AP Biology Book Review Assignment
For the book you have chosen to read, please submit the following. We will be discussing the 1st half of
the books on December 2nd and the second half of the books read on March 24th.
Due December 2nd
I. Citation- Please use MLA format (5)
II. Summary- Discuss the events which occur during the first half of the book. Your discussion
should include a description of the main characters, as well as highlights describing the basic
plot of the book. (15)
III. Quotes- Provide 2 quotes that you think are interesting or that make important points and
explain why you chose the quote. At the end of the quote, in parentheses, indicate the page
number on which the quote can be found. (10)
IV. What science or science processes are discussed in the book? (10)
V. Opinion- Do you like the book so far? Why or why not? (5)
Total possible- 45 points
Due March 24th
I. Summary- Discuss the events which occur during the second half of the book. Your discussion
should include a description of any new main characters, and any changes in the characters
already discussed, as well as highlights describing the book’s plot as it progressed to the end.
(15)
II. Questions- What 2 questions would you like to ask the author and why? (10)
III. What science or science processes are discussed in the book? (10)
IV. Relate the book you read to information you learned in Biology this year. (10)
V. Opinion- Did you like the book? Why or why not? (5)
VI. Grammar, Punctuation, and Organization. (5)
Total Possible- 55 points
I have books to choose from or you may wish to read a book from the attached lists.
The books listed were recommended by biology professors across America, as the books they wish every
student would read before entering college. Before selecting a book, check on Amazon.com for a
synopsis of each book. Many of these books may be checked out at our local libraries.
1.
Double Helix by James D. Watson
2.
The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin
3.
Lives of a Cell by Lewis Thomas
4.
Ever Since Darwin by Stephen J. Gould
5.
The Panda’s Thumb by Stephen J. Gould
6.
The Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
7.
Microbe Hunters by Paul Dekruif
8.
The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen J. Gould
9.
The Voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle by Charles Darwin
10. Growth of Biological Thought by Ernst Mayr
11. On Human Nature by E.O. Wilson
12. The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
13. The Population Bomb by Paul Ehrilich
14. The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan
15. What is Life by E. Schroedinger
16. The Two Cultures by C.P. Snow
17. Rosalind Franklin and DNA by Anne Sayre
18. A Guide to Gaia by Michael Allaby
19. Mayonnaise and the Origin of Life- Thoughts of minds and molecules by Harold J. Morowitz
20. The Dancing Matrix- Voyages along the Viral Frontier by Robin Henig
21. In Search of the Double Helix by John Gribbin
22. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
23. In the Rainforest by Catherine Caufield
24. Before Nature Ends by Bill McKibben
25. Natural Acts by David Quamnen
26. Hen’s Teeth and Horse’s Toes by Stephen Jay Gould
27. Living with our Genes by Dean H. Hamer and Peter F. Copeland
28. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore
29. A Reason for Hope by Jane Goodall
30. Race for the Double Helix: A personal account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James
Watson
31. DNA Fingerprinting: The Ultimate Identity by Ron Fridell
32. Silent Spring by Rachael Carson
33. Charles Darwin: And the Evolution Revolution by Rebecca Steoff
A second list to consider:
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
A Field Guide to bacteria by Betsey Dexter Dyer
A Walk into the Woods by Bill Bryson
Before the Dawn by Nicholas Wade
Chromosome 6 by Robin Cook
Darwin’s Blind Spot: Evolution Beyond Natural Selection by Frank Ryan
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales
Doubt is their Product: by David Michaels
Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo by Sean Carroll
Full House by Stephen Jay Gould
Genome by Matt Ridley
Good Germs, Bad Germs by Jessica Snyder
In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall
Into the Woods by Jon Krakauer
Monkey Girl by Edward Humes
Moral Minds: by Marc Hauser
Number: The Language of Science by Tobias Dantzig
Of Moths and Men by Judith Hooper
Proust was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer
Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams
Relics of Eden by Daniel J. Fairbanks
Rosalind Franklin: The Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education by Maichael Pollan
Symbiosis in Cell Evolution by Lynn Margulis
The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
The Diversity of Life by Edward O. Wilson
The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution by Sean B. Carroll
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
The Panda’s Thumb by Stephen J. Gould
The Red Queen by Matt Ridley
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature by Steven Pinker
The Third Chimpanzee by Jared M. Diamond
The Third Man of the Double Helix by Maurice Wilkins
The World without Us by Alan Weisman
What Evolution is by Ernst Mayr
Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers by Robert Sapolsky