Reviewed by Jeffry Nichols, Associate Professor, Worcester State University on 6/1/21

Comprehensivenessrating:3see less

The material covered is fairly similar to other biochemistry textbooks, but does lack some of the details of a more comprehensive biochemistry text (i.e. Lehninger's text). This isn't a negative, just an observation. The order in which the concepts are presented is different, but again still fairly complete.

Content Accuracyrating:4

From what I could tell, the information is accurate. Examples appear to be unbiased and give good everyday correlations to biochemistry ideas.

Relevance/Longevityrating:3

The material for the basics and background for biochemistry are unlikely to change, so in that sense they are relevant. The way in which the material is presented, i.e. the formatting, does make it difficult to follow at times. The tables and figures are not always near the relevant text and often there are figures/tables that appear before the section in the text. Again, this could be a formatting issue.

Clarityrating:4

The text is easy to follow, avoids jargon for the most part (until it needs defining). As mentioned above, references to tables/figures are hard to follow and some tables/figures seem "stuck in" at random points. This hurts the clarity of the text while reading.

Consistencyrating:4

Each chapter sticks to a familiar layout and walks the student through the various topics in a coherent manner.

Modularityrating:3

Overall the text could be broken up, but again, possibly due to formatting, many of the links do not work, interrupting the flow, On all the end of chapter sections, I couldn't get any of the links to work, with a message about "to be developed" or "coming soon". This is unfortunate as these links could be great for further exploration and follow up assignments.

Organization/Structure/Flowrating:3

Yes, the organization is pretty good, although I think the introduction of electron transport and electrochemistry should come after an understanding of WHERE these molecules are coming from, i.e. metabolism, breakdown of sugars, fats, amino acids, etc. This doesn't make it "bad", just no my personal preference. And as mentioned previously, the plethora of tables/figures can be overwhelming when they don't always line up with the discussion of them in the text.

Interfacerating:2

Couldn't get the links to work--although it appears many of the links are "printed" after the end of entire book. So the material might be there, but as it is currently put together, it would be difficult for instructors or students to use these links effectively.

Grammatical Errorsrating:4

From what I can tell, the grammar is fine throughout the text.

Cultural Relevancerating:4

Again, from what I read, I didn't notice any insensitive or offensive parts. Examples were clear and highlighted the biochemical aspects without a need address social or other issues. (which could actually be good depending on the nature of the class and student's interest in how science touch many aspects of our lives)

I have hope for this book, but I couldn't readily tell if this book is being maintained or updated on a regular basis, or if it is just a framework for others to build upon. The organization isn't ideal, and there are problems with links and such, but the overall material and coverage looks pretty good.

The rest is here:
Biochemistry: Free For All - Open Textbook Library