2003-12-26 'Biodiversity' - a review.

I am studing plant biology at degree level and this book was recommended to us to complement our 1st year lectures and give us an overview of biodiversity. An introduction it is: it familiarises the student with the 'what? where? and when?' of biodiversity. It seems to raise as many questions as it answers which is inevitable in a short book on such a vast topic and leaves the reader wanting to discover more. Although it perfectly complements my lectures (not suprising really as one of the authors is also one of my lecturers), it is overly simplistic at times for my liking and sometimes you can't help thinking, 'well thats just common sense really'. It is reasonably easy to read and follows a logical course starting with basic questions such as 'What is biodiversity?' and 'Where is it?' through to investigating more abstract concepts such as the subjective value of mantaining biodiversity. I found it easy to transfer ideas from this book to other areas of my course. It is a bit too short and concise (for the price)and the graphics and illustrations are somewhat uninspiring but it is none the less a good introduction to the science of biodiversity.