Another example is Figure 1.12. The animated version didn’t add anything that the still figure hadn’t already told me. The clips don’t seem to add anything new (but some people may prefer them to still figures as that’s how they learn). I can see the animated clips useful for some things, e.g. DNA replication, cross-over, mutations, etc.

Other things I like:
The media tab that allows me to quickly scroll through the presented figures. I don’t have to flip through the pages if I want a memory refresher. Excellent idea.

The clickable citations. Icing would be if those citation links also came up with an abstract. And if iPad would allow you to link from there directly to journals for which you have a subscription so you could read the paper itself….

Key Concepts, and the Quizzes. Also Glossary function. Only took me a few seconds to find synapomorphy and I even started spelling it with an “a”. The ease with which I can jump back to the quizzes from the front menu (Study button).

The writing is good too, of course. I was a bit ‘worried’ from the intro that the book was going to be too basic (1000 hamburgers all at once, for e.g.), but that ‘worry’ didn’t last long at all. I learned/relearned a number of things just in the sections I read so far. So far it is an informative book that explains the concepts nicely.

I’m looking forward to seeing the other chapters and how much they will cost compared to the book. I don’t want to be buying chapters piecemeal though. E.g. I could get 2/3rds of them and then the publishers might hike the prices for the last third making it more expensive than the hard copy book or more expensive than anticipated.

Frankly, I do like the look and feel of a thick book in my hand, and looking good on my bookshelves, but I have lots of thick books I haven’t finished yet because I travel for work so often and can’t take them with me. From what I’ve read so far, I’m probably going to buy the e-version (sigghhh….I feel I may end up buying the soft-cover version as well when it comes out because I like Kindle and iPad but I really like books for reading in bed, a very old habit now).

Sorry for the long post. I do like good books and this would be my first e-textbook, something that I’ve wished for since before computers were actually used. Nearly 30 years ago I also used to wish I could have my field guides on some Star Trek type reading device so I didn’t have to carry half a dozen guides into the field—heh, jump forward and you can guess what I have now on my iPad and iPod.

It’s 800 pages! Drool!!

Re: iPad version of the book. Is it identical to the book except for added features, or is there less writing but more interactive components? I like books, but my iPad travels easier. If the writing and information is the same as the book, I’ll probably get the iPad version first, and will download the app soon as I post this.

http://www.roberts-publishers.com/media/ZE_1.pdf

How about a web page/pdf of first (or nth) chapter…?