The Ten Books of Architecture by Alberti, is one of the finest texts for the education of an Architect or Town Planner. Alberti's ideas are studied at almost very Architecture Program in the world. The Ten Books of Architecture describe how to design successfully, and how to design towns that are safe. Alberti expands on the work of Vitruvius. I would recommend this book for anyone who has an intrest in design. The text is very simple to understand. After reading these books, one will have a much clearer understanding of design.

It is overall a fairly good book, but contains much to much detail for the typical non-major collegfe student. I am a teacher for the Intro Biology class ar a well known university, and I was admittedly called in at the last minute to teach this course, so I couldn't choose the text. This one I would not have chosen, as it has too much info for students who have never taken a biology class in their lives before. I find I have to "dumb down" a lot of the material, which is unfortunate, because it really is a well written and well thought out textbook.

I would just like to mention that none of the reviews here are talking about the 4th edition, which came out in 2002. While a new edition isn't a completely different book, according to the publisher, there are some significant changes that have been made to the book.
I used the 2nd eidition in my Freshman year of High School and I really like how the book was made, laid out, and how the information was presented.

I used this book during my freshman year in college. It was an excellent book with top-notch descriptions, well-placed layouts, and easy to understand content. The topics range from biochemistry to genetics to histology and all sorts of tangents into zoology, anatomy, and pharmacology. I have kept this book for 4 years and now that I will be starting medical school, I am taking the book with me. Many others in classes ahead of me have said that this book helps to clarify some of the complex topics that are presented in 1st year medical school. I firmly believe that and recommend this book to anyone with an interested in biology, medicine, and related fields.