The Home Education Blog Blog

I’d like to tell you about a biology book we’ve been especially pleased with, called The Way Life Works: The Science Lover’s Illustrated Guide to How Life Grows, Develops, Reproduces, and Gets Along.

It’s the product of a collaboration between molecular biologist Mahlon Hoagland (best known as the co-discoverer of transfer RNA) and illustrator Bert Dodson, and arose out of their “shared fascination with the unity of life.”

I have a low tolerance and set a high bar for cartoon-style illustration. I find that Mr. Dodson’s wonderful illustrations stay well this side of annoying and are the perfect accompaniment to Dr. Hoagland’s lively text. The result is an introductory biology book that is enjoyable and accessible for learners of all ages.

(There is also a textbook edition designed for use in schools, titled Exploring the Way Life Works: The Science of Biology. That edition appears to have the text and illustrations of the original with the addition of end-of-the-chapter questions and what strike me as somewhat textbookish photographs. (I prefer the visual consistency of the original, and we happily find other sources of photographic imagery for further exploration of the topics.) What I like so much about the edition we have — and part of its approachability and appeal, in my opinion — is that it doesn’t come across at all like a textbook, but if that’s what you’re looking for, this would be one to check out.)

Added 12/14/07: I only just now noticed the price on the textbook version, which it turns out goes for quite a bit more than the original version (but note that used copies are readily available for considerably less than the price of a new copy). So then I looked at the number of pages, and found that the textbook edition is half again as long as the original. Additional material that I found on the publisher’s website suggests that the additional pages comprise the chapter questions and the additional photography, plus some sidebar-style material. I’ve ordered a used copy of the textbook version and will post an further update after I’ve received it and have had a chance to review it.