Michael J. Fox Books

I bought this book freshman year of college and have used it well into my senior year. It's a great book to keep for reference and contains information covered in all the biology classes I have taken. Pictures of mechanisms are easy to understand and very helpful.

This text does not go into enough depth. I found myself going to other sources in order to further grasp required concepts. There is also an error in figure 45.17.

I utilized this book for my college biology classes. It was very complete and had great details on photosynthesis, Krebs cycle, glycolysis. I even liked the chapters on animal structure and function, quite interesting. However, the chapter on genetics was the hardest to read. I had to re-read pages over again to understand what Raven was trying to teach. If you want to know what is the best study guides for college biology to study from, get the following by Patrick Leonardi--
The Ultimate Study Guide for Biology: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations (Vol 1)
Topics: Organziation of Living Things and Chemistry of Life, Structure and Function of the Cell and Energy Pathways, Reproduction and Heredity, Genetics.

The Ultimate Study Guide for Biology: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations (Vol 2)
Topics: Evolution, Ecology, Kingdom Bacteria, Kingdom Protista, Kingdom Fungi, Viruses, Plant Form and Function

The Ultimate Study Guide for Biology: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations (Vol 3)
Topics: Kingdom Animalia, Organization of the Animal Body, Animal Form and Function, Animal Reproduction, Development and Behavior.

The last three study guides prepared me for the kind of questions that were asked on my college exams. This helped me cut a lot of time in my studying because now I new what to focus on. Raven's book is a also a must buy.

The graphs summarize lots of important information in a clear and easy to understand format.

Some part of the text is wordy, not very concise. It helps to develop the breadth and depth of the text but meanwhile it's quite distracting and sometimes confusing for grasping the key concepts.

I absolutely love this book. The explanations are thorough and understandable and the pictures and diagrams cannot be beat. Truly a great read. The book goes into enough detail, but not too much that you get confused. Thank you Purdue bio department for choosing this book!! Highly recommended!

The essays in this book are thought provoking and provide some practical advice on implementing some of the ideas for those who choose to do so. The opening essay by Marcus Borg set the tone for those of us who are hungry for a more vibrant Christianity suitable for the 21st century!

Chrisitianity is changing. In recent years and in rapidly increasing numbers, people have begun to understand the core message and purpose of Christianity in a different way. They have returned to its ancient roots and found a wisdom that speaks to their experience of faith and God today. According to this emerging vision, Christianity is primarily about transformation--about the transformation of the self through a living and dynamic experience og God, who is not separate from us but who is a part of us; and about the transformation of society. This amazing collection of fourteen essays, by some of the leading authors and creative thinkers in the field, covers every aspect of this developing Christianity. Key concepts--such as deep ecology, social justice, radical inclusion, and the importance of honoring the wisdom of other world faiths--are explored. So, too, are the implications for worship, music, pastoral care, and education.

I love reading Fox and Borg, but often find a pollyanish treatment of the terrible consequences of human sin, especially in the omission of any mention of those consequences, is unsatisfactory. I'm also not sure that denominational identity in Christian life is dead, given the increasing, rather than decreasing, number of theological perspectives with adherents today. I have it, but i'll probably give it away soon.

Although several chapters are reprinted from authors' other works, the collection is a good introduction to a wider view of Christianity's role in the 21st century world. Appreciated the chapter on music's place in new forms of worship.

J. REUBEN CLARK: The Church Years. By D. Michael Quinn. (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1983. xvi + 334 pp. Index, notes, photographs.) This book is the second work in a multi volume set documenting the life and work of J. Reuben Clark. This monograph is aptly titled The Church Years, following in step with the first biography in the set written by Fox, The Public Years. This work deals with service Clark devoted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he was called and served for thirty years in the First Presidency, the foremost governing body of the church. The first half of this monograph deals with the three church presidential administrations he served under in chronological order. The second half of the work deals topically, chapter by chapter, with subjects and areas of special interest and influence to Clark. This book begins with the chapter, "The Waste Places of Zion . . . The Rivers of Babylon" highlighting Fox's account of Clark's service in the public sector holding diverse positions including as undersecretary of state and as U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Quinn derives his chapter titles from scriptural sources with great success in accurately describing chapter contents and achieving the feeling Quinn goes for throughout this biography. This monograph is the product extensive research of diverse and scattered sources including the personal journal of Elder Spencer W. Kimball, one of Clark's protégés who eventually became president of the church, and other journals and diaries of Clark's close associates. Quinn readily admits in the preface limitations found in this biography due to strained source availability including the "critically important" Minutes of the First Presidency which were not available to him (p. xiv) Quinn rises above this handicap and invites the reader into the workings of the First Presidency of which Clark played such an integral part. The depth of research through vast amounts of diverse sources is very impressive as are his choices and use of photographs throughout the book. The photographs augmented the text without interfering or diminishing it in any way. Quinn is focused and determined to put forth an honest biography by exposing both the honorable qualities and the weaker components of Clark's character. In an official biography on a Mormon subject the focus is often on promoting the faith of Mormon church members. This focus sometimes levies a great cost in scholarship and integrity of the subject in question. Quinn has boldly stepped out on his own and put forth what he believes to be the truth about the life and character of J. Reuben Clark. This courageous move has helped render a masterful biography and would likely be approved of by Clark himself. Quinn unfortunately suffers lapses in his focus and temporarily abandons his reliance upon sources and facts for his work. When describing Clark's reaction to his reassignment as second councilor under the new McKay administration rather than first councilor as he had been under the previous president Quinn engages in a regrettable bout of speculation. Quinn fabricates a scene in which he describes a morose Clark mentally picturing the presidents office with a great longing and envy. Quinn then claims that Clark's mind falls back to a letter he wrote his wife over twenty years prior to this situation. Quinn substitutes his own views concerning the relationship of rank, honor, and prestige to the presidency of the church in the place of Clark's ideas. Quinn makes the same mistake later in the book when describing Reuben's feelings toward the polygyny practiced by his ancestors. Quinn's zeal for a complete portrait of Clark may also have pushed him to make more of an issue out of Clark's alleged anti-Semitism for which Quinn offers little proof. These short lapses in his work are forgiven due to the overall quality of the work. Quinn includes and invaluable chapter entitled, "Those Who Take the Sword" which explores the evolution of Clark's pacifism and ideas concerning war. It is a great chapter on the broader subject of Mormon pacifism which is a little explored aspect of Mormonism. Clark who looked on pluralism with disdain convinced the church to reimburse Quaker conscientious objector camps which sheltered Mormon pacifists during the second World War. The chapter does a great job tracking Clark's evolving views on war, peace, isolationism, and the idea of just war. Well chosen quotes from Clark's Mormon General Conference decrying the use of atomic bombs to murder the quarter million "men, women, and children, and cripples" in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Clark served as a chairman for the oldest pacifist organization in the U.S., Americans For Peace. Clark was in the position of spokesman for the church and a touching expression of his loyalty and subservience to the prophet and the office of the president is manifested through his official pronouncements in favor of supporting military service, which the church supported, but to which Clark at this point was unalterably opposed. Quinn has provided us with valuable information and a seldomly experienced spotlight on a dimly lit subject. More than just a biography of an important Mormon leader and elder statesman this work in fact gives us an intimate look into the process of decision making in church administration. It also gives us insight into the dynamic relationship between the leaders of the church and its general membership. Quinn shows us this with the illustration of Clark's defense of the church President's unpopular stance against Franklin D. Roosevelt and The New Deal. Great tension arose from the struggle for control between leaders and members. Through Clark's life Quinn explores the power structure from the president and apostles down through the general authorities and the local bishops. A view inside the First Presidency and its decision making is granted to us through the chronological documentation through the three administrations in which Clark served as a councilor. Quinn has given us a wonderful pioneering biography but possibly more importantly he has given us new insight into the dynamics of church leadership, decisions, and membership. Forcefully written with feeling but tempered with a great deal of respect to his task of being fair and above all truthful. Quinn's respect for Clark is apparent and attested to by his unwillingness to gloss over of the less admirable qualities of Clark's character. Quinn's focus and determination shine through the text of this work and make it an extremely enjoyable biography to read, and above all, a quality contribution to the subject and study of Mormonism.