Campbell Biology in Focus

by Lisa A. Urry, Michael L. Cain, Peter V. Minorsky

Books a la Carte are unbound, three-hole-punch versions of the textbook. This lower cost option is easy to transport and comes with same access code or media that would be packaged with the bound book. In 900 text pages, "Campbell Biology in Focus" emphasizes the essential content and scientific skills needed for success in the college introductory course for biology majors. Each unit streamlines content to best fit the needs of instructors and students, based on surveys, curriculum initiatives, reviews, discussions with hundreds of biology professors, and careful analyses of course syllabi. Every chapter includes a Scientific Skills Exercise that builds skills in graphing, interpreting data, experimental design, and math--skills biology majors need in order to succeed in their upper-level courses. This briefer book upholds the Campbell hallmark standards of accuracy, clarity, and pedagogical innovation. This package consists of:
Books a la Carte for Campbell Biology in Focus
MasteringBiology with Pearson eText Access Card

Genres: Nonfiction, Textbooks, Science, School, Biology, Read For School

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Shruthika · Rating 2 out of 5]

the online version was too difficult to use and made you click through like 12 subsections to get to the right place
the paper version was wayy too clunky to even bother opening
overall 1/10 for accessibility. the 1 point is for existing.
diagrams were actually v helpful (see i can be objective!)
animations were also sosososo good they actually saved me
however, khan academy beats this any day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[vint cerf · Rating 2 out of 5]

fuck this
-2017-2018

[Sathvik Kakanuru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Campbell biology is a college level biology textbook and is extremely helpful to understand concepts in all fields of biology, going deep in to each section but also not solely expanding on a section such as Raven's Plant Biology or Albert's Molecular Cell Biology. With impressive visuals and amazing pictures, the book not only explains the topics through words but supports visual learners with pics of the content. In fact, the pictures have helped so much that just seeing the pictures helps me remember what the content of the pages are. The concepts are displayed several times and so are in easy to understand language and several jokes to help you increase connections and links between subject knowledge and the jokes. One negative is a lack of depth in the animal diversity chapters and also the biotechnology chapters need more info but otherwise an amazing book.

[isabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly it wasn't awful. i am somehow looking forward to ochem now

[Andromache of Troy]

Truly, this book is well-written. However, I must confess, it took me through quite a TOUGH journey! Nevertheless, I found the last few units to be the most enjoyable. Despite the challenges, there was certainly some fun to be had in the end!😆

[River Guru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good luck getting through this one. The book is really pretty-lots of color photos and graphs, captions, etc but the data is not presented in a clear way. I got this book packaged with the mastering biology software, and the 2 seemed to have nothing to do with each other. Combine that with my professors lectures and PowerPoints-(which were also unrelated) and I was totally lost. This was an extremely expensive textbook-and it looks like they put a lot of money into making it...but I just didn’t find it helpful. Good luck. (This was my required textbook for intro to cellular and molecular biology).

[Brent Darling · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is what it is, a college textbook. Kinda dull at times, but did have some interesting information in it. And as with all college textbooks, it's ridiculously expensive.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I don't think I'll be able to skip bio 101 in college, it'll at least be easier now.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. The online Mastering Biology was a great companion.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, comprehensible, well-written explanations of the (college level) concepts those can get you through your AP Bio. The online version on the other hand... it takes some time until you find the very chapter you are looking for... (I have not read any other editions, therefore I am unable to compare them).

[Nina Sweeney · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the worst introductory biology texts. Related concepts are scattered and explanations of complex processes are ambiguous and wrong more often than is acceptable given the experience of the authors.

[Allison Hartley]

this book is so true bestie

[Yvonne]

No more reading guides!!

[Hiwete · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never again. This textbook was the bane of my existence. Informative, but incredibly exhausting to get through. Thank you, next.

[Remy Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

yikes but at least I passed 😭😭

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this was a decent companion through my introduction to biology (at least since high school). The paired down text can become confusing at times when the authors error on the side of simplicity, but additional resources help at those times.

[Mills College Library]

570 C1873 2014

[Rebecca Osbaldeston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brillant!!! Great descriptions, beautiful illustrations, and I ACTUALLY enjoyed reading it. What more can you ask for?

[Jahnvi · Rating 3 out of 5]

khan academy saved me from this god awful creation.

5/5/25
i can finally say i'm done with this.

6/31/25
forgot to update but i got a 5 🎉