use and easy to navigate. I appreciate having the table of contents as a side-bar for the online version. The hyperlinks embedded in the text are useful. "The Concepts in Action" contain excellent supplemental videos to help students visualize the concepts. A few hyperlinks did direct me to nonfunctional videos/websites. Additionally, I do wish that hyperlinks were opened in a new tab. Opening the hyperlinks in a new tab would allow for students to easily compare the textbook information with the accompanying link. The image to text ratio could be better. Fortunately we can enlarge objects on our electronic devices. However, it would be nice if the native version of the image was larger and more proportional to the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The textbook is well written and I did not find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find any bias, offensive or culturally insensitive information in the textbook.

Overall I believe this a great OER textbook. I am very excited to use it in my general biology course.

Reviewed by Alex Shupinski, Teaching Assistant, University of Nebraska - Lincoln on 3/31/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The textbook has the topics in an order that allows students to build on their knowledge in a way that connects the concept to the previous ones. The concepts are broken down into sections where further detail is addressed allowing for deeper comprehension and less confusion. This allows the students to focus on certain details addressed in the class while reading the text without being overwhelmed.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate and detailed.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The textbook addressed some really relevant issues concerning conservation and preservation of biodiversity that a general biology course should cover and address.

Clarity rating: 4

Although I found some topics were a bit advanced in terminology when breaking down concepts, overall it was well-written.

Consistency rating: 5

The framework and set up of the textbook is consistent throughout the book using questions and chapter summaries to help guide students in their learning.

Modularity rating: 5

As mentioned above, the textbook is divided up enough that a class can be uniquely taught, focusing on a unique set of topics using this textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The structure gradually moves from a micro view of biology to a macro view and separates animals and plants to allow for a division of that learning.

Interface rating: 5

The textbook has not demonstrated any issues with the interface or images in the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This is a textbook that is relevant for all students.

Reviewed by Binaya Adhikari, Lecturer, Longwood University on 3/6/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

It has a good representation of major biology topics for an introductory nonmajors biology. But I think having an entire unit for animal structure and function is too much. Interesting and relevant topics from this unit would be incorporated with the framework of other units without needing to create an additional unit. In other cases, it could include some more key content. For example, in scientific methods, it would be great to include terms such as dependent and independent variables; blinded and double-blinded studies etc. The index and glossary are fine.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I found no major issues regarding accuracy. However, things can be made clearer. For example, in The Plant Kingdom Introduction, instead of “The process of photosynthesis uses chlorophyll, which is located in organelles called chloroplasts” it could be made clearer by saying that “…uses chlorophyll and other light-absorbing pigments”. Other than such cases, I found no intentional biases.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Although there is no major issue with the relevance and longevity some information could be updated. For example, there are about 4000,000 species of plants than 3000,000 species used in the book according to a newer report released by Kew, which says “excluding algae, mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, there are 390,900 species of plants, of which approximately 369,400 are flowering. If mosses, liverworts, and hornworts are added a number of plant species would be even higher. Such updates can be made in other groups of organisms as well.

Clarity rating: 4

Yes, the text is clear enough and technical terms are defined or explained. The key terms that are introduced in a chapter are in bold which is very helpful for students but I feel like some more words could be bolded. Students first look into such terms when studying. Examples are relevant and figures are helpful.

Consistency rating: 5

The terminologies used in the text are consistent from the beginning to the end.

Modularity rating: 4

Overall, I liked the modularity of the text. I liked the pdf version of the text better. However, some sections have quite a bit of text. Adding subheadings could be very helpful especially for non-majors. In some cases, the amount of information was not well balanced. For example, some of the biomes are overly detailed as compared to others. Although they have different biodiversity, they are not more or less interesting or important.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The units and chapters are organized logically other than the unit “Animal Structure and Function”, which looks odd in the middle of the book and is not consistent with the rest of the structure.

Interface rating: 5

I did not find any issue with navigation, text, image/charts, and other features. Images/charts are clear and are of good quality, size, and format. There are no distractions or confusions.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any obvious grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not notice an obvious issue with culturally insensitive or offensiveness.

Chapter reviews, review questions, and critical thinking questions are helpful but they are little too few in number and varieties. To improve the text further, concept checker activities could be added after important topics. To make the content text even more interesting, contemporary issues or cases could be added after important topics.

Reviewed by Maria Entezari, Associate Professor, LAGCC on 1/15/19

This book covers all different topics that I need for the non-majors Biology course. The content is suitable for students who don’t have the background knowledge of Biology and easy enough to be understood by non-majors’ students. The learning. read more

Reviewed by Maria Entezari, Associate Professor, LAGCC on 1/15/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I found most of the contents accurate. There are few minor errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

The main and basic topics that non-major students should learn in an introductory Biology course are up to date. However, there are some new topics related to Genetics and Biotechnology are missing. Adding supplements could be useful for these missing parts since these parts are important concepts which could be related to students daily lives.

Clarity rating: 5

The contents are very fluent and understandable for first-year students or students who don't have a previous background in Biology. Having the key terms at the end of each chapter also is very helpful for students at the introductory levels. The conceptual examples make even the topics more clear and understandable.

Consistency rating: 5

The format of the presented topics and using the terminologies are very consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

All chapters are divided appropriately by the subheading into the smaller concept parts. This is a good feature since you can omit the parts that are too detailed and emphasize on the concepts that students should learn.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The chapters are very organized and the contents in each chapter are logic and organized as well which makes the smooth transition between the concepts in each chapter and from one chapter to the other ones.

Interface rating: 5

I have not found any difficulty in uploading the pdf and viewing the contents online. The "concepts in Action: parts are easily accessible. The access to the end chapters' questions is easily accessible too.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not seen ant errors and the contents are clear concise.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There is no any cultural bias in throughout the textbook.

I think this book is very good for being customized and being used for different levels of Biology courses.

Reviewed by Dan Ropek, Biology Instructor, Columbia Gorge Community College on 12/13/18

The text is comprehensive, in that it surveys biology from pre-life conditions (chemistry) to ecosystems. read more

Reviewed by Dan Ropek, Biology Instructor, Columbia Gorge Community College on 12/13/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text is comprehensive, in that it surveys biology from pre-life conditions (chemistry) to ecosystems.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

While very accurate in general, there were some small but glaring errors: e.g. "Human skin tissue". With the sheer volume of information, some errors are to be expected.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The science is relevant but would benefit from increasing current content regarding climate change.

Clarity rating: 3

By covering the wide swath of biology, there is not always a perfect balance between terminology and lucid explanation.

Consistency rating: 4

The tone is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The sectional approach are optimal for modularity.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics are presented in a traditional, logical fashion.

Interface rating: 3

The text graphics would benefit from being scanned at a higher resolution, since they are often used as part of a classroom large-screen presentation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Not to a notable degree.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No notable cultural insensitivity.

Reviewed by Amanda Adams, Instructor of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University on 11/29/18

Overall, this open educational resource (OER) provides the foundation for everything that I need for my non-majors Biology course. The content covered is comprehensive and appropriate for a first-year non-majors Biology course. The flow of. read more

Reviewed by Amanda Adams, Instructor of Biological Sciences, Fort Hays State University on 11/29/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content is up-to-date and straightforward.
There are a couple current hot topics that are clearly lacking the text. It would be nice for these to be added in future versions. Instructors will have to supplement in the meantime:
1) There is nothing about immunizations (and that there is no research supporting that they lead to autism) in Ch. 17: The Immune System and Disease.
2) Biotechnology: would like to see more information about how understanding the human genome has helped us understand human evolution.

Clarity rating: 4

Overall the text is "lucid", but much of the language is dry and a bit too high level for my first-year students. I anticipate students having a hard time engaging with the text.
There are many sections with huge blocks of text that appear daunting and will discourage students from reading (e.g., pg 432).

Consistency rating: 5

Terminology appears consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is very easy to divide, with easy to identify subheadings, into smaller sections for assigning to students.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization is standard for a textbook of this type and follows a logical flow.

Interface rating: 5

The clickable Table of Contents and Index in the PDF are very helpful for navigation.
The key terms at the end of each chapter are nice, but I would prefer to have a glossary at the end, where it would be easier to locate vocabulary if a student forgets a term in a later chapter. The clickable Index does make it easy to look up a term and quickly navigate to the definition.
All of the images and figures are clear and easy to read.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not found any grammatical errors, but I have found a couple typos so far (e.g., Fig. # reference on pg. 25).

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I have not found anything culturally insensitive, but it also isn't exactly inclusive. The overall dryness of the material and it lacking real-world connections leave out places where students can connect to the material. While this plays it safe and doesn't exclude anyone, it also doesn't include anyone either.

The beauty of these OERs is that everything that is lacking can be created, but this takes time and effort that many instructors don't have. This is a great resource, but definitely is not the only thing that can be used to present this information to students. It still needs development to improve engagement for students, and supplemental resources to support educators.
I have not started using the text and am switching from McGraw-Hill’s Mader & Windelspecht "Essentials of Biology" to an OER. I had several students comment that they really liked the “Connections” boxes in Essentials and these are some of the things that still need to be developed/added to the book. I would like to see more connections in the text of how these general topics connect to current events.. Including more “real world” connections, such as case studies and examples, would improve the textbook significantly.
I am not impressed by the evolution chapter, especially the short section on natural selection (pg. 255) is not very accessible for this level course. This is one of the most challenging topics for my students. I would prefer to see more development of the concepts of micro- vs. macroevolution.
My favorite features are: Concepts in Action QR codes to link to animations, Careers in Action, and Evolution in Action sections. These sections add better connections for non-majors to relate to. The “art connections” have some great figures, but this title is confusing. I suppose a flow chart could be appreciated as art. Some of the tables have excellent summaries of information (e.g., Table 3.1, pg 72). The questions at the end of the chapter are great too. I really like the level of detail included in Ch. 16: The Body’s Systems. This is an appropriate level for the course.
Instructor Resources: PowerPoints, Test Bank, Answer Guide
Excellent to have these resources developed!
All of the chapters have at least a one multiple-choice test question. It would be nice to see some short answer and essay questions included as well.
PowerPoint slides are a useful source for images from the textbook.
The major resource that would be of real value would be active learning activities to pair with the text. This is one of the major advantages of a textbook from a Publisher, access to resources that are already developed. Hopefully this can be added in the near future.

Reviewed by Joyce Kaplan, Faculty, Portland Community College on 8/2/18

The text covered most areas fully, but for a non-majors text shortchanges climate change information and has more detail than needed in areas of molecular biology. Subchapters have glossaries but the overall text should have a glossary that would. read more

Reviewed by Joyce Kaplan, Faculty, Portland Community College on 8/2/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found the content to be accurate, generally error-free and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 3

This text is presented in a very straighforward manner, but uses few examples and case studies to make the material relevant to the life of a non-major biology student. The use of video links and occasional career option descriptions is useful, but I feel the presentation in this text would not maintain the interest of the typical non-science student in a meaningful way.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in very accessible, clear language that would be easy for non-majors biology students to understand and generally provides adequate context for technical terminology used.

Consistency rating: 3

The text is not consistent throughout in the length and depth of coverage between different chapters and sub-chapters, which seem to have been written by authors with various ideas about the depth of topic coverage needed for non-majors biology students. There is a similar disparity in the number of review questions and glossary between sub-chapters.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity of the text is excellent and provides a great method to assign various combinations of topics within the non-majors biology course. There is definitely more material included in this book than I would expect to be included in a non-majors course (more like the amount for a majors text), however faculty will have the option of which portions to include and exclude by the ease of assigning specific reading modules.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in the typical organization of a biology textbook and are structured well. The modular design allows for any reorganization desired by faculty.

Interface rating: 4

The interface display and navigation were clear throughout but more relevant diagrams and photos that would capture the imagination of the non-majors student, keep their interest in the material, and help them relate the topics to their lives would be beneficial to learning.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors were observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

The text was not found to be culturally offensive. However attempts at cultural relevance seemed to be lacking, including diverse photos (these were not even included in the career example sections!) and examples to make the material relevant to a wider array of students.

Reviewed by Laurie Mauger, Assistant Professor, Southern Utah University on 8/2/18

This text book covers all the topics that I typically cover in my non-majors course. There are some topics that are lacking depth, but those are easily addressed during lecture periods to ensure my students have a grasp on the relevant topics. The. read more

Reviewed by Laurie Mauger, Assistant Professor, Southern Utah University on 8/2/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have not noticed any inaccuracies in the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content in the text is up-to-date. Any necessary updates are easy to make. I liked how, as an instructor, I could add material that I felt was relevant.

Clarity rating: 5

The writing in the text is easy to understand. I have used this text for a couple of semesters and students were able to understand the writing of the text. It is written in a manner that is accessible to nonmajors.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is broken down into appropriate sections that highlight key facts on a topic.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

All topics are presented in a clear and logical manner.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easy to navigate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not noticed any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I have not noticed any cultural insensitivities in the the text.

Overall, I would highly recommend this text for a nonmajors biology course. It is approachable and provides good background information to provide context to this type of course.

Reviewed by Rochelle Nelson, Assistant Professor, Queensborough Community College on 6/19/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The text covers all areas and ideas of the subject appropriately. The text is written in a manner that is easy for nonmajors to understand. The texts provide a detailed table of contents with Appendix A, B, and C. However, the text is lacking a glossary which would provide easy access to the definition of terms without forcing the student to guess which chapter they would find a said term in. In Chapter 1, the author should consider including information on the evolution/progression of science, a brief history of science. The author should consider adding information on the states of matter and phase changes. This would help connect the topic of science even more closely to the student's everyday life. Chapters 9.5 and all of chapter 10 is too detailed for this level of learning.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Content contains some minor errors which can easily be fixed by an unbiased editor.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is relevant as the majority of it is covered in nonmajor biology courses. However, the text is missing the take-home examples which is very necessary for this level of learning. Students need examples of the concepts which can be related to their everyday life. The text is also missing information on human evolution, a big topic in biology. Also, one of the current hot topics in genetics is the crispr cas9 technology, this book does not introduce or address this technology, other books which includes this and other topics could make this text obsolete.

Clarity rating: 3

The text is written in a manner which makes it a very fluid, straightforward read. The authors could, however, try harder to further simplify the text by adding more examples. The lack of intimidating jargon, without the loss of content makes the text appropriately (but not perfectly) geared towards its intended nonmajor audience.

Consistency rating: 4

In terms of content difficulty, the authors are relatively consistent. However, some chapters are more detailed than others, some chapters have more or no examples. This adds an unnecessary level of confusion to the text as well as confusion to the teaching style of the text. More consistency should be added to the number and difficulty? level of the review questions found at the end of each section.

Modularity rating: 3

The text is readily divisible into smaller reading sections, however, some sections are much larger than others and therefore? sometimes read as their own chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics in the text are presented in a logical fashion which mimics the organization of any biology course for majors and nonmajors alike.

Interface rating: 3

The interface needs some editing. Page breaks are not appropriately applied. For instance, on pdf page 11, the "About Our Team" section flows into pdf page 12, two authors name dangle randomly on the top section of this page which then randomly begins the "Learning Resources" section. A page break should have been used after the authors' name. Image quality is lacking. For example, Figure 1.7 which depicts a DNA molecule could be sharper/higher resolution.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text does not contain many/any distracting grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 1

The text should reference an equal amount of minority scientists/and portraits of people as it does Caucasians. Along the same lines, the authors should reference an equal amount of female scientists/and portraits of people as it does males. Luckily, the text mostly references non-human organisms, therefore decreasing the chances of it being insensitive or offensive to any particular group. But the disproportionate examples of one group versus the other can still be readily seen.

The authors have created the beginnings of a very strong text for nonmajors. However, the authors should continue editing this text as it can be more enlightening and connected to the real world experience of its intended readers.

Reviewed by Jennifer Ripley Stueckle, Teaching Associate Professor, West Virginia University on 3/27/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The text follows the standard general biology topic areas in the typical order. There is a table of contents but no comprehensive glossary at the end. Definitions for terms are presented at the end of each chapter. In terms of the comprehensiveness of the text itself, some areas are too detailed while others are lacking. For instance, there is a bunch of information on gene regulation that isn’t usually covered at the introductory, non-majors level but then there is a very small bit about climate change and acid rain and chemical pollution/toxicity are completely omitted. Likewise, I was confused why the text spends a page addressing food chains when it then states that food chains are too simplistic and in reality food webs are more accurate. I’m sure this extensive devotion to food chains would be equally confusing and misleading to my students.

Content Accuracy rating: 2

The majority of the content is accurate but there are some significant points in which I found errors. Starting in the first chapter, the text separates regulation and homeostatis as two separate characteristics of life. In truth, these are the same. Then, the fact that life is cellular is omitted. In the same chapter, the example of a control is inaccurate. The example focuses on a freshwater pond to grow algae. The text states that adding salt is a control but adding any compound is still adding a variable. Later, in the Mendelian inheritance section, there is no mention that human traits do not strictly follow Mendelian patterns. There is a picture of albinism but no text to explain that many human conditions/traits largely follow Mendelian patterns so we use this type of inheritance to predict but that they are actually polygenic.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text is a reference text with mostly content provided. Considering the lack of application and examples, the text will have extended relevance. My concern is the lack of interest in the text. These non-major introductory classes are taught with application and real-world events as the focus. The text completely omits these attention grabbing examples. Many of these situations such as global climate change, genetic conditions, cancer, etc. are relevant but not highlighted in the text.

Clarity rating: 3

Overall, the text is concise and straightforward. Revision is warranted in some places. For instance, the way the sentence is written on page 60, it sounds like only bacteria have a cell wall when the authors meant that only bacteria have a cell wall made of peptidoglycan which differs from the composition of plant cells.

While the voice of the text is clear and concise, I don’t think it is friendly or inviting to the targeted audience. The prose is written as a reference with content strictly presented. I believe my non-major introductory students would have a hard time staying interested in the text.

Consistency rating: 4

The different topics felt like they were written by different authors and then the chapters assembled. For instance, some chapters started with an interesting, real world example as an introduction while other chapters just started with material. The same tone throughout would be beneficial.

Modularity rating: 3

The section titles and headings are appropriate modules. But the sections are large. Some of the major headings should be their own sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

The order of topic presentation is typical of introductory biology textbooks. However, it makes more sense to present DNA replication before mitosis and meiosis since DNA replication occurs before these division processes. Also, when you read the text itself, the organization is confusing. The cell chapter was particularly troublesome. There is a section titled eurkaryotes and the plasma membrane, cytoplasm and ribosomes are presented here. None of these are organelles and all of these are structures found in prokaryotic cells too. Also, this text presents the nucleus in the endomembrane system which is inaccurate.

Interface rating: 2

Many of the figures have poor quality. It appears that they were copied at low resolution and the text in the figure is blurry. Many pages are large sections of empty space because of the placement of figures. The art connections are the only useful figures. The other figures are just placeholders that could be overlooked. Students prefer to scan the figure and figure legends for content. But there are none in this text. All of the information has to come from the text itself.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no distracting grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text is generic and thus is relevant to all. In fact, there are very few pictures or references to humans and instead, other organisms are the focus.

This book is written as a reference textbook with the concepts themselves covered but not in any context to relevant, real world examples. The lack of attention-grabbing figures with detailed descriptions and the generic prose would easily loose the attention of my students. Again, this would be a useful reference book but not a good source for non-major, introductory students to read and understand on their own.

Reviewed by Haydn Rubelmann, Visiting Instructor, University of South Florida on 3/27/18

The main concepts in an all-encompassing Biology Non-Majors course are present. However, many concepts are only present as 1 or 2 paragraphs at most, and not every concept has figures associated with it. read more

Reviewed by Haydn Rubelmann, Visiting Instructor, University of South Florida on 3/27/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not find any inaccuracies within the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Within the Biotechnology section, they should include Crispr - which has already been added to most major Biology texts. As far as longevity, Biology books themselves change frequently, and the text will need to be updated as such.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is so concise, clarity is hardly an issue. Everything is straightforward and written simply. If anything, I would prefer more information and examples on the topics presented.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is extremely consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

Everything is where it should be. It would be very easy to move from section to section as needed, omitting certain modules for time constraints or when altering the course towards certain subjects.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I am used to animal structure and function (systems biology) following at the end of a non-majors book, rather than having it before the ecology section. It is nice to introduce the students to all of the life on the planet, and then follow it with how they interact. After that is when systems biology can be discussed.

Interface rating: 5

It was very easy to use online. I like that there are end of chapter questions, and with a click of the button you can see the correct answer. However, the answer should not only show the multiple choice letter, but also a brief description of why the answer is correct. I think this would be helpful.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not see any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Within the human population chapter, I did not find anything offensive. It almost appeared that the authors avoided discussing any policies of human populations that were intended to curb exponential growth (China's one child policy, India's educational stances). Anyhow, the chapters were written well and shouldn't cause offense to anyone.

Overall, I think the book is sufficient in teaching a non-majors Biology course. However, each topic is written so concisely, that I feel students may be inclined to feel as if they are reading a dictionary or encyclopedia. I would need to use outside material for the course to engage the students in order to motivate them to learn the course material. There are rarely any stories or attention grabbing anecdotes to stimulate student's interests. Similarly, the questions at the end of each section are knowledge-based low-level Bloom's which can be answered with a quick scroll up, as each section is given on one single page.

Reviewed by Dale Holen, Associate Professor of Biology, Penn State University on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I compared it to my current text and it does cover the requisite areas that should be found in a non-majors biology text. At times the material is glossed over however. For instance in the Glycolysis section there is are three short paragraphs describing this metabolic pathway and the corresponding figure mis-represents what actually happens. I agree that most non-majors don't need to understand the intricacies of this pathway but I think it unwise to represent it as a simple two-step process. There is beauty in complexity.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

It seems that way. The non-majors course I teach is Genetics, Ecology and Evolution. For each of the sections in the Openstax book there is a general covering of the most of the material and the material covered is accurate. However, there is a general paucity in detail for much of it and in some cases information that I feel is relevant is missing. For instance in the non-Mendelian genetics section there is no mention of pleiotropy nor environmental effects. There are other examples where relevant material, in my opinion, was left out.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

It appears to be up-to-date. However I saw no reference to Prion diseases and it's not referenced in the index. Unfortunately, the section on viruses in included within the chapter on The Immune System and Disease rather than being a stand-alone chapter. In the evolution section there was nothing in regards to human evolution. There was one picture comparing a human and ape skull indicating their relatedness but it's in the chapter on Diversity of Life. I think it's a mistake to leave that out.

Clarity rating: 4

I found it easy to read; however, I found that in many areas there was too brief a description, which I believe would make the material difficult for the student to completely understand. That also applies to many of the figures which I didn't think were adequately explained by the caption.

Consistency rating: 5

The text and jargon seems consistent throughout.

Modularity rating: 5

The sections are relatively short with adequate subheadings. The font could be a little larger.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics flow in an appropriate sequence

Interface rating: 5

All images were clear and I had no navigation problems.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't observe any grammar issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not observe any problems in this area.

Because it's a free downloadable book for students I was excited to review it for possible use in my non-majors course. I was less excited after the review. Many sections seem to lack overall detail and there was relevant information excluded. And I didn't find the illustrations overall engaging. In some cases additional figures / illustrations should have been added for clarity, e.g. the discussion on transformation, transduction and conjugation by bacteria. However, having said that, the missing information can be provided by the instructor in the classroom as well as a more comprehensive explanation if needed. I personally wouldn't adopt this if this was an option as a hard-copy text book. but as a freebee for students I might consider it. I'm still debating.

Reviewed by Matthew Fisher, Biology Instructor, Oregon Coast Community College on 8/15/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Concepts of Biology is perhaps the most comprehensive introductory textbook that I have encountered. Every topic that you would expect in a general biology textbook is present, from chemistry to ecology. I liked that the text included topics sometimes missed in other texts, such as biotechnology and physiology. While the text is designed to be a pared down version intended for non-majors, it is still fairly lengthy. If you download the text as a PDF it is 621 pages (although some of that is empty space due to formatting issues).

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found no inaccurate information. To be best of my knowledge, the content is factual and objective.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This textbook has up-to-date information. An example would be the discussion of protists. Some textbooks still refer to this group as a kingdom but this text deftly handles the revisions in taxonomy that are occurring without providing too much information (information that is is likely to change in the near future as taxonomic revisions continue).

Clarity rating: 3

Overall, the textbook adequately explains the content and provides sufficient supplementary figures. However, there are some major problems in the beginning portions of the text that are hard to overlook. When compared to traditional textbooks, these are major short-comings and that is why I give the text a "3" for this category.

For example, in chapter 2 there are several examples of jargon being used without proper explanation. These include the use of "polymer", a term that is repeatedly used but never explained. Also, in the same chapter they never bother to explain what an organic molecule is! During the discussion of phospholipids and steroids, no figures are presented to assist in the explanation. I have never seen a textbook that doesn't provide a diagram to help explain the amphipathic nature of phospholipids. This chapter in particular could have used a lot more figures (for example, they attempt to explain things like pleated sheets without the use of illustrations). In addition, steroids are simply described as having a "ring structure," which of course could also be used to describe sugars. There are a few other instances similar to this, but they are all found in Unit 1.

If I were to adopt this textbook for my class, I would absolutely have to fix these problems first.

Consistency rating: 4

Overall, the writing, formatting, and style are consistent from chapter to chapter, despite the various authors. However, as noted in my comments for the "Clarity" section, there were significant problems that only arose in Unit 1. The only other issue that I noticed was that the number of review questions at the end of each section widely varied. For equal amounts of content, sometimes there would only be 1 or 2 review questions, and other times perhaps 6 or 7.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook appropriately separates the content into units of reasonable length. A positive feature of this text is that you don't have to scroll for days to reach the end of each unit. From firsthand experience, I know that students appreciate that.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Overall, the textbook does a great job of organizing the content. Personally, I feel that the chapters on DNA and gene expression should occur before the units on genetics, but most textbooks don't organize it that way so I did not let it affect my evaluation of this text. However, in Unit 1 (again) I was left scratching my head. The text doesn't introduce the term "cellular respiration" until after its discussion on glycolysis. The text fails to contextualize why glycolysis is important and the different ways in which it is used. The text goes on to explain the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, but again fails to explicitly tie all of the processes together under the umbrella of "cellular respiration".

I was also perplexed as to why waxes were included with steroids in the same subheading. Waxes are much more similar to fats than steroids. Lastly, a subsection titled "facilitated transport" was included in the section on passive transport, suggesting to the reader that it is not also important (vital, in fact) for active transport.

Interface rating: 4

Overall, the interface is excellent. I gave the text a rating of 4 because a few figures had text that was very small and hard to read compared to the main text. See figure 7 in section 1.1, for example.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Overall, the grammar was excellent. However, in Unit 1, the author(s) really struggled with topic sentences. For example, the topic sentence for the first paragraph in a subsection on hydrogen bonds reads, "Ionic and covalent bonds are strong bonds that require considerable energy to break." It's not until the 4th sentence that hydrogen bonds are actually mentioned!

Cultural Relevance rating: 2

With regard to photographs/portraits of people, the text shows almost exclusively white men. The only two pictures used for the "Careers in Action" section were white men. Of the pictures/portraits were they explicitly highlighted scientists, all were white males except for one which included a white female. This may be the only textbook that I have seen that has not included a picture of Rosalind Franklin when discussing DNA, doing so would have balanced the scales. Overall, this textbook was done a poor job of highlighting people of color and women. They should specifically highlight scientists that fit these descriptions, in addition to showing pictures of racially diverse people in the "Careers in Action" section.

Overall, this is a strong textbook and has many positive attributes. If the corrections to Unit 1 were made and the text included a more racially and gender-balanced focus, then it would be superior to traditional textbooks.

One final note: the addition of review questions at the end of each module are great, in theory, but almost all of the multiple choice questions require only simple recall from students. Including questions higher up on Bloom's taxonomy would demonstrate to students that they are expected to synthesize, apply, and otherwise critically think about the material.

Reviewed by Grace Murray, Professor, Tidewater Community College on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

This text covers most ideas, however not always fully. Already, within the first 6 chapters, I have noticed many small, yet still important concepts that are not discussed. For instance:
Hydrolysis and dehydration reactions are not discussed. The wording is used in a few places, but there is no defining section describing water's role in chemical bonds, which is relevant in many further concepts in the book.
Other important concepts that are missing, or not fully included, are Salts/electrolytes and Redox reactions. Also ATP/ADP are barely covered. These are crucial concepts necessary to the understanding of following concepts.

It is understood that this is a book for non-majors, however, this is not quite comprehensive enough for a college-level non-majors biology course.

I am pleased to see a glossary of terms after each chapter. This is very useful for students.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have not noticed any errors, or blatantly incorrect information. The only small inaccuracy I found is that electrolyes dissolve in water. Salts dissolve in water, releasing electrolytes (ions). These do not further dissolve.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This textbook is basic enough that the information can remain relevant for many years. Most of this information is general concepts which haven't changed, nor are likely to change for many years.

Clarity rating: 3

I think the clarity is great. It stays easy to read and comprehend for a non-majors level. The only problem I see is use of words such as hydrolysis/dehydration and oxidation/reduction, with no formal discussion defining these words. The context they are used in is not enough to derive an understanding of the words.

Consistency rating: 5

I have noticed no issues in terms of consistency and framework. There is a nice flow to the information.

Modularity rating: 5

All chapters are well divided into small concept chunks with appropriate subheadings. This makes it easy to direct students to what to read, verses what can be skipped, as well as allowing students to properly chunk notes taken from reading.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics have a logical and meaningful flow, which is very well organized.

Interface rating: 5

On the computers and devises I have used, I have noted no problems with interface. I know that my students are viewing the text in many forms, including tablets and smartphones, from which I have heard of no problems.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have yet to see a grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I feel that there are many references and examples to biological situations, none of which I have noted any insensitivity or offensiveness. Most don't lend themselves to inclusiveness issues.

Overall the book is well-done, and a blessing to be able to provide to students for free. I feel it just needs a bit more information added to it to round it out fully, and make it appropriate for a college level biology course.

Reviewed by Michelle Donaghy Cannon, Instructor, Linn-Benton Community College on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book covers most topics addressed in non-major 100-level biology survey courses. The one subject area that I teach at the 100-level that is not covered in this book is ‘Plant Structure and Function’. Therefore, I must use the 200-level version of this text, Openstax Biology for that course. That is unfortunate because much of the Biology textbook is too detailed and technical for a non-major 10-week course.

Nevertheless, this book provides clear and accessible text on the subject areas that it covers. Each chapter provides a glossary of key terms and a few review and critical thinking questions.

One significant drawback to this book is that wide-ranging and sometimes disparate topics are groups together into a single chapter. For example, Chapter 13: Diversity of Microbes, Fungi, and Protists comprise a single chapter so that members of each domain/kingdom are provided very little coverage. This is the case for much of the book’s subject areas. ‘Population and Community Ecology’ also are grouped into a single chapter, which means neither is covered particularly well.

This lack of coverage means that not all topics that are introduced are given enough text space and/or supporting figures for students to understand them. Chapter 16, The Body’s Systems covers 6 major topics areas of human A&P. Because this book should not be used as a substitute for a dedicated A&P textbook, that is not too much of a problem. However, some topics probably should not have been broached in this textbook. In sections 16.5 and 16.6, muscle contractions and neuron action potentials are briefly described. Yet, neither of the descriptions of these complex processes are supported by images. Decent, Creative Commons images do exist for these processes because I use the images from the Openstax ‘Biology’ in my 100-level course. The books share many of the same illustrations so I don’t know why these were omitted from this textbook. If it deemed that these processes are too complex for non-major biology courses, then students would be better served by not having the topics covered at all than trying to puzzle out how depolarization works or how sarcomeres shorten in skeletal muscles without an illustration. There is a video embedded within this section that does describe the process but very few students utilize these links. Fortunately, the immune system is given its own chapter in this book and provides a good basic overview of the components.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I have not encountered serious issues in the accuracy or bias of topics that I cover. The brevity makes some topics difficult to understand. Broken links are probably the most significant accuracy issues comes from the extensive use of links to outside learning resources. Even those that point to resources located on the Openstax site sometimes do not work or are not supported. However, the website has a good Errata section that you can submit errors and broken links to. These appeared to be addressed relatively quickly and editors provide a table in which the status of the reported errors or broken link is available. I have checked this table when I find a link that does not work to see if it has been reported.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

As an instructor of non-major biology classes, I am particularly concerned with the take-home messages that students will carry with them long after they leave my classroom. This textbook provides many good examples of concepts and processes that are relevant to non-major biology students. The section on Genetic Engineering (Chapter 10, Bioengineering) provides a section on the application of genetic engineering and GMOs, a topic that students have many misconceptions about. Some updates are needed; for example, there is a brief overview of the one-child policy in China, which needs to be updated. The paragraph in the book can be a good introduction that encourages discussion on why this policy changed.

However, the brevity of the text means that a lot of concepts are introduced but not explained enough for students to understand their relevance. For example, the process and consequences of eutrophication and ocean acidification could be expanded, and while I believe that my role is fleshing out these topics is critical, these topics are so important and relevant that they should get better coverage in the textbook. Ocean acidification is not covered in Chapter 21, Conservation and Biodiversity under the heading of Climate Change. In fact, I could find not find the term ocean acidification in the most recent online version of the site (06/17). One of the chief strengths of this book is that is editable so can be easily updated. The downside is that it is not clear to students who purchase used versions of the hard copy that changes have been made. The Openstax website provides excellent documentation of changes that have been made to the textbook, but instructors must help students understand how this textbook works so that students are not frustrated. I use a hard copy that is a few years old so I am careful to consult the online version and update my PDF versions on a regular basis.

Clarity rating: 5

The clarity of the prose is excellent and is written at a level that is appropriate for lower-division undergraduate students. It is very difficult to explain complex terms and concepts to a non-major audience and many of these students do not have strong reading comprehension skills.

As I noted above in the Comprehensiveness section, adding a few more illustrations that support the text would be useful.

Consistency rating: 5

This book had many contributors, but it is consistent in both layout and prose. That is important because we cover most of the chapters in this book in our non-majors biology series. Importantly, formatting is consistent throughout the book in all versions.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity of this books works well for me because it is easy to assign reading by sections. The sections can be read in isolation but it is easy to assign one section in another chapter that will provide context.

It is important that if you prefer using a hard copy of the book that you assign reading by section rather than by page number, which has no meaning to online readers and may be incorrect for students whose print version came out later or earlier than your version.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This textbook is organized in the same hierarchical way other introductory biology books are organized (atoms --> biosphere). Because we organize our biology series in the same way, this organization works well.

Interface rating: 4

The interface of the book works well and I understood how to navigate the online version quickly. Some students have a difficult time negotiating the online version of the book. About half of the students in my classes who do not fully use the book point to their difficulty navigating it. This apparently is because each section (e.g., 10.2) is a separate page. This should not be a problem as it is easy to move to the previous or next sections by clicking on the navigation buttons. The search function works well with the caveat that you need to hit the enter button to execute the search. Partial words or phrases are fine as long as they are not misspelled. These are the kinds of tips that students need to understand to fully utilize the book. It is worth the time to show students how to navigate the book rather than assume that they will figure it out.

Some of the images are not crisp enough in the hard copy of the book but they are readable. The photos are generally good quality and informative.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is well-written and generally error-free. Any errors are easily reportable to the Openstax website.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

I have not found evidence of culturally insensitive or offensive material in this book. I would recommend that the book use more examples that help students understand and appreciate the biological significance of the diversity of human traits (e.g., the evolution of lactose tolerance).

I have used this textbook or the Openstax Biology textbook for several terms. I like these books and students are grateful for access to a free textbook. However, we need to understand how students are using these textbooks - or in many cases, not using them. In classes where I have surveyed textbook utilization, between a third and a half of students do not use the textbook or use it very little. The reason that they give the most often is that they prefer to read a hard copy of the book and/or have difficulty navigating the online or PDF versions. A few have technical issues and cannot access the book with older computers.

This issue appears easily rectified by providing a hard copy of the textbook for a nominal cost, which Openstax has done admirably. We stock this textbook in the college bookstore to make it as accessible as possible. I also require the use the online Sapling Learning support system to encourage students to engage with the textbook.

The problem is that the siren song of free means that most students will not purchase the textbook if they can access it for free, even if they are unwilling or unable to read an onscreen version. There is only so much that we can do in this situation but it is important for students and instructors alike to be aware of it. I was an enthusiastic adopter of this technology and it was not until I surveyed the students that I understood the extent of this problem. Much of the value of this textbook is virtually ignored by most students, particularly the embedded links to supporting resources. Almost none of my students access these links, even when I tell them how useful they will be to illustrate difficult concepts. In fact, many students automatically google for information (much of it incorrect or incomplete) rather than use their textbook.

If we want students to use these resources, we need to be very clear that 1) the textbook is an important learning resource, and 2) they are accountable for learning the material. We need to make hard copies available in college bookstores and on reserve at the library. We also must take the time in class to demonstrate how to fully utilize the features of the book. As instructors who were not immersed in technology in our formative years, we often assume that our students are more technically savvy than they are. Most importantly, we need to help students recognize the kind of learners they are so they can use strategies that increase their engagement with these resources and their success in our classes.

Reviewed by Sascha McKeon, Biology Instructor, Blue Mountain Community College on 6/20/17

The book covers a wide range of content appropriate to a non-majors level biology course or survey introduction; with the exception of a few content areas such as evolution and diversity of non living and lower organisms, Plant diversity and. read more

Reviewed by Sascha McKeon, Biology Instructor, Blue Mountain Community College on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

For example, the 3 individual chapters (covering Non-living organisms and prokaryotes together, Protists, and Fungi) in our previous textbook were consolidated into one massive chapter. The same occurred with the plant content. What was 5 chapters (evolution & diversity, structure & organization, regulation, and reproduction) was also consolidated into a single (albeit large) chapter. The 5 senses were completely glanced over in the segment off Body systems.

On one hand students appreciated have "less" reading outside of class, however, the lack of additional coverage in the textbook may have been a contributing factor to student success in the first year of adoption. Even with the utilization of the same lecture materials pre and post OER adoption and the same exams being proctored. Students who used the text were under-prepared for the assessments.

One could argue depth required in subject matter, specifically in introductory courses, however, across the department, we felt the lack of coverage in these areas was a disservice to our students. Even though we may have covered the content in lecture, they needed to have additional exposure to the content outside of class to increase their retention of the material.

Our fix: We remixed and revised the Openstax Concepts of Biology textbook with chapters from the Majors "Biology" text (that were trimmed down, removing concepts we thought were beyond the reasonable limits of an introductory course). In the following year, the student success "bounced back" and became comparable to the pre-OER distribution of success.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased. It is also clearly worded to aid in student understanding.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

With the exception of Chapter 10 (on Biotechnology) the content is up to date and worded to focus on the models of previous scientific processes and the "big picture" generalizations, which will aid in the longevity of the text. As far as Biotechnology goes, that field is rapidly growing due to the advancements in the field, and I could see needing to supplement a paragraph or two within the next 5 years.

Clarity rating: 5

Text is clearly worded, concepts are focused on major distinctions and terminology is added in a progressive pace, making it easy for students to build upon. There are also ample examples of concepts which can provide context for student understanding.

Consistency rating: 5

The pace and focus of the material is consistent throughout subject matter, this provides student with a regular framework in which to access the material.

Modularity rating: 5

Having used this text in a Revise and Remix model, I can attest to the modularity and ease with which we were able to supplement content in a course (and even term) specific manner.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The chapters progress on content appropriately, which enables our year long sequence (over the span of 3 courses) to generally proceed in a linear fashion; with the exception of Unit 6 Ecology being discussed following the unit 4 coverage of plants and plant dynamics.

Interface rating: 5

The books interface and navigation has been seamless for a majority of my interactions. Additionally, the images/charts are high enough quality, that we were able to offer the students an option to purchase a paperback copy purchased for cost of printing only with no distortion to the graphics, even when we opted for black and white, over color printing.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No errors have caught my eye.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is written scientifically, without bias, and as a result has no culturally insensitive references. The text and subject matter is focused on a variety of organisms, continents and only addresses races/ethnicity in the context of historical examples, such as the epidemics that broke out after western settlers made content with Native Americas, who had previously seen no exposure to these pathogens. Even then, it is matter of fact and tastefully focused on the concept of immunity.

We have used this text across the entire Biology department for 3 years now, and both students and faculty are happy with it. It is a valuable resource in content matter, accessibility and scale-ability.

Reviewed by Francesca Mellieon-Williams, Associate Professor, Southern University and A&M College on 4/11/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text is used for non-majors Biology and I have used it as a textbook replacement for 3 years. It provides a clear and concise survey for the intended audience. Overall, it serves well as a textbook replacement and/or textbook alternative. The table of contents allows you to view the sequential topics in each section. Each chapter includes the following sections: Careers in Action, Section Summary, Art Connection, Multiple Choice, Free Response and Glossary. The Careers in Action is a real-world application of science for non-majors; this provides them a glimpse into the field of science. Each of the other sections are reinforcement tools for the students after their readings. The Free Response is also a great prompt for class discussions and discussion boards.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Content is accurate, error-free and unbiased. In some areas, more detail can be added (Chapter 16-Body Systems).

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The relevance/longevity is impacted most by the Careers in Action. Those may need to be updated and/or new ones added to keep the field relevant to the readers.

Clarity rating: 5

Text is clear and easy to follow for students and faculty. The end of chapter glossary is there to provide clarity of technical terms.

Consistency rating: 5

Text is consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is easy to read whether the PDF, online or enhanced tablet version. The choice of device does not present any issues to the reader.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics are presented in a logical, clear fashion which is similar to the organization of the course I teach. In the Chapter 16, there could be a bit more information on the Body's Systems; currently, I supplement the areas with other resources.

Interface rating: 5

There are not any interface issues I am aware of for myself or my students. I have used the PDF as well as the enhanced version on a tablet and no issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammar is clear and concise.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

It is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

This has been a great resource for students at my institution by providing the content needed to successfully exit their General Biology course requirement. The flexibility of how the student may access/obtain the text is a great value-add. For some being able to print from the PDF or have it accessible to them on their mobile devices or even order a bound-printed copy relives varied levels of stress for them.

Reviewed by Lori Lundine, Lead Instructor, Rogue Community College on 4/11/17

The book has a very easily accessible and complete table of contents. The online book works well in that each chapter title can be clicked on to open a list of the subtitles explaining the topics covered in the sections. The information covered. read more

Reviewed by Lori Lundine, Lead Instructor, Rogue Community College on 4/11/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The information covered in the book is well laid out and covers the all material that should be included in a 100 level biology class.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I didn't find any errors in the books information, nor did the book seem biased in any way.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The material in the book is relevant to anyone who is alive and curious. The way the book accesses internet information is commendable- making it a very desirable addition to any contemporary students collection.

Updates to links may be an issue as time passes, and inclusion of varying emergent technologies or careers. However, that last part has always been true of science materials.

Clarity rating: 5

I find the lay out impeccable. It introduces what it is going to talk about then talks about the introduced topics clearly with great graphic support.

The fluidity of the writing is rarely found at this level. The vocabulary appendices at the end of each Chapter make it friendly to all students including ELA.

Consistency rating: 5

The pattern of Chapter, subtopic, vocabulary, review and questions is consistent and reliable. A great way for new"ish" students to get used to college level reading.

Modularity rating: 4

For the most part, the text is divided nicely with graphics and career information or internet connections. There were a few areas with large blocks of text, but not many.

The dividing graphics and career information are not disruptive because they highlight subjects that are mentioned in the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The organizational structure of the book follows a common flow of Biology texts. I thought it was a little off that genetics was discussed before the structure of DNA, RNA and the cell divisions. Those usually help a student comprehend the way the genes separate and recombine during reproduction, thus make for the genetic variances taught.

But, besides that, the flow was perfect.

Interface rating: 5

I noticed no interface issues. The internet book worked perfectly and every movie, link and picture worked well. No visible distortions.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I noticed two areas where the sentences didn't flow well. One was written poorly, but that is not bad percentage wise, compared to the whole book.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way. Biology is universal and doesn't make reference to any particular cultures except for bacterial cultures, and as science is based on fact, there are no ill placed opinions about said bacteria. Just perhaps a few less than positive hypotheses.

I am thrilled about the availability of such a high quality and timely resource for lower level biology students. It is engaging where sometimes the science can get dry, and relevant for the students because of its direct tie-ins to careers.

Reviewed by Paul Verrell, Associate Professor, Washington State University on 4/11/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

I was motivated to search for an open-access text for my non-majors class in fall 2016 for two reasons. First, I could not justify a non-major spending around $100 for a book that would be used for one semester. Second, textbooks in all of the classes I teach are really recommended supplements to the other materials I make available, not required reading. And so I used OpenStax’s Concepts of Biology, a text intended for non-biology majors.

This text is quite exhaustive in coverage (a stronger word than comprehensive) – no major areas of the subject are omitted. This means it contains too much material for a single-semester course. In addition, I think it covers the majority of topics in more depth than is needed for non-majors.

These comments need to be put in context. Almost all non-majors texts available in print also include too much breadth and depth. Indeed, many seem written for a mixed majors/non-majors audience, although this is seldom stated. The upside to providing lots of breadth and depth is that the instructor has a lot of material to choose from. The downside is that students may resent paying for pages they don’t use (not a problem with an Openstax text), and become confused when levels of detail given in lectures, labs, and discussions don’t match those in the text. Of course, it is the job of the instructor to guide students to achieving an appropriate level of understanding.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text appears to be accurate, error-free, and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Most of the biology relevant to a non-major doesn’t change much over short(ish) periods of time. And so, for example, the basics of transcription and translation will be the same next year as they are this year. However, Chapter Ten on biotechnology, will need revision and updating, whether by the authors or instructor. For example, I find no discussion of how CRISPR/Cas9 will facilitate gene editing, and so revolutionize agriculture and medicine. I believe it is the instructor’s responsibility to include what may be missing from the text.

One simple strategy to underscore relevance is to include material from newspapers and other (reliable!) media in lectures, labs, and discussions. It is crucial to show non-majors that biology is important to them and to society, and that it moves forward on a truly daily basis.

Clarity rating: 4

Biology has its own vocabulary and technical terminology. This can sometimes lead to confusion – my favorite example is use of the concept of a theory. The text certainly uses the language of biology, and does so in an appropriate fashion. Glossaries of terms are included, although I cannot find an index.

In addition to diagrams, which are well constructed, there are questions that require some critical and synthetic thought scattered through the text.

The book includes chapter summaries and sample questions (multiple choice and short answer, the latter called Free Response. These questions are not as numerous as in most of the print books I am familiar with.

Consistency rating: 5

The level of consistency of terminology and framework is high.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is organized into six units within which there are multiple chapters. For example, Chapter Two of Unit One deals with the Chemistry of Life. Just because students don’t like chemistry is no reason to omit the subject, but this chapter nicely illustrates how parts of the text provide more detail than some may think is necessary. That said, it does prepare the student for detailed treatments of cellular respiration and photosynthesis to come – if the instructor deems such detailed treatments to be appropriate.

The ordering of the Units, and that of chapters within units, does not follow the order I use in my class. For example, I deal with evolution in the first two weeks of the semester, as I believe it to be the lens through which all of biology should be viewed. The text waits until Unit Four to present Evolution and the Diversity of Life. However, Units and Chapters can be organized in a way that preserves flow and connectedness as per an instructor's requirements.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

There are many stories that can be told about biology, and no one story is necessarily better than any other. The text tells a story that is different from mine, and so the organization of my class and the text do not match. The organization of the text is certainly logical and clear – it’s just not how I would organize it. I don’t consider this to a big problem.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easy to use, and includes clear and relevant artwork and video clips. Specific chapters are easily accessible through the Contents function - an index would be nice (I can't find one).

Additional on-line resources are available to the instructor, including but not limited to test questions and PowerPoint slides (I choose not to use these, but they are just fine).

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

If there are any grammatical errors (and I didn’t notice any) then they are minor, as are any typos.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I find nothing insensitive or offensive in terms of gender, ethnicity, and background.

I believe that Concepts of Biology is an excellent text for a non-majors biology class. It is accessible, nicely up-to-date, and covers relevant topics. And, of course, it is free unless one chooses to make a donation.

I provided students in my class with a survey to determine their opinions of the book. Only two of 216 first-year students used the text regularly, with 30% saying that they used it at least occasionally. This is a disappointingly low number. While students were not required to complete end-of-section questions, 40% who used the text made use of those questions. I am pleased by this level of initiative.

As expected, most students (59%) found the material in the text to be more detailed than my lectures; most of the remaining students (33%) said that the text and lectures were comparable. The majority of students found the book at least somewhat connected with my lectures (88%) and at least somewhat useful overall (86%).

I asked about whether the book should be used again. Most students (64%) said that it should remain as recommended – 16% said it should be required. Of the remaining students, 10% responded that no text is necessary, and 10% wanted access to a ‘conventional’ book-store text.

Most students gave replies that I expected, for the most part. The book was judged to be useful and well-connected with my lectures, although more detailed. The majority view was that the text should be recommended in the future, a position with which I agree.

Reviewed by Pamela Thinesen, Instructor, Century College on 2/8/17

Very comprehensive and good glossary and index, as good as any of the many other texts I've seen. Not sure if index could use some work -- for example, I could not find any reference to respiration, cellular respiration, aerobic respiration; yet. read more

Reviewed by Pamela Thinesen, Instructor, Century College on 2/8/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 4

One thing that bothers me is Fig 1.11 -- it seems to be telling reader that Carl Woese's phylogenetic tree is accepted as present-day evolutionary groupings. For example, Eukarya should list Plants, Animals, Fungi, Protista, rather than slime molds, ciliates, flagellates, etc.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Content appears to be up-to-date, except for that phylogenetic tree in Ch 1--it's okay that it's the original one from Woese, but there should be an explanation that it's not up-to-date. I believe necessary updates will be easy to make.

Clarity rating: 4

Not sure if it's just the font being so small, but it does have a very wordy, slightly tedious flow to it. However, the animations that are built in are very good.

Consistency rating: 5

I do find that the text is consistent in regard to terminology and organization.

Modularity rating: 3

The text is done well in regard to smaller reading sections but still has a very wordy feel to it; perhaps a larger font and more visuals would help.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Excellent organization and flow

Interface rating: 5

I found no navigation problems or distortion of images/charts

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Saw no indication of culturally insensitivity or offensiveness.

My students have used this text with WileyPlus for about two years now and I can't recall one complaint, whereas there were complaints about every expensive text used before that -- and I've been teaching since 2000.

Reviewed by Ai Wen, Adjunct Professor, University of Northern Iowa on 2/8/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Overall, I found this textbook covers the basic topics and concepts you can find in a classic biology textbook; it also provides information from recent publications pertaining to biomedicine and climate issues which can be interesting to non-major students. I am planning to use this book next semester, and I think it will be a good textbook for me to outline my lectures, and for students to read relevant chapters before they come to lectures. The online version is especially handy because of the search function, as well as the links to outside information sources. The links to some hand-on modules seem very interesting and will be easily used to develop assignment questions.
I think for a non-major biology class, it is essential to use stories, controversies and novel technological development to attract students so they can find biology is actually relevant to their everyday lives, and overcome some students’ science-phobia. The “concepts in action” and “career in action” modules in this textbook provides interesting material for students to understand how biology is linked to social science, epidemiology etc. Although, I think for instructors who want to cover more in-depth information on certain chapters (such as climate change in the “Treats to Biodiversity” section), this textbook may not be sufficient and some additional reading material is necessary. This is true for other non-major biology textbooks (not open access).

Content Accuracy rating: 4

I found the textbook to be accurate on the major concepts and current development in many fields of biology. There are many controversial issues in biology that different instructors might find they do not agree with the information provided by this textbook (especially those sections to do with taxonomy and phylogeny), but I did not find major conflicts. I do have several minor issues (after reading Unit 4,5,6):
Section 12.1 “Taxonomy is the science of naming and grouping…… A hierarchical system has levels and each group at one of the levels includes groups at the next lowest level, so that at the lowest level each member belongs to a series of nested groups”. Shouldn’t the “lowest” be “highest” instead? I guess it depends on whether the authors consider Domain as the lowest or the highest level of taxonomy. I always consider Domain as the highest level and therefore each group at one of the levels includes groups at the next highest level. I found this paragraph a little confusing. Maybe it can be clarified by referring to the figure and have a better definition of what “lowest” and “highest” is.
Section 12.2 in “Molecular Comparisons”: …To determine the relationships between very different species such as Eukarya and Archaea…” I recommend change it to “very different taxa”
Section 12.2 Figure 4. Lancelet shouldn’t be included in the clade Vertebrata

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Information in this textbook stays relatively up-to-date.
Although there are a few places where I think the authors should have provided references for the readers to know where the information is from and how recent the sources are. For example, in chapter 13.3 about Protista, the textbook describes a six-Supergroup classification system in Protista (Figure 3). Since the phylogeny and classification of Protista is a very controversial topic (as the textbook also mentioned), it is important for the readers to know where and when this classification system was developed, and whether there are alternative systems use (as most other textbooks are using a system with five Supergroups). Another similar example is in chapter 13.4 when the authors talk about the classification of fungi, the old and new classification system were both introduced but not clearly cited. If the textbook will be updated by authors and other contributors, it is important to know where the current text is based on.

Clarity rating: 4

Most of the textbook is well written with clear and precise language.
However, I do find sometimes the information is too descriptive and not in-depth enough. For example, in the introduction of chapter 20, the textbook provides an example of an ecosystem. It introduces the oak-pine barren as a nutrient-poor, fire frequent ecosystem, and talked about what researchers study in such ecosystems (the movement of resources). The text ends here, and if I were a student who is reading the textbook, I would like to continue to read more information about this ecosystem and how the Karner blue butterfly and wild lupine (shown in the pictures) have adapted to it, which is a very nice example to show student that not only nutrient rich ecosystems are important, but even ecosystems with restricted resources can support unique biodiversity. Similarly, in the introduction of chapter 12, the textbook uses a bee and an Echinacea flower as an example to demonstrate a bee and a flower can be related. I assume the authors were suggesting the co-evolution of Echinacea and pollinators and how phylogenetically flowers became diverse, but I am not sure (they might be referring to the fact that both of them are in Domain Eukarya), and nowhere could students find answers to this example.
Other minor issues:
Chapter 13.4 Fungal Diversity: This section talks about an older, four major groups classification system (which were listed and shown in Figure 5), but the textbook also indicates a fifth division (a polyphyletic, unrelated fungus group) and a sixth group (which does not fit with any previous groups). The last two groups were not very clearly named and I think it is very confusing. I recommend revise the text to lay out the four traditional groups, and then introduce the two new groups (with names indicated).

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is consistent in terms of taxonomy and biological terminology.

Modularity rating: 5

This textbook can be easily divided into sections and used independently. Some of the later chapters, such as the Evolution and Diversity of Life and Animal Structure and Function, do use information from earlier cell and genetics related chapters (such as what is ribosomal RNA). But I think in the online version, the search box is very useful for students and instructors to locate the definition of unfamiliar terms. Students should be able to read these later chapters even if the instructor skips the molecular biology and cell biology sections. This is especially helpful if the instructor is teaching a non-major class not aiming to cover the entire scope of biology, but only focusing on conservation biology, global change biology, etc.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

1. The information arrangement in this book follows a structure that is commonly adapted by biology textbooks, especially books for non-majors. In the first chapter, the book starts with providing definition of “life”, and introduces the levels of biological terms and the concept of taxonomy. It also introduces different foci of biology studies and how it is related to other areas in science. I think for instructors who may want to skip some chapters to go to a specific topic in biology, this first chapter provides a functional overarching introduction of the book.
The book then divided into cell biology, molecular biology, evolution/diversity, animal structure/function, ecology/conservation biology chapters, which again is a very typical outline for non-major biology books. My non-major class follows the same structure so it works well for me.
2. I find the “Summary” at the beginning of each chapter very helpful for students to understand the layout of information in each chapter.

Interface rating: 4

I mostly used the online version of this textbook to do this review, and I found the links to images and outside websites in this textbook function very well.
One issue I have encountered is that the online version of the textbook mostly uses gradually reduced fonts of titles to distinguish the different levels of information within a chapter, and the difference between these fonts are not very obvious. Sometimes I get confused whether I am reading text pertaining to a new topic, or it is still within the previous section. For example, in section 13.4, the textbook lists Fungal Diversity, Pathogenic Fungi, Plant Parasites and Pathogens, Animal and Human Parasites and Pathogens and Beneficial Fungi. I assume the layout of information is
Fungal Diversity
Pathogenic Fungi
Plant Parasites and Pathogens
Animal and Human Parasites and Pathogens
Beneficial Fungi
But it is very hard to tell while reading the webpage because the fonts of these titles are hard to distinguish.
Another example is in chapter 13.1, the Beneficial Prokaryotes have the following topics: Prokaryotes, and Food and Beverages; Using Prokaryotes to Clean up Our Planet: Bioremediation; and Prokaryotes in and on the Body. The last topic’s title should have the same font as the former two topics, but currently it has a smaller font, which makes it seem like the last topic is nesting in the “Using Prokaryotes to Clean up Our Planet” section.
I recommend in addition to gradually reduced fonts, the authors can consider to use other ways (such as different colors, shades, italicized fonts or bold letters) to better distinguish the information nested within a specific topic.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find any cultural insensitive or offensive information

I believe open access is the future of textbooks. The merit of this textbook is the free access and its flexibility to be modified. And yet it is peer reviewed by many contributors and users. The web based multimedia interface adds a lot of tools that make this an interesting textbook for non-major biology students.

Reviewed by Michael Manzella, Postdoctoral Researcher, Colorado State University on 12/5/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book was surprisingly comprehensive. Never using an open textbook, prior to Concepts of Biology, I had anticipated a truncated and therefore non-comprehensive textbook. However, I believe that all major concepts were covered. I primarily focused on the microbiology and ecology sections. While the depth of coverage is some sections is lacking, by which I mean things aren't covered ad nauseum, this could easily be supplemented in the classroom.

Many microbiology textbooks spend far too much time focusing on every phylogenetic group, while this book chooses not to do so. I believe this is beneficial to avoid memorization. Focus on specific groups during class time, if you wish to.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I believe the content withing this book is accurate and error-free.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content within this textbook is relevant and will be long-lasting, while lacking in the discussion of recent discoveries in each field. Whether this is a strategy by the authors or not, I cannot tell. This will increase the longevity of the text while putting the pressure on the instructor(s) to locate and present recent work in the field. Perhaps a small section at the end of each chapter addressing this would be helpful.

Clarity rating: 5

From what I have read, this book is quite clear. The use of jargon is a necessity in a lot of chapters, but these words are explained within the text in most cases and there is also a section at the end of each chapter for definitions. Well done.

Consistency rating: 5

I believe the work within the textbook is consistent, I noticed little in terms of changing framework by chapter or section.

Modularity rating: 5

I believe the modularity of this book is sufficient. Chapters themselves are modules and each is subdivided into several sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Based on my reading of this textbook I believe the flow of organization is clear. However, as an instructor, it is possible that I am making connections between materials that would be lost on students. Until using this textbook in a real-world situation with students, I would be hesitant to make a declaration regarding the flow of each chapter.

Interface rating: 5

"Concepts of Biology" appears to be free of interface issues. I did not take time to verify that each hyperlink within the text was accurate, but the links I clicked to access online multi-media seemed to function.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

During my reading I noticed few to no distracting grammatical errors within the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I believe this textbook represents a standard biology textbook in terms of the cultural relevance. Evolution is discussed within this textbook, so that may be insensitive to some students based on their religious ideas and relationship to their scientific studies.

The use of multimedia components helps to break up the text and engage students.

At the end of each chapter there are questions to assess understanding. However, some questions are true/false and are mere memorization. This, while necessary in quick review questions, aren't particularly engaging. Luckily, there are "critical thinking problems" within each chapter that can help students think a bit deeper.

"By the end of this section" is an asset because it tells students what they should focus on. Some of them were to "understand. " - which is difficult for students to prove.

Within Chapter 1 the text addresses the difference between theories and hypotheses. Within Chapter 11, the misconceptions regarding these two terms are explained in terms of the theory of evolution. I believe a note (within Chapter 1) directing students to Chapter 11, or including the misconceptions in Chapter 1, would be helpful.

Snippets of "appropriate jobs" are interjected in each chapter. This, while a bit unconventional, provides a framework for students asking "when will I use this outside of class?".

Within this textbook there is not much in the way of actual data to interpret or used as examples. This is not a large detriment, as long as the instructor takes time to provide students with case-studies and/or opportunities to interpret and create plots.

Reviewed by Susan Spencer, Faculty, Mt Hood Community College on 12/5/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Overall, the text is nicely comprehensive. There are a few areas of weakness, such as the following:
The ecology section does not begin with an overview of ecology, which I believe is a weakness.
I would like to see a general description of the parts of a plant at the beginning of the section on plants (Chpt 14)
I would like to see answers to the questions ("Art Connection" and end of chapter "Review Questions") available, but perhaps that is in the instructor support materials. I have not had a chance to take a look at those yet.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text appears accurate and unbiased, I did not note any inaccuracies. The lack of bias is significant considering that this material touches on many culturally sensitive issues.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The examples used seem quite relevant and applicable. While current and up to date, they should still be relevant for a significant time.

Clarity rating: 4

The material is clear and concise. At times it was in a format different from what I am accustomed to seeing, which took some adaptation and additional thought. That does not mean it would be a detriment to students, who typically do not have preconceived ideas about content. Chpt 19, for example, is not in a format which I am familiar with and would take some adjusting to on my part.

Consistency rating: 5

The text appears to be quite consistent internally in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity of the text is good. It should be quite practical to assign smaller reading assignments which will fit and complement the whole. For courses that do not cover the entire contents of the book in one term, this is a nice advantage.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

the organization, structure, and flow of the material topics is logical.

Interface rating: 5

I had few problems with navigation and the images/charts and other display features loaded cleanly and without issue. All the links which I tried opened easily and without issue. I like the external links a lot. Sending students, for example, to the USDA Forest Service site and similar locations will stimulate them to continue exploring and learning on their own.
One down side is that in order to view the images for the review questions, one needs to click on a link. If a student has printed the materials, this will not work for them. However, I am guessing that the printed version of this text would include the images as well.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The grammar is accurate and consistent, I noticed no errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find any of the material to be culturally insensitive or offensive and I doubt my students would either. Excellent selection of examples.

I look forward to exploring the instructor support materials. That has been a major impediment in the past to my adoption of an OER.

Reviewed by Lyn Countryman, Professor, University of Northern Iowa on 12/5/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This textbook covers the important topics found in a general biology textbook. I teach an introductory biology course and this textbook covers the critical topics with clarity and detail. I was impressed by the text's presentation of topics and the ease with which one can find important concepts in the chapter by chapter glossary. Many of my students are incoming freshmen and they will find this book refreshing and understandable. Historical contexts are given when needed and tied closely to the concepts to help the reader gain an understanding of scientific principles.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate and understandable. I found no content inconsistencies. The authors provide the detail when detail is needed and clearly articulate the explanations of the concepts.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is up-to-date and covers current biodiversity issues and problems. The information is organized such that updates will easily be accomplished.

Clarity rating: 5

Besides for its comprehensiveness the next best aspect of this text is its clarity. My freshman students will not find this a difficult read. The scientific concepts and terminology are presented with just enough detail to make it understandable and not overwhelming.

Consistency rating: 5

Each chapter is structured the same way. Students will know what to expect and can easily follow the links to visual representations of the biological concepts.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is split into easily read sections. The text's design allows me to schedule students readings around my class activities and experiments. To reorganize this book to fit your class can be done with ease with how the text is organized.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics are presented in a logical fashion. Each chapter has an organizing introduction and the topics flow from this organization. Each chapter fits together seamlessly.

Interface rating: 5

The texts illiustrations are clear, the web links and supporting materials provide addtional support and are free of any interface issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Material was presented in culturally sensitive ways and presented non-biased representations in the artwork, web links, and illustrations.

I am excited to use this text in my class and to modify it to fit my class.

Reviewed by Nathan Hovekamp, Instructor of Biology, Central Oregon Community College on 8/21/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Concepts of Biology is an effectively comprehensive textbook for the non-major. It covers molecular and cellular biology, genetics and DNA, evolution and diversity, animal structure and function, and ecology. A good example of its inclusion of the appropriate level of detail is provided by chapters 4 & 5 on cellular metabolism. These can be difficult topics when one gets too deep into the weeds, but this text does a good job of providing enough detail to flesh out the concepts while keeping primarily to the bigger significance of energy capture, conversions, and release. Another example is provided by chapters 6 & 7 which provide a carefully considered and appropriately detailed discussion of the different types of cell division.

There are some areas where some reconsideration in regard to comprehensiveness might improve the text. The absence of a discussion on the origin and history of life on earth was surprising and could be included in chapter 11 or 12 - including moving the geological time scale there from appendix A3. The section on the diversity of angiosperms, toward the end of chapter 14, was given somewhat short shrift. In chapter 20 in the section on biogeochemical cycles: at this level, there may be limited value in including phosphorus and sulfur cycles in addition to the others.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content of the text was generally free of inaccuracies and bias. In the legend to figure 7.4, the cell illustrated at metaphase I actually has a chromosome number of n=4, not n=2 as indicated.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content reflects current thinking and important issues in biology. For example, in chapter 11, section 11.5 is a very strong, relevant, and interesting discussion on "Common Misconceptions about Evolution." In chapters 1 and 12 reference is made to domains, as taxa broader than kingdoms. Chapter 13 contains a great treatment on "The Antibiotic Crisis." The discussion in chapter 19 on the one-child policy in China may need updating, given recent developments there.

Clarity rating: 4

Writing is generally clear and unambiguous. Figures are appropriately detailed without being too busy, nicely illustrated, and accompanied by legends with just the right amount of explanation without duplicating content in the text.

Some suggestions on clarity:
Figure 2.15: illustrate the monosaccharides in their ring forms rather than straight-chain forms.
Section 3.5 on passive transport could be organized better.
Chapter 9 could use a simple figure illustrating prokaryotic gene regulation (in addition to the eukaryotic one provided).
Figure 14.2: the symbols for adult gametophyte and adult sporophyte could be more clear.
Chapter 16: the discussion of the digestive system would be enhanced at this level by the inclusion of the terms macro- and micronutrients.
Unit 5, chapters 16-18 on different body systems only focuses on human a&p (except for reproduction, where comparative information across phyla is included). This unit might be enhanced by the inclusion of at least brief comparative information across phyla in regard to the other body systems (though this is touched upon in chapter 15 on animal diversity).
Appendix A is redundant; the periodic table of elements is already included in chapter 2.
Appendix A2 is confusing and ineffective, and redundant of appendix A3.
Appendix A3, the geological time scale should be enlarged and should clearly identify "era," "period," and "epoch" divisions - and should be moved to chapter 11 or 12.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent throughout in terms of terminology and organization.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is organized into 6 units, broken into 21 chapters. Chapters are broken into between 2 to 6 sections, listed up front in a chapter outline. Each chapter section has a short list of outcomes at the beginning. Key terms are defined at the end of each chapter. There is a chapter summary at the end of each chapter. There are review and critical thinking questions at the end of each chapter. This modularity provides an effective organization and consistent alignment without disrupting flow.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Topics are covered in a logical order. Content is organized into 21 chapters grouped into 6 units. (The unit-level organization is presented in the table of contents but not evident in the body of the text.) The order of topics makes sense sequentially: from subcellular and cellular structure and function to cell division and DNA to evolution to diversity/taxonomic survey of life to animal body systems to ecology. Units 2 & 3 could be combined into a single unit - perhaps something like, "The Continuity of Life."

Interface rating: 5

The text has an effective interface that results in ease of use for the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is free of errors in grammar.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not insensitive or offensive.

Very nice, comprehensive, accurate, relevant, clear, consistent, organized, well-written text! Thank you for the opportunity to review it.

Reviewed by Brenda Leady, Lecturer, University of Toledo on 8/21/16

The text provides an excellent overview of biology. From a basic chemistry to ecology, it's all there. The level of coverage varies somewhat. I found the cellular respiration material to intense but the human physiology material very light. . read more

Reviewed by Brenda Leady, Lecturer, University of Toledo on 8/21/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I did not find any information I thought was inaccurate, in error or biased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is currently up-to-date. As with any science book, updates will be needed as our knowledge progresses. However, at a non-majors level this is not as crucial as a majors intro or upper level majors course. The digital nature of the text should make updates easy.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is clearly written. Terms are clearly defined. The level of terminology varies from chapter to chapter probably due to different authorship.

Consistency rating: 4

The framework of the chapters are very consistent. The writing style and depth of coverage is not as consistent. The chapter on cellular respiration is quite detailed for a non-majors course. On the other hand, the chapter on human physiology covers only the bare essentials.

Modularity rating: 5

The text can easily be used as independent chapters. I jump around from one chapter to another in teaching concepts like nutrition in my course. Students do not find that they need to read other chapters to understand the assigned chapter.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text follows a similar outline of material as other textbooks. If you have used other non-majors textbooks, this will be a comfortable transition.

Interface rating: 5

The text did not have any interface issues that I am aware of. I've tried many of the links and they all worked for me.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text contains no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I do not find the text culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

To me the real value of this text is the Creative Commons license. I can take this text and edit it to make it fit my course. Other publishers offer to select individual chapters or include your material for a price. With this text, I can do all that to any extent I wish for free. I used the text as is for two semesters. Now I am providing a "reading assignment" that students can download based on my edits of this material. I value the freedom and my students love the price.

Reviewed by Shannon Ansley, Biology Instructor, Portland Community College on 1/7/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This provides an excellent level of detail for a non-majors biology course. Only a couple of areas were lacking (e.g. a very brief overview of membrane structure, and no mention of niche theory when discussing competition). Discussion of protists and fungi was from the perspective of their relevance to humans rather than a breakdown of their taxonomy, etc., but I think that's appropriate for a non-majors course. There is a glossary of terms at the end of each chapter, and it has a clickable index.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found one inaccuracy: atomic mass is not the same as mass number, despite what the book says on p.33. That being said, the hard-copy textbook that I currently use makes that mistake as well as several crucial other errors, so this OpenStax book ranks higher in accuracy.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This text uses a combination of tried-and-true classical examples of the kind seen in almost every biology textbook (e.g. sickle cell anemia and other genetic disorders) and more updated examples that younger students may be more familiar with or find more relevant. It appears that updates would be easy to implement.

Clarity rating: 5

This was an easy read--a nice conversational style that isn't dry or boring to read. Terms were explained clearly and concisely, and plenty of clarifying examples were given.

Consistency rating: 5

This text is consistent, both in the way it is laid out and in the terminology that is used.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter's sections have multiple subheadings, making the information easy to digest in small chunks. Sections are not overly long.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This text is organized very well. It is written in such a way that one section flows logically into the next section, both within a chapter and between chapters. Each chapter is organized in the same way, making the text easier to navigate as students move through the text.

Interface rating: 5

The only issue that I noted was that because of the placement of some figures, there were a few pages that had one or two lines of text on them, and then the rest of the page was white space, before the figure would appear on the next page. I feel that the spacing could have been managed better to avoid the wasted space.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found no grammatical or spelling errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

Many of the examples were the old standards. It would be nice to see an example of a genetic mutation other than sickle cell anemia (the go-to example of all biology texts!), or at least a more in-depth discussion about how different ethnic groups have different probabilities of certain genetic disorders. Otherwise, the examples seemed to be adequately diverse. There is a great discussion of the value of science in chapter 1.

There are lots of figures--not always the most sophisticated diagrams but they are functional and easy to read. There are also links to animations, simulations, and videos, so that students can engage with the material in more ways than just reading it. The authors also included attention-grabbing boxes titled "careers in action", "evolution in action", etc., to give more real-world context to the concepts being covered.

Overall, this text is as good, if not better, than the one I am currently using to teach my course. It would be suitable for any non-majors biology course.

Reviewed by Sarah Sletten, Associate Professor, Mayville State University on 1/7/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text covers all the material that is generally covered in a non-major's biology course. It is broken down into six units: (1) Cellular Foundation of Life, (2) Cell Division and Genetics, (3) Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, (4) Evolution and Diversity of Life, (5) Animal Structure and Function, and (6) Ecology. Each unit has several chapters covering the major concepts within. It has a clickable Table of Contents that is very user friendly and quickly moves readers through the text to their desired location without scrolling. There is also a Glossary provided at the end of each chapter with key terms as well as a document containing the Glossary entries for all chapters a separate document that students can download.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

As far as I can tell, content in the text is accurate and unbiased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content in the text is current. There are a few pictures that do not load every now-and-then, but there is alternative text provided for each image so readers know what the image is supposed to show. There are several links provided throughout the text to outside activities and resources, and the ones that I have tried have all been working links.

Biology content is pretty well-understood, so the text exhibits longevity. The biotechnology chapter introduces different technologies and how they work without getting too specific in a way that it may become quickly outdated. Again, this is a non-major's text, so the molecular technologies content is brief.

Clarity rating: 5

The language used in the text is appropriate and easy to read. There are Glossaries provided at the end of each chapter with key terms and definitions. Terms are clearly described in the text as well as in the Glossary. Verbiage is appropriate for college students who are not science majors. Examples are often given to clarify a definition or concept.

Consistency rating: 5

Terminology is consistent throughout the text. All sections within chapters follow the same format with text and figures, links to outside activities and/or resources, and review questions with answers. Every section has the same general look and flow.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is VERY easy to divide into smaller sections for assigned readings as each section has its own web address. Links for each section can be posted for students. Once at any of the sections of the book, students can access the Contents at the top of the page to migrate to any other section of the book. Additionally, most of the sections have downloadable PDF files of just that section that can be easily disseminated to students.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The units, chapters, and sections are organized similar to all publisher-created biology texts I have seen and used. I feel the content, often images, in each section, however, can be a little haphazard. For the most part each section flows in a logical, clear fashion, but every now-and-then a topic is discussed that is at a much deeper level then needed for a non-major's course, which may discourage students who are trying to understand a topic they have little knowledge or motivation to learn.

Interface rating: 5

The text interface does not have any navigation problems that I am aware of. All links that I have tried work, navigation between sections works well and is easy to understand, and all images (only a couple did not load) and graphs are clear and non-distorted. The sides of the text are free from distractions.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors that I am aware of.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not culturally insensitive. The examples use non-human organisms.

This is an excellent text to use for a non-major's biology course. It has many options for you to incorporate in your course including additional resources from other sites. It also has pre-made PowerPoint presentations for each chapter. The presentations contain all of the images from the chapter and can easily be edited to fit your needs.

Reviewed by Irving Allen, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Overall, this textbook offers a nice balance between the different topics and explains very complex biological phenomena in a comprehensive, yet not intimidating manner for non-biology majors. The textbook is well designed for students with limited biology background. The book is well organized and the table of contents is through to allow students to quickly view the topics covered. The key terms and review questions at the end of each chapter are excellent. Students also have access to the answers to the review questions; however, these answers are a bit difficult to read in the paragraph format and should be organized as a list. The “Concepts in Action” links were also very helpful to reinforce the material and prove additional information. The “Career in Action” section is a very nice addition to place the content into perspective and enlighten the target audience about the different types of careers that are available.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Overall, the text is accurate. There are many areas throughout the textbook were the authors appear to have sacrificed some accuracy or omitted information for brevity. These omissions were likely an attempt to improve the “readability” of the text for the target audience of non-major biology students. In many cases, this issue could be resolved though modifications to the text. For example, defining technical terms prior to first use, adding additional introductory/background information prior to introducing a complex topic, and taking care to use the simplest, most accurate language possible would reduce some of the potential confusion. In several cases, the figures shown do not accurately reflect the material being presented and appear to be simply “filler” images. When figures are shown, the authors should be sure to include enough information in the text to assist students in putting the figure into context and relating the figure to the text. It would be advisable to select images that better reflect the content of the chapter, rather than simply adding figures for the sake of having a graphic in the Chapter.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The textbook contains current information and up-dated material. As with any science textbook, periodic revisions will be necessary for many of the units. The condensed nature of the material will may reduce the relevance/longevity over time as major paradigms change some of the foundational concepts. But, this argument could be made for any science textbook.

Clarity rating: 4

The writing is well done, with minimal jargon. When jargon is used, it is well defined and the meaning is clear. The material is presented in an engaging manner and should hold the students attention. I did notice that the level of details seems to fluctuate from chapter to chapter with some chapters more detailed than others. This is a common occurrence with multi-contributor projects.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is quite consistent from Chapter-to-Chapter. In general, the terminology and nomenclature is consistent throughout the book.

Modularity rating: 5

The format of the Textbook is highly modular. Each Unit/Chapter could stand alone is independent from the textbook as a whole.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The textbook is well organized and flows in a logical manner. The unit and chapter breakdown was very well done and organized appropriately. There appears to be an excess amount of empty space in many of the chapters that significantly disrupts the flow of the material and was a bit distracting. This may be associated with the figure format, but should be corrected. In many cases, I was not sure if I was at the end of the Chapter or if some part of the text was omitted.

Interface rating: 3

The interfaces were either excellent of dismal. The bar codes linking to the various “Concepts in Action” were fantastic and an excellent addition to the textbook to add additional information. Likewise, the inclusion of the Chapter Summaries were highly beneficial. The Review Questions and Critical Thinking questions were excellent and very useful to reinforce the content. However, the “Art Connection” figures, in general, were very low resolution and many appeared blurry and difficult to read. The coloration of these figures should also be improved for contrast. At the end of the Chapter, the Art Concept questions were too basic and were not thought provoking.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

I did identify a few minor grammatical errors, but overall the writing and copy editing are well done. The only issues I noted were minor punctuation issues and a few awkward uses of brackets.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No cultural issues were noted in the textbook.

Overall, this is a well assembled textbook that would be highly appropriate for an introductory biology course for non-majors. There are a few issues with image resolution and the authors have sacrificed some accuracy for the sake of brevity. But, this was only a minor concern.

Reviewed by Heather Rissler, Instructor, Riverland Community College on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Concepts of Biology is comprehensive in its scope for an introductory biology textbook with topics ranging from molecules to ecosystems. The textbook content progress from a discussion of the molecular and cellular building blocks of life, including a comprehensive discussion of cell structure and function. Current applications are addressed in the section on biotechnology. The topic of evolution is followed by a discussion on biodiversity and ecology. Anatomy and physiology of animals is also included. The sequence of topics is comparable to most general/introductory biology textbooks.
The brief summaries provided for key topics can be beneficial in keeping students focused on the main ideas and themes (and each section in the textbook includes a glossary and embedded questions to check understanding). Some sections could be expanded, though, including the section on regulation of gene expression. This section includes a brief comparison of prokaryotic and eukaryotic mechanisms for regulating gene expression but could be expanded to include more comprehensive examples.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

I found the content to be accurate, including figures and did not notice an bias in writing or topic coverage.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content in the textbook is up-to-date. The section on biotechnology, for example, contains a number of examples of applications of recombinant DNA technologies. This is a section that will require updating as technologies progress, but such changes would be easy to implement within the current infrastructure of the textbook.

Clarity rating: 4

I do find that the writing is brief and in many sections that is fine and would actually help students focus on key ideas and themes. Overall I would say that the brevity may require instructors to supplement with additional readings (depending on the scope and nature of their individual courses).
The content is adequate and consistent. The use of glossaries and questions to help readers gauge understanding are present for each section and questions often accompany figures. Recurring sections such as ‘Evolution in Action’ help tie core themes throughout the textbook and relate the content to current topics in science.

Consistency rating: 5

I found the framework and terminology to be consistent. The use of recurring sections ('Evolution in Action', 'Career in Action', and 'Biology in Action') was consistent and engaging for readers. I appreciated the consistent use of glossaries for each section and the addition of questions to help readers gauge their comprehension.

Modularity rating: 5

The textbook is well organized. Each major module is broken down into a number of sub-topics. The navigation using the online version of the textbook was nice as each major module breaks down into links for the various sub-topics. You can navigate by clicking 'next' after reading a section or by selecting individual sub-topics. I would find this useful as an instructor when assigning readings to my students.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization and flow is comparable to most introductory biology textbooks. The sequence of information is logical starting with a discussion of chemistry and cells and a discussion of evolution that sets the stage for an exploration of biodiversity and ecology.

Interface rating: 5

I found navigation to be user friendly. I did find images difficult to view in the PDF version, but the online version of the textbook had clear images and was easy to navigate.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I didn't notice any major grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not find the textbook to be insensitive or offensive.

I enjoyed the format and content of the textbook and would highly consider adopting the textbook for use. I may supplement with additional readings but I do that routinely when using traditional paper versions of introductory biology textbooks. I feel that this textbook is equivalent to many of the books I have used and that it would fit the needs of instructors and students in an introductory biology class.

Reviewed by Bethann Lavoie, Associate Professor, Minnesota State University Mankato on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

A non-majors, shorter text cannot comprehensively cover all biology concepts. The book includes all topics covered in my non-majors course although supplementation may be needed (scientific method, human evolution, phylogenetic trees/cladograms, circulatory system musculo-skeletal system). The text had key terms defined at the end of each chapter only; there was no glossary. An index was present.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Content was written accurately although the instructor using the text may need to extend definitions of terms to make them more comprehensive within a single sentence.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Finding topics and terms is straightforward so updating should be efficient. Updates will need to occur since biology knowledge is always growing. Careers related to biology and examples related to life are easy to find using separate boxes or headings.

Clarity rating: 3

Explanations sometimes use additional vocabulary that is not defined and may be difficult for a non-majors student. Terms are often defined throughout a paragraph; the one-sentence definition of the term is sometimes missing key pieces of the definition that are usually present later in the paragraph.

Consistency rating: 4

The same terms are repeated and applied throughout the relevant chapters and sections of the text. The framework is consistent since text, figures, links to careers, and everyday applications to life are spread throughout each chapter.

Modularity rating: 3

The subheadings are appropriate for the amount of text underneath. The text could easily be assigned by chapter or chapter and highest-level subheading. Chapter outlines should include many levels of subheadings so the students and instructor can find or assign smaller sections of text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The text uses a traditional flow of topics found in biology texts and courses.

Interface rating: 5

Good. Navigation problems and distracting features were not present in the PDF and online versions.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammar is adequate.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Offensive text was not found during the review. The examples presented in the text include biology careers, diseases, and the importance of concepts to humans in general. Students may encounter a few of these situations during their lives, making those few situations culturally relevant to students. The text does not specifically use different cultures, races, and backgrounds in examples. Without the perspective of a variety of non-majors biology students, cultural relevance is difficult to gauge.

Reviewed by Brittany Ziegler, Assistant Professor, Minnesota State University Mankato on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

I think for the most part the textbook is complete. There are handful of times where I think additional information could be added to supplement the content and make it more relevant for non-majors. For instance, the chapters on body systems could include additional information on diseases and disorders. There are numerous times when I think the textbook may be too comprehensive for a non-majors introductory biology course. The textbook provides an effective glossary both at the end of each chapter in the form of key terms at and the end of the textbook. The textbook also provides objectives and practice questions for students to use. Typically, the introduction to the chapters help to explain the overall purpose of the chapter or why certain information is being included or why it is important. The textbook contains more information than can be effectively covered in a semester and more depth in areas than I would go into, however that helps to provide flexibility for instructors since the content is there if certain instructors want to delve into content.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

While reviewing this textbook, I did not come across any information that was not accurate, contained errors or was biased.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Although, I do not think the textbook is currently out of date but I think the book could become out of date more quickly than other texts. The textbook does not contain as much “cutting-edge” or new innovations in the fields presented as other textbooks. I am not in a position to comment on how easily or difficult it will be to make changes or updates. Aside from content, the images in the textbook already appear to be older than and not as updated as those in other textbooks.

Clarity rating: 3

The text is lucid and at an appropriate reading level. I think the chapters would be easy to read and approachable for students based on the prose. The beginning of the chapters provides effective explanations of why topics are being discussed and the importance of learning the topics. The technical terminology can be overwhelming and unnecessary for a non-major introductory biology textbook. The only reading difficulty I can foresee for students deals with the heaviness of terms. This is also related to the comprehensiveness of the textbook. I think it is possible sometimes that in an effort to be comprehensive and include relevant information we sometimes lose clarity.

Consistency rating: 5

I did not find any errors in internal consistency in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 3

In some instances I think that certain chapters and sub-units should be included in a different order than what is presented. I think for some sub-units, depending on how you appropriate your course, it may be difficult or disruptive for students while reading the material since the instructor may want to include only portions of content from multiple sub-units or chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 3

My comments on modularity are related to the organization/structure/flow. There were a handful of times when I did not think the organization or flow of the units/chapters seemed appropriate. However, that can be true with all textbooks and the text does still provide the opportunity for the instructor to be flexible in what is included during the course.

Interface rating: 4

The text for me is free of significant interface issues. I didn’t find any significant navigation problems, distortion of images/charts or any display features that would distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find any significant grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I did not find any text that was culturally insensitive or offensive however, I think that text could be more inclusive.

Reviewed by Bram Middeldorp, Instructor, Minneapolis Community and Technical College on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

Before reviewing the book I would like to make the following comments.
After teaching Introductory Biology for 15 years, having created many course notes and PowerPoint presentations based on the 3 textbooks used over the years plus many other biology related books, articles from scientific journals and news papers, I wondered if a textbook for my course was still necessary. Wouldn't the notes and PowerPoints that I posted in the course’s website, be enough? They do contain everything I want to teach my students. They also contain much of what I want to introduce to those students who are interested in more than the mandatory material, many of whom are interested in becoming a major in Biology. What has stopped me from abandoning the textbook is the somewhat haphazard way my notes are written and organized. If time were available I would organize my notes and PowerPoint presentations into a nicely flowing text presented in a logical sequence of topics. In other words, write my own book for Introductory Biology, containing the topics that I think are of importance and presented at a level of understanding that will match the needs of my students. A book that would be available for free to my students, the same way that my notes and PowerPoints are.

The appearance of open source textbooks may eliminate the necessity of organizing my own notes into a complete text. An open source textbook would still allow me to base my lectures and other class activities on my own notes, which often are brief explanations of key terms and summaries of concepts, while at the same time offering my students a complete text. in book format.

My participation in this workshop was based on the following question. Is there an open source textbook that covers the topics of my course and that will be good enough for my student to fall back on? I decided to pick Concepts of Biology to find an answer to that question. I soon started to incorporate parts of another book, Biology, as I was looking for answers to questions left by the Concepts book. The Concepts of Biology is aimed at non-majors, while Biology is aimed at the biology majors.Both books are OpenStax College publications.
My review of the books was in particular aimed at the chapters of both books that I cover in my course. For Concepts of Biology I did review all chapters.

Now Comprehensiveness.
Concepts of Biology is designed for a single-semester introduction to biology course for non-science majors. The book has about 600 pages of text split over 6 Units, which cover the basic topics one can find in many biology textbooks.
Unit 1: Cellular Foundation of Life (chemistry, cells, respiration and photosynthesis)
Unit 2: Cell Division and Genetics (cell cycle, mitosis, meiosis, Mendel)
Unit 3: Molecular Bioloy and Biotechnology (DNA, Central Dogma, biotech)
Unit 4: Evolution and Diversity of Life (mechanisms of evolution, phylogeny, diversity of bacteria, fungi, protists, plants and animals)
Unit 5: Animal Structure and Function (contents actually cover human biology: anatomy, physiology, diseases and immunity, reproduction and development)
Unit 6: Ecology (population and community ecology, ecosystems, biosphere, conservation biology)

The amount of material covered by this book is in my opinion too much for non-major students to comprehend in one semester. The modularity of the text allows to chose those chapters needed for a specific course. The units can be used on their own. My course has an emphasis on Genetics, Evolution, and Diversity of Life (with some physiology and ecology thrown in when appropriate). My review will focus on those units in more detail.
Here first some remarks on the Units not used in my course.
Unit 1 is well written, in a matter of fact way, to the point. The illustrations in the text are clear and supportive. Topics that are treated are the ones one would find in any biology book. I am always amazed at the amount of terminology and concepts students are supposed to comprehend in a short amount of time. The book does a nice job in explaining many of them (examples are the illustrations on the workings on enzymes, catabolic and anabolic pathways), but still, then there is suddenly something like NADH, without introduction. There is something of a catch 22 in studying biology (and maybe any discipline): one cannot fully comprehend most topics in biology until one has studied it all. Where does one start?
Unit 5 is named Animal Structure and Function. I consider myself a Plant biologist and was somewhat disturbed by the idea that an intro to bio book has an entire unit dedicated to animal biology and not one to plant biology. This concern, a lack of attention to plants in biology, is shared by the entire plant biology community. This feeling disappeared after I read this Unit. The unit is misnamed. It is all about humans. A better title would be: Human Biology. A unit like this in an introductory class can be justified as many non-majors might be particularly interested in the workings of their own body. This unit plus units 1, 2, and 3 would work well in a Human Biology course. The text is written in a straightforward matter of fact way as well (by a health specialist?). A part is dedicated to viruses and the diseases they cause in humans. It is the only part in which viruses are discussed in the book (they are absent in the unit of life's diversity, Unit 4).
Unit 6 is on Ecology. This unit is an excellent introduction to principle concepts of ecology; ecosystems and its components and processes ; and conservation biology. The illustrations are up-to-date. This unit would work well in an Environmental Science course to introduce students to the principles of ecology and conservation.

More detail on Units 2, 3 and 4:
Chapter 6: Reproduction at the cellular level.
The chapter discusses chromosome terminology, the cell cycle, mitosis, cell division in bacteria, oncogenes and tumor suppression genes. Several terms are used but not introduced: centromere, centrosomes, centrioles, mitotic spindle, microtubules. The Evolution in Action of this chapter goes into detail on the structure of the mitotic spindle. This part will be hard to understand for non-majors.
I decided to check the OpenStax Biology for majors textbook to see how that handled the terms not introduced in the Concepts to Biology book. A step I was to take for all the chapters of these units that follow. Chapter 10 of Biology does explain the terms centromere and others missing in Concepts.The explanations of the workings of regulatory molecules like cyclin, would go too far for non-majors. I can tell them to skip those paragraphs.

Chapter 7 has a nice introduction to reproduction before continuing with meiosis and all its aspects. Mutations are discussed. Chapter 11 of Biology for majors discusses meiosis in a somewhat similar fashion, but treats meiotic errors in a separate chapter, Biology Chapter 13.

Chapter 8 of Concepts discusses Mendel's life and Mendelian genetics: monohybrid and dihybrid crosses, plus some exceptions to the rules. Chapter 12 of Biology for majors does the same but includes some extras about the basics of probability and the forked line method for trihybrid crosses. These topics are not discussed in my Intro course. Chapter 13 of Biology gives some nice examples of inherited disorders in humans plus nondisjunction and mutations. These topics are discussed in my Intro course. I would need to add those topics because they are lacking in chapter 8 of the Concepts book. Instead of Chapter 8 of Concepts, I could use chapters 12 and 13 of Biology and skip the paragraphs that go into too much detail for my students.

Chapter 9 of Concepts: Molecular Biology. This chapter covers both the structure of DNA and the Central Dogma. The chapter does refer to the 3' and 5' ends of the DNA strands. What is missing is an emphasis on Rosalind Franklin's work, good illustration to sho

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Most of the content seems accurate. I discovered a few mistakes. See Comprehensiveness.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Most of the text will be relevant for some time. Updates might be needed within a few years on the systematics of protists Some evo-devo content will be needed soon.

Clarity rating: 4

In general the text is written in a way that most students will understand. At times, terms appear in the text without introduction, for instance the centromere; centrosomes; centrioles; the mitotic spindle and microtubules (in chapter 6). Their role in the cell cycle is hardly explained as well.
A few other inaccuracies are mentioned in my Comprehensiveness part.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent.
The writing styles suggest that different authors were used for the different units. Units 1, 5 and 6 are written in a more matter-of-fact way than the other ones.

Modularity rating: 5

The modularity is good. At times a self-reference would be advisable, in particular when not the entire text is used in a course. Example: microtubules are mentioned in chapter 6 but there is no explanation on what they are. Reference to chapter 3 would have helped.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

In general the text is presented in a logical order. A difference in the order in which topics are discussed can be a mater of taste. By reading chapters from both Concepts in Biology and Biology (for majors), I noticed that both books follow different orders of topics on a regular basis. The order in lectures might be different again each semester.
I did not have problems with the organization.
One exception: viruses should be part of chapter 13 too.

Interface rating: 5

I did not encounter any problems with the interface.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not find grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text is not offensive in any way.

I started the review of this book Concepts in Biology to determine if I could use it for my Intro to Biology course. My course has an emphasis on Genetics, Evolution and Diversity. Topics like Cell Biology, Physiology and Human Biology are parts of other courses in my school. I soon found that Concepts of Biology stays at the surface of many topics more than I do in my course. I started to include reviewing the comparable chapters of Biology (OpenStax, a book for biology majors). The majors book does treat many topics at a level I do in my non-majors course. At times it goes beyond of what I can expect from my non-major students. Still, I find the way relevant topics are treated in the majors book far more interesting than the short treatment in the Concepts book.
It is at times difficult to find balance between what can be comprehended in a short amount of time and the limited pre-knowledge of students that do not major in the field. At the same time, more complex concepts are hard to understand without going into some detail. In those cases, it might be better to avoid those concepts altogether. I tend to go into detail in these cases, but avoid asking too complicated questions on them during exams.
The dilemma posed on me by these two books is: use the non-majors book and include my own text where extra text is needed, or: use the majors book and eliminate text not needed. I will chose the majors book here. This book has more and nice illustrations as a bonus. I will evaluate that choice after the next semester.
The Concepts book is a simplified version of many of the chapters of the majors book (it also does not cover all the topics of many other chapters of the majors book). One could argue if this approach, a non-majors course as a simplified version of a majors course, is the one we should follow. Several non-major books approach the topic of biology differently. They emphasize biological issues in society in biology for non-majors, such as health, biological conservation, the environment. They explain many biological processes like the cell cycle or physiology at a very superficial level. This has the danger of reducing a science course to a series of anecdotes, where a thorough introduction to the workings of science, with all its need for detail, should be preferred.
Concepts of Biology is a short and simplified version of the Biology for majors.

Both books have some nice features: selected topics are taken a step further in:
Evolution in Action: evolution as we recognized it as happening right now.
Career in Action: presentations of careers in the biological sciences.
Biology in Action: biological concepts in everyday life.
Art Connection: figures related to the text with questions to be answered by students to apply what they have learned. Nice discussion options for class.
Concepts in Action: online activities and animations.
I like these extras.

Reviewed by Trevor Johnson, Biology Instructor, Ridgewater College on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Concepts of Biology was written for non-major Biology students. The authors do an excellent job writing at an Introductory Biology level, for a very broad audience. The Table of Contents is descriptive and the flow from one topic to the next is very intuitive and easy to navigate. Chapter Review questions are included at the bottom of each of the sections. The Review Questions not only quiz the students on the text, but also the graphs and tables included in the chapter. There is not a Glossary at the end of the book, however, the vocabulary words for each section are defined at the end of each of the chapters. The book also includes an Appendix, with a Periodic Table, Geologic Time Scales and Metric Conversion Chart.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The book is accurate and unbiased. The book is up to date and very well researched. There are virtually no errors. Figure 9.3 is a diagram of a DNA molecule. The DNA molecule should contain the sugar Deoxyribose, not Ribose.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The book was relevant and up to date. It will be several years, before the book needs to be updated. It should be fairly easy to add new information into this book. More interactive links would be helpful. Excellent Biology Concept in Action sections.

Clarity rating: 4

The book is clearly written, engaging, and very concise. Too concise in some areas. In Figure 8.6, it states that the Parents carried the recessive allele. It would be helpful for the reader to see the word heterozygous and to show the genotypes. Likewise, in Chapter 8, section 1 Mendel's Experiment, it would have been easier for the reader to understand the Pea Plant Experiment, if Punnett Squares would have been included, to show the P, F1, and F2 crosses.
Technical terminology is in bold and defined. The Glossary at the end of the chapter provides a great recap of the vocabulary words. Many of the quiz questions at the end of the chapter test the reader on their understanding of the Technical Terminology used within the chapter.

Consistency rating: 5

The book is consistent in both terminology and framework. The book reads as though there is only one author, rather than 3. No difference in writing from one chapter/unit to the next.

Modularity rating: 5

The Chapters are short and extremely modular. Chapters and Sections are very well labeled and easy to find. You could easily assign students, individual sections/chapters from this book.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The chapters are well organized, follow the same structure and flow well. The order of the chapters, as well as the different units in the book are organized similar to other Biology textbooks.

Interface rating: 5

I predominantly used the online version, which was very easy to navigate. The text, figures, and links were all very clear. I only briefly looked over the pdf version of the book.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I did not notice that the book was culturally insensitive.

Concepts of Biology is a very good textbook. I plan to have students start reading sections/chapters next semester and I will seek their feedback, for future adoption in my non-majors Biology course.

Reviewed by Robert Duerst, Instructor, Southeast Minnesota Technical College on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text has a wide breathe of coverage in the field of biology. The units in the book cover everything from cell biology, to ecology and many topics in between. It is likely that I was just too excited about the content, but I consistently found myself wishing that the book went into more detail. When I assigned some vocabulary assignments, the students in my class found that the glossary was comprehensive enough to allow them to complete most of the assignment without reading the chapter. The index was well put together and quite useful.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The major ideas and concepts in the book were accurate. After teaching through the entire text with my students, I did not find major conceptual errors. However, I did find multiple small errors (e.g. 37 deg F is the same as 37 deg C). There was no bias that I detected in the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The relevance of the book is quite high, as the "Career Application" sections help the students connect the content to the real world. The use of QR codes that link to web animations also allows this book to be highly connected, even if a student is using a printed version. Thankfully, this is an introductory level biology text, an the information present in it is not likely to drastically change over the next decade. If there does need to be an edit, sections each chapter is broken down into will allow for precise targeted edits to be made.

Clarity rating: 5

The clarity of the book was high at the expense of detail. The concepts that were in the book were covered in such a way that a lay person with about a 10th grade reading level should be easily able to comprehend the meanings. There was a vocabulary list at the end of each chapter which did an excellent job of highlight technical jargon that may have been confusing for my students.

Consistency rating: 4

The level of detail used in the terminology was consistent throughout the text. The units varied in the amount of content they covered, but that was to be expected considered how broad or relatively new specific fields are.

Modularity rating: 5

The text was exceedingly modular which was beneficial to my students that may have forgotten a key concept from the unit of cells when we were covering the unit on evolution. While the text did not self reference, it would take the time explain a key concepts. Each chapter was broken down into sections and subsections, which made it easy for be to give reading assignments to my students (e.g instead of micromanaging by giving them page numbers, I could tell them to, "read the section on meiosis".)

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of this biology book was both logical and clear. It mirrors the organization that is in all other biology texts I have reviewed in that it begins with the small scale, and ends with the large scale.

Interface rating: 3

The figures that are included are referenced in the text, and also included stand alone captions. The figures themselves are not as visually appealing as the figures I have seen in more expensive texts, but anticipated that in light of the open source nature of the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not notice any grammar errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There was nothing in the text that I could interpret and insensitive to a specific people group.

On a whole, I thought this was a well done book with a fantastic price. With ever increasing cost barriers in higher education, I am very excited to have a legitimate and cost effective alternative to the traditional text. Many students in my classes find that traditional texts cost about half of what their tuition does, which has always struck me as an injustice. I have already recommended this text to my department and we are implementing it college wide.

Reviewed by Ann Mills, Instructor, Biology, Minnesota West Community and Technical College on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text covers the appropriate topics for a nonmajors biology course. The table of contents is through and includes a suitable list of topics to be covered. There is a glossary at the end of each chapter which is a nice addition as students can access it more readily than if it were at the end of the text, the glossary for each chapter appears to be complete. Each chapter starts with chapter objectives which will help to focus students attention on the important concepts within each chapter. Each chapter also includes a summary and review questions for the chapter; all of which seem to be complete and appropriate. The index has multiple entries for many of the words within the text (i.e., tertiary consumer and Tertiary consumer) tertiary consumer should be listed once with all page numbers that the term can be found on.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Content appears to be accurate, error free and unbiased. There are some topics that are not covered in much detail while others are covered in great detail (Ch 4 and 5). Although this may be frustrating for some instructors, the book is essentially error free and is to be used as a guide. Individual instructors can provide additional details in areas where they feel the book is lacking and minimize areas where they feel the book has provided too much detail.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is up to date. The use of career in action and evolution in action boxes is relevant and provides recency to the information in the text. In addition, the use of these specialized areas will make it easier to update that information in the future. This is important especially in nonmajors biology as students sometimes struggle to see the relevance to their lives.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is presents information clearly and concisely while at the same time written in a student friendly language. The use of hyperlinked You Tube videos that are placed at the end of sections provides additional context and clarification of concepts discussed within the text. Diagrams are clear and well labeled making them easy to look at and understand which will help students to understand concepts presented in the reading.

Consistency rating: 3

The PDF version is very consistent. However, the online version and the PDF version do not align. The online version does not have page numbers included making it difficult to assign reading or look at diagrams in class. The diagrams are larger and cleared in the PDF version as compared to the online version of the text. I would like to see both versions look exactly the same to minimize confusion for students.

Modularity rating: 3

As long as student use the PDF or print versions of the text the content and diagrams/photos can be easily chunked and assigned. The online version of the text presents some challenges as there are no page numbers or clear markings for start and end of chapters.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization of the text is good as it mirrors most other nonmajors textbooks in the presentation and organization of topics. Topics can be used as presented in the table of contents or can be used as stand alone chapters or modules. In addition, the order of chapters can be rearranged as the instructor sees fit.

Interface rating: 3

Again, the PDF version does not seem to have any interface issues. However, the online version has a number of interface issues. There are no page numbers in the online version of the text and the diagrams are quite small making them difficult to be clearly seen at time (i.e.. fig 3.6 looks great in the PDF version but is not nearly as clear and easy to read in the online version). In short, the PDF version is more appealing to the eye and easier to read than the online version.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammar errors were noted.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The textbook was not culturally insensitive or offensive. The use of examples is appropriate and inclusive.

There are some ancillary materials available. These currently include editable PPT slides (for instructors only), Wiley online learning homework assignments (this material is currently being pilot tested by some instructors) and SimBio which is an online lab simulation. The SimBio labs must be purchased separately (89.00 for 15 labs). The variety of topics for the SimBio labs is limited, according to my count, there are 12 lab activities addressing ecology/environmental science topics, 6 that cover cell biology, 1 on plants and 1 on action potentials in nerve cells.
Overall, this could be a good moneysaving option for instructors and students in their nonmajors biology courses if it meets the needs of the instructor, student and the college.

Reviewed by Joanna Cregan, Biology Instructor, Saint Paul College on 6/10/15

I am using this book for a non-majors level introduction to biology course that is 1 semester long. This book covers everything I looked for in regards to content for the semester, and more. The bigger problem I had was cutting down to fit in a. read more

Reviewed by Joanna Cregan, Biology Instructor, Saint Paul College on 6/10/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The index is easy to use and each chapter has its own glossary.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Although I have found a couple small errors they have not been a problem and were already listed in the errata you can find with the book. I feel that the general content of the book is accurate and that the number of typo type errors so far is no different then what I have found textbooks from major publishers.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

I was surprised to find that I have actually learned some relevant details in this book. Either new information or a new way of looking at something that I had not previously encountered.

It seems to be up to date on current research and biotechnology. In this class I am looking to give the students a basic foundation of knowledge on things like cloning and genetic engineering so that after this class they can use that knowledge to help them understand news events and discoveries as they occur. The book has this information and provides a good background that is up to date but basic enough that it won't need major revisions all the time.

I would foresee being able to continue to use this version of the book for more then a year or two, with some occasional updates as needed depending on what research advances are made.

Clarity rating: 4

Overall I think the book is clearly written. Occasionally I think it tries to put a bit too much detail into short paragraphs or short chapters and I am often telling students they may not need that specific term or section since they are struggling with just the basics. This is a common issue with all science textbooks and may be more of an issue of different instructors wanted to emphasize different details and thus the books need to include it all!

I actually have taken ways of explaining or relating something from this text and found it helpful in my majors level biology class.

Consistency rating: 5

I have not had any issues with consistency. Chapter lay outs and content follows a set pattern (Art connection questions, glossary at end, chapter summary, chapter review questions, etc.).

Modularity rating: 3

I am doing this a lot with this text. Using just some sections of a chapter etc. It is working fairly well and can be done.

The only problem I have with this is that in the printed text the introduction does not have a section number. So chapter 2, introduction. BUT in the web version of the book this is listed at chapter 2 -1 Introduction. The next section of the printed version is 2.1 but online is would be 2-2. I quickly found out I needed to use section names because some students had the printed version and others the web and they were getting confused. The web version also lists the contents by unit and not chapter and this can be a bit tricky for students at first as well.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

I feel like each chapter and the chapter/unit orders overall are logical and the flow is good. No issues.

Interface rating: 4

I have accessed the book on my phone, on a normal desktop computer, and I have a printed bound copy. The interfaces all have worked for me and charts, images, and links all work from all of these.

The only problem is the numbering system not matching between the web version and the printed version as I discussed in the modularity section.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I have not see any grammatical errors that have stood out.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I have not found any issues here.

I appreciate the inclusion of the links to different animation and videos. You can use a QR scanner or type in a link if you have the printed book. Using the online book you can just click the link directly. These really have helped to bring this book to higher level for students. I also like the Art connection questions and end of chapter questions in general.

Notes for instructors: This book has PowerPoint slides of the major figures from each chapter. I use these to then create my PowerPoint presentations and this works well. There are also learningpod.com quizzes that the student can take if they wish. Although I wish the learningpod had a larger question bank for them it is still useful. This book does not come with its own quiz or exam question back for instructors to use. That would be a great future addition.

My students have been very happy with this book and the open source model. If you are unsure about it, I encourage you to give it a try!

Reviewed by Tobili Sam-Yellowe, Professor, Cleveland State University on 1/12/15

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text is aimed at non majors biology students. It presents a full coverage of topics in biology appropriate for students that may not have a previous biology background. A table of contents is provided, key terms are defined at the end of each chapter, a comprehensive index is provided and an appendix is found at the end of the book. Review questions are found at the end of each chapter. Answers to review questions and "art connection" questions are also provided. The feature "Career in Action" is a nice addition for students who may not know what different biologists do for a living and what types of careers are available for biologists. Unit 5 covering "Animal Structure and Function" omits many useful details of organ and organ system structure and function.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

The text is generally accurate. There are omissions and errors that may confuse students. In Fig.1.9 the current taxonomic hierarchy as presented may be confusing to non majors and can be replaced with a figure like the one shown in Fig 12.3. In Fig 1.10, it will not be immediately obvious what "mats" are with reference to Archaea."Extremophiles" are not defined before its use in Fig.1.10. On page 38, in addition to van der Waals interactions, hydrophobic and other types of electrostatic interactions should be discussed. On page 42, the statement; "The blood in your veins is slightly alkaline (pH = 7.4)." is found in the text but "blood" is not included in the figure of the pH scale in Fig 2.12. On page 50, no plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids are provided. Also, an introduction of lipids as a type of macromolecule is needed In order for students to understand the relationship between phospholipids and fats. On page 14, for an example of macromolecules, before they are discussed use proteins or carbohydrates instead of nucleic acids to make it easier for students to relate. In Fig 2.17 "hydrophobic lipids" is redundant. In Fig 2.23, explain that DNA strands are antiparallel. In section 3.2, the prokaryotes should be introduced as bacteria and archaea. On page 69, an illustration for the importance of villi as modifications of the plasma membrane is provided abruptly with an example of celiac disease, antibody production to gluten and the resulting damage to villi. Students may not understand the illustration since immunity has not been discussed by this point. In Fig 3.21, the diagram depicting osmosis is misleading due to the height of water shown at a higher level on the right side of the figure. The discussion on energy is very detailed for this level. Figure 9.10 is too complicated and should be replaced by a simpler diagram. In Fig 9.14, the diagram should show replication of DNA (DNADNA->RNA->Protein). Fig 9.19 is misleading. Fig 12.9 is moved up against the "art connection" heading. In section 13.1 the characteristics of prokaryotes are discussed and extremophiles are mentioned but no examples are given and the types of environments that support extremophiles are not mentioned. There is no discussion of the archaea. In some figures, the material summarized or the organization of the figure does not convey what is discussed in the text. For example, Fig 13.6 needs to be replaced as the illustration does not clearly show the differences between the cell wall of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. In Fig 15. 4, the bilateral plane of symmetry on the goat cannot be discerned. In Fig 16.14, the figure does not depict the regulation of thyroid hormones clearly. Similarly, in Figs 15.17a and 15.19 the text of the figure legend does not adequately convey what is shown in the figures. In the chapter on the nervous system, the discussion of the peripheral and central nervous system is inadequate. The connection between the autonomic, somatic and sensory systems is not clear. This section will be confusing to the reader without a biology background. Fig 16.4 should show a complete presentation with all aspects of the peripheral system. Fig 17.8 uses histograms to depict the kinetics of an immune response. A graph showing the lag period followed by primary and secondary responses, with the increase in magnitude of the anamnestic response, is easier for students to understand. In section 19.2, discussion of animal behavior including animal altruism is not included in the chapter.
On page 561, indicate that the phosphorus cycle is sedimentary. Discussion of epistasis is unclear. Similarly, discussion of the Hardy Weinberg equilibrium is unclear. In the discussion of eudicots, provide a brief explanation of the new name adoption from the older usage of dicots and provide examples of plants in this category. In the section discussing non placental and placental mammals, provide an explanation of the differences before discussing examples of animals in the two groups.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The text is relevant as new data is included in the sections on "Biology in Action". Unit 5 presents a very condensed coverage of organs and organ systems structure and function. Periodic revisions for this unit will be needed as much detail was left out of the text.

Clarity rating: 4

The writing is clear and engaging for students. The examples used are practical and students can easily relate to the examples. Jargon and technical terminology are used in proper context. In earlier chapters (4-10), the writing in some sections is more detailed and not easily "accessible" compared to other sections. A revision of the text should correct this. Having all the chapters in one file is a bit challenging when trying to refer to earlier chapters or access later chapters. The pages on the computer screen freeze and one has to close out and reopen the text.

Consistency rating: 4

There is internal consistency for terminology but not for accessibility.

Modularity rating: 5

Modularity is appropriate. Sections can be used independently.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Organization of content topics is appropriate for a general biology text for non majors. Chapters 1-15 are organized as individual chapters, each with sections. Chapters 16-18, are also organized into sections and placed under unit 5, Similarly, chapters 19-21 are divided into sections and placed in unit 6. Units 1-4 are not identified. The table of contents needs to be revised to indicate the organization of the first 15 chapters within the 4 units. There are many blank pages in the text and a lot of white space around figures.

Interface rating: 2

The color contrast in many of the figures is distracting. The labeling is also difficult to read in many of the figures. In particular, many of the "art connection" figures are difficult to read. The font either has shadows, is blurry or the labels are crowded on the figure. Examples include Figs 3.7, 3.22, 4.15, 5.7, 6.4, 6.9, 7.2, 10.7, 11.7, 11.14, 12. 5, 12.9, 13.6, 13.12, 14.26, 14.27, 15.3, 15.24, 15.33, 16.2, 16.7, 16.9, 16.10, 15.5, 17.5, 17.6, 17.7, 17.8, 17.17, 18.12, 18.16, 18.17 and 19.11. In Fig 20.6, the interactions depicted in the food web are confusing. Labels are needed on the figure itself to help clarify the hierarchy on the web and to go along with the text of the figure legend.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There are no grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

There are no offensive or insensitive materials in the text.

This is a text that can be used for a non majors biology course. A revision of the text will be useful in order to correct errors, add omitted material and provide figures that are clear and free from distortions and distractions. A revision will also take care of the writing style, making the writing more consistent and balanced throughout the text.

Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction to Biology
Chapter 2: Chemistry of Life
Chapter 3: Cell Structure and Function
Chapter 4: How Cells Obtain Energy
Chapter 5: Photosynthesis
Chapter 6: Reproduction at the Cellular Level
Chapter 7: The Cellular Basis of Inheritance
Chapter 8: Patterns of Inheritance
Chapter 9: Molecular Biology
Chapter 10: Biotechnology
Chapter 11: Evolution and Its Processes
Chapter 12: Diversity of Life
Chapter 13: Diversity of Microbes, Fungi, and Protists
Chapter 14: Diversity of Plants
Chapter 15: Diversity of Animals
Chapter 16: The Body’s Systems
Chapter 17: The Immune System and Disease
Chapter 18: Animal Reproduction and Development
Chapter 19: Population and Community Ecology
Chapter 20: Ecosystems and the Biosphere
Chapter 21: Conservation and Biodiversity
Appendix A: The Periodic Table of Elements
Appendix B: Geological Time
Appendix C: Measurements and the Metric System
Index

Ancillary Material

About the Book

Concepts of Biology is designed for the typical introductory biology course for nonmajors, covering standard scope and sequence requirements. The text includes interesting applications and conveys the major themes of biology, with content that is meaningful and easy to understand. The book is designed to demonstrate biology concepts and to promote scientific literacy.

About the Contributors

Authors

Samantha Fowler, Clayton State University

Rebecca Roush, Sandhills Community College

James Wise, Hampton University