Essential Reproduction

Reviews / Votes

"Although professionals at all levels may derive some benefit from this book, the ease of reading and the accompanying online versions may benefit students the most. The illustrations are wonderful and the content solid with a decidedly European feel." (Doody's, 7 June 2013) Essential Reproduction is the recommended text for students studying the reproduction course and my go-to guide when preparing material to cover during supervisions. It explains the key principles of the subject as well as reviewing the scientific evidence in an approachable way. The 7th edition has been updated and the contents broken down into shorter chapters - making navigation through the book more manageable. I noticed that some topics that are common "problem areas" for students have also been restructured. A particularly useful feature is the e-text feature of the book purchase, which enables me to access the text on my iPad so I can always have it handy for quick reference. Overall, it's difficult to bring this book's substance to fault - a very minor quibble is that the book's 7th Ed facelift has resulted in every chapter title being illustrated by the image of fertilisation whereas it would have been nice to see an images more relevant to context of the chapters in question. In a future edition, "self-test" questions or stimuli for further discussion/essay writing would be a welcome stylistic addition. (Stephanie Smith, University of Cambridge)