What is the best general biology textbook for first year university?

I'm leaning towards campbell biology.



But, I want to hear your suggestions, and if it's a different textbook, in what ways is it better?What is the best general biology textbook for first year university?
Campbell is pretty much a gold standard.



However, here are two other very solid options.



Brooker is relatively new (2007 - 1st edition), but it truly is one of the greatest textbooks for its subject. The four authors each have Ph.Ds in different disciplines (brooker in genetics, widmaier in animal physiology, etc.) and they pack in really detailed descriptions and awesome diagrams, tables, and photos. It was the book used when I TA'd a course in college. Below is the amazon.com site for the book, and you can look at the detailed table of contents yourself. Pretty much a successful clone of campbell.



http://www.amazon.com/Biology-Robert-Bro鈥?/a>



The textbook by Purves has a cult following in the south. My cousin loved this book and some of my pharm classmates used it in their AP bio/college bio courses. Not surprisingly, amazon.com has overwhelming positive reviews for Life: the science of biology. From what I heard from my cousin and classmates, this book has a systematic explanation of all the detailed processes in biology. For example, metabolism is explained with step 1, step 2, step 3 and the glycolytic/Krebs cycles are diagrammed and sequential. In animal physiology, the homeostasis pathways are all diagrammed with feedback mechanisms clearly shown. Read some of the amazon reviewers and you will realize that you can't go wrong with this book, brooker, or campbell.



http://www.amazon.com/Life-Science-Willi鈥?/a>What is the best general biology textbook for first year university?
Yeah, Campbell wins by a hair. I'm biased because I used it in high school and loved it.

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What is the best general biology textbook for first year university?
I am using Campbell Biology in my first year Biology course. I'm almost positive I used Campbell in high school too. I think they do a very good job covering the material.
Campbell Biology, get the latest 9th edition. You can find the best prices at http://campbellbiologybook.com