The Biology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained (DK Big Ideas)

I received a copy of this book directly from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The book does a good job of presenting a huge amount of information on Biology and its study. If you have more than a casual interest in the topic but don't want to slog through scientific papers, then this book would be an excellent fit for you.Although the book is toted as explaining big biology concepts simply, I don't think that description is entirely accurate. This isn't a beginner book - it's more of a mid-range read. It isn't something I'd recommend to a younger reader, but I do think it's an excellent source of information, so I'd recommend it to someone who wants to learn more about biology, past what you'd find in the average textbook.

I requested this book to have something to read with my 11 year old son. It’s my mission in life to raise a well-informed human being and The Biology Book will help with just that. There are tons of questions asked and answered throughout; All are important and necessary to have some sort of grasp on.

I enjoyed this book. The entries are well written, with crystal-clear explanations. From a historical perspective, the book has a fairly global view. The Directory towards the end of the book was also interesting, containing brief entries on scientists not discussed in the main body of the work. Each sub-chapter in the book also contains a Context section to show what happened chronologically before and after the subject of the entry. The timelines were also very useful. The book had an encyclopedic feel to it, with enough information to hold my interest but not too detailed, so I never felt bogged down. I found the art in the book to be excellent. I had two quibbles with the book. One is a trend towards discussing medical concepts and the other is identifying scientists by their nationalities instead of where their work was done. To me the latter is more important. This book could be of interest to people with or without a biology background. Thank you to NetGalley and DK for the advance reader copy.

Excellent book, I have been leafing through it and have found it fascinating. Not only does it go through the fundamentals of the subject, it explains the history, discovery and the mechanisms involved within each area of study. I purchased this for my son, who is a bit of a budding physics boffin, and thought it would broaden his knowledge base. However, I should add he's only 8, and this book covers how the reproductive process came to be scientifically understood and I've decided to put the book onto the top shelf for a couple years. Silly me Doh! Of course, it's a biology book! Age range, maybe 11 up and probable useful for GCSE levels or interested adults, as it is a really good, well illustrated reference book too. I

Just received the new DK big ideas book, I can tell already it is another excellent addition and really well designed and I look forward to other new ones. Great work DK 🐆

I have fond memories of DK as a child – this feels different to the books I remember: it’s a journey through biology in themed chapters and chronological discoveries.The suggested age range is 14+ - this book seems perfect for GCSE age-range and reminds me of my science text book.It’s laid-out clearly, with a mixture of text, pictures and charts. This has a little bit of information on a lot if different things, all related to biology. I find myself having a browse rather than wanting to read it in order.There’s an interesting couple of pages on viruses in microbiology. I liked that it didn’t just talk about biology but the scientists behind the discoveries too.

An excellent book by DK on their 'Big Ideas Simply Explained' series. This is the perfect book for those with an interest in Biology. It isn't super in-depth but it does what it says in the cover: it gives you an overall insight into this world but explained in simple terms. It really helps you get a good grasp on the basic concepts of biology from the brain to DNA and ecology.Whether it is an adult or a child or teen reading this, it is a really interesting and easy read. It is something you can pick up, open a random page and find something super interesting that is easily understood. Excellent to expand one's general knowledge. Recommended.

I'm very impressed with this series of books from DK. I also have the medicine one and this follows the same format.There are several sections for general themes and each section has a double page spread for topics within that theme. Most of the topics have a timeline to put it in context, many have a short profile of a person relevant to that topic and there are plenty of appropriate illustrations.I think its perfect for dipping into rather than for reading from cover to cover in order. It is not in-depth enough to be a reference book, but it is well indexed so easy to find sections relating to specific things.