This page provides a list of the tools and websites that we use and highly recommend to help you learn about the spectacular life on Earth.
These textbooks and websites provide a far more in-depth look at various fields of biology than we have been able to achieve with the Basic Biology website, so far…
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links and, therefore, if you choose to make a purchase, Basic Biology may make a small commission on your purchase. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps to keep Basic Biology alive and free to use.
Books
Our brilliantly simple book will take you through the fundamentals of biology in a way that is easy to follow and avoids difficult science jargon. Easy and enjoyable to read, the book introduces topics such as genetics, cells, evolution, basic biochemistry, the broad categories of organisms, plants, animals, and taxonomy.
Paperback – $16.95 | eBook – $2.95
Also available from Amazon, Book Depository, and all good bookstores.
Documentaries
This is the best resource for documentary films. It has over 1500 films on a range of topics including biology and new films are added each week. This is the greatest collection of documentaries anywhere in the world and is available from $2.99/month.
Textbooks
This is world’s #1 textbook for beginning biologists and has been hugely valuable to me over the years. This is the resource that I recommend to anyone looking to build a truly solid foundation of biological knowledge.
The latest edition is also available from Amazon and the Book Depository.
This easy to understand text is the perfect introduction to the basics of animal biology. If you’ve run out of animal biology related information to learn about here on Basic Biology, I recommend continuing your learning with this great textbook.
Available from Amazon in Kindle and new and used hard copies.
Raven Biology of Plants is considered by many the “plant biology bible”. The textbook is well-written, filled with great illustrations and introduces a wide range of key topics in the field of botany.
Available from Amazon and Book Depository.
This textbook and earlier editions have been the basis of ecology courses for years. The text is focused around an evolutionary perspective of ecology and is filled with great graphs and figures.
Available from Amazon and Book Depository.
Clear, concise and easily readable. This textbook makes learning genetics a whole lot easier. The whole book is well-organised and individual ideas are clearly expressed.
Available from Amazon and Book Depository.
Molecular Biology of the Cell is not just highly educational but is also enjoyable to read through and is the book to get if you want to learn as much as possible about cellular biology from one resource.
Available from Amazon and Book Depository.
This is the go to textbook for anyone interested in biochemistry. It includes great illustrations and is relatively easy to read considering how difficult biochemistry can be.
Available from Amazon and Book Depository.
Microbiology is a complicated subject. Similar to the biochemistry textbook, this textbook is incredibly clear and simple considering the complexity of the topics it discusses.
Available from Amazon and Book Depository.
A key goal of this textbook is to make it easy for students to clearly understand the key principles of anatomy and physiology and how they are related to one another. The authors have done a great job.
Available from Amazon and Book Depository.
Websites
These are a few websites that I recommend for learning about various topics in biology. I frequently use each of these websites myself.
This is an amazing website with the goal of creating a resource with information on every species on Earth.
The yourgenome website provides information on topics related to genetics via videos, stories, debates, and fact sheets.
The Angiosperms Phylogeny website isn’t the prettiest and is very dry but it is the best resource you will find anywhere for information on groups of plants down to the family level. It is continuously updated by Prof. Peter Stevens from the University of Missouri-St. Louis
I love this website and highly recommend it. It has so much information about all things ecology such as the ecosystems, water quality, species interactions and human impacts.
This is a website created by the American Society for Microbiology and provides information on topics related to the biology of microorganisms through videos, podcasts, interviews with microbiologists and more.
Lab equipment
A compound microscope from OMAX with magnification up to 2000X and comes with a built-in 3 MP camera and video.
This slide set contains 25 prepared microscope slides that include samples of plant tissue, insects and other animal tissues.
A complete microscope stain kit with six different stains, 72 slides, 100 cover slips and 10 pipettes.
