Physical Chem with Applicatns Life Sciences

This is simply the best physical chemistry text I have ever used. It is full of unique insights that are thought-provoking, presents things from a physical, rather than mathematical perspective, and explains thermodynamics better than anything else I have read.

This book gives a good overview of physical chemistry for bio students. It is somewhat abridged-covers almost all the topics in a normal P chem course-but places its main emphasis on describing the concepts in the context of cellular and molecular biology. Most chapters have a short section describing how topics relate to biochemistry (DNA renaturation is a 2nd order reaction, thermodynamics of ions in solutions, ions and cell membranes, etc.)It makes use of some calculus, but eases into it gently to avoid overwhelming the student. I grant you that it is about 20 years old, but the laws of thermodynamics and quantum mechanics haven't changed much in this time.