Anatomy and Physiology 2e
The text is quite comprehensive - all major topics are covered. A number of notable and appropriate side topics of interest are included in most chapters. The glossary and index are very good. It would help if the detailed list of topics in each chapter (from the Table of Contents) was repeated at the beginning of each chapter.
In addition to traditional chapter topics, there is a unique chapter called "The Neurological Exam" that I believe will be both very instructive (applying information from other chapters) and very engaging.
The book is generally quite accurate and current - this is no trivial accomplishment for a field this complicated. The book is neutral on most controversial topics presented, with a tendency to tilt toward acceptance of mainstream views (this is not at all unusual). Generally science textbooks shy away from (or just omit) controversial topics, but authors might do better if they presented controversies as such, and let readers decide.
The book is up-to-date, and will provide a satisfactory introduction to A&P for a number of years to come. It is worth noting that the field of A&P is growing in sophistication - especially in the physiology area. But even in anatomy new discoveries are made from time to time (for example - not found in this book is the "discovery" of the clitoris - which was really the discovery in 2009 that the clitoris is a much larger and more important organ than previously thought).
The book is generally well written, in clear and simple language. Technical terms are very numerous (to be expected in an A&P text) but well explained. A few chapters seem a bit dry compared to the others.
The various chapters are well organized, with artwork, sidebars, and end of chapter questions throughout the book. The art work is really quite good - and pretty consistent through the various chapters - and again this is very significant given how big of an undertaking it is to make an A&P textbook.
The book could be better in this area. While it IS modular, up to a point, the total amount of material presented almost begs for more and smaller sections. Perhaps more graphic headings within the chapters would help, or at least a schematic/graphic outline of the chapter after the chapter introduction.
Each chapter can stand well on it's own, but I think it would be challenging to customize reading assignments for my own needs.
The chapters are arranged in the traditional pattern for this type of textbook, and the order of topics within chapters follows a familiar pattern as well. Most of the text of a few chapters is mostly just straight text, without much formatting, and this can be a challenge to read and keep track of where you are.
The book navigates well, and all the images appear to be free of technical issues. Obviously the ability to link from the index to specific topics is nice. Also the Interactive Links (a type of sidebar) are well integrated into the written text. The "Interactive Link Questions" are a wonderful addition to the set of questions at the end of many of the chapters.
There are only a few minor grammatical errors. However, in a number of cases sentences are rather long and unwieldy, making it more challenging for students to easily "read for understanding". Today's students - including many of the better ones - would not have been considered strong readers a couple of decades ago.
Although many teachers might think that a science textbook does not need to worry about "cultural relevance", I am not one of them. Since this is really a human anatomy and physiology textbook, and most students taking the course are going to work in healthcare (in a multiracial, multicultural country!) more highlighting of human variability is warranted. I think the book would be stronger if it included aspects of health care discrepancies based on age, race, gender, etc. One example - a wonderful sidebar they might add would be the difference in heart attack symptoms in men and women - and how this was discovered. It is history, biology, and cultural relevance - in a topic that is likely to be very engaging.
I have been teaching Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) for about 15 years, and have reviewed a number of major textbooks. Due to the competition between major texts in this field, many A&P texts have fairly complex and sophisticated layouts of text and Figures. My review comments are in comparison to these textbooks.
While it may seem that commercial textbooks are over-formatted, I believe the complexity of the subject (A&P) supports the need/desire for more headings, more bold fonts for key terms, footnotes and/or sidebars, etc. Most A&P students I have met (at multiple institutions) are very busy both with other courses and with jobs, so a more user-friendly textbook might be considered more of a necessity than a luxury.
Having stated all that, this is a very good textbook that I would recommend to people. A lot of effort has been well spent making this book a very useful resource for Anatomy and Physiology students.