Expert: Dana Krempels, Ph.D. - 7/3/2007

Question
I'm wondering if you can name some great books on biology for non-biologists.

There are two types of resources I'm looking for. The first is an overview of the field, kind of like what "Physics for Future Presidents" (http://tinyurl.com/2s9sjk) by Richard Muller does for Physics. Muller talks about matter, waves, electricity, quantum mechanics, energy, etc. but with very few equations; instead he explains the importance of understanding physics concepts to make everyday decisions and national policy.

The second is a more specific, but extremely accessible look into a particular field for the layman, for example what "Freakonomics" is to economics, or "The Tipping Point" is to sociology.

Can you recommend any such resources for biology?

Many, many thanks! I really appreciate your generous volunteering.

Answer
Dear Luke,

Because Biology is such a HUGE field, with many subdisciplines, there is no single work that could be likened to any of the works you describe here.  At least, I am not aware of them.  There are many interesting works to read in the field of biology (the works of Stephen Jay Gould and E. O. Wilson are among the best), but none is really an overview of the entire field of biology.

But if you would like a good, readable overview of Biology, then there is no better place to start than with Biology by Neil Campbell, et al.  It's a textbook, but so user friendly and full of excellent illustrations that it really is an excellent guide to a person wanting to know more about biology.

You can find even the most recent edition for relatively little $$ on ebay:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=biology+ca...

Hope that helps get you started.

Dana