Schaum's Outline of Genetics, Fifth Edition

This book will teach you all the genetics you need as an undergraduate and even into grad school. It's been around for decades.

I agree with Doc Dave in his earlier review that this is in many ways a better text than the standard ones out there. It's clearer, more concise, covers the advanced topics quite well considering its brevity, and as the Doc says, it's a fraction of the price of the actual texts. I used this book to get thru a genetics course many years ago, and it was worth ten times the price I paid for it. It explained the concepts better than either the professor I had, or his T.A., who had graduated from U.C. Berkeley. The presentation of classical genetics is the best I know of. You can find explanations of the molecular aspects that are probably as good, but for the classical stuff, and the coverage of the mathematical problems that derive from that approach, this is the best book I've ever seen. I've used Schaum's outlines for a number of difficult subjects over the years, including electrical circuits and electronics, digital electronics and theory, genetics, differential equations, biochemistry, and applied statistics. They continue to be the best aids outside the classroom itself for the more difficult subject areas.

The Stansfield/Elrod outline remains as comprehensive as any of the intro to genetics textbooks currently available. At about 10-15% the cost of the "standard" texts, this outline delivers the same material with more clarity, and often more accuracy. The concepts of classical genetics, which often prove more challenging for students than molecular aspects, are covered admirably in this book. While those who enjoy colorful illustration and pastel text boxes might be disappointed, the b & w figures in this book are extremely clear, logical and most importantly helpful towards learning the material. No solution manual or supplemental CD-ROM is required. Highly recommended as a reference, or as a text for general genetics classes.

Comparable in scope, clarity, completeness, and accuracy to any of the very expensive general genetics texts currently available. And with this one there's nothing else to buy...no study guides, solution manuals, cd's or supplemental websites are required. The book stands alone, and does so for less than half the price of the solution manual for most texts. Particularly strong is the coverage of classical genetics, which can often be more difficult to grasp than the more modern "molecular" concepts of the science. Highly recommended for self-study, as a reference, or as a supplement to any genetics textbook.