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Title: A simple and straightforward text.
Review: This is a very simple textbook. The content is clearly geared toward the beginner in biology, and the text could even be well-recieved and understood by nonscientists. That said, I think the book functions best (oddly) as material for upperclassmen in biology. The scarcity of detail - intended to make the book easier for the lay reader - actually serves the advanced student nicely by avoiding repitition of concepts already thoroughly covered in other courses. This is a physiology text which covers exactly that: physiology. It gets tiring after several years of schooling in biology to deal with all the overlap between classes (I cannot count the number of times I have had to memorize the reactions of the glycolytic pathway, for example), and this book avoids that. Overall, its a great rundown of the important concepts in human physiology, and would probably make a nice refresher for someone who took physiology in the distant past.
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