Do not be misled by the generally high quality of Mr. Garber's previous work. The "self-teaching" guide is more vocabulary list than textbook. Critical missing features include (a) some notion of life as _process_ rather than a lengthy list of elements of cell anatomy, (b) poikilothermy appears in end-of-chapter questions, but the text does not compare it with homeothermy in any useful way, (c) comparative anatomy illustrations are not drawn to scale, making it difficult to make appropriate comparisons. The vocabulary lists and end-of-chapter multiple choice questions would save a first-year teaching assistant some time preparing for classes for non-majors. The book is not much help in acquiring a general understanding of the basic science.

Clear, succinct, explains everything really well. I wish all my texts were this easy to understand.