Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews Carbohydrates: The Sweet Molecules of Life by Robert V. Stick Academic: New York, 2001. 256 pp. ISBN 0-12-670960-2. $64.95. reviewed by Eugene Gooch
If your knowledge of carbohydrates is limited to what is typically covered in sophomore organic texts plus the usual details about metabolism from a one-term biochemistry course, this book is for you. At first glance, carbohydrate chemistry may appear a difficult and “messy” area for a synthetic chemist. The author alludes to this, mentioning “intractable gums and syrups” in the preface. He opens Chapter 6 by describing the problems of making selective changes in complex molecules (such as glucose and sucrose) that possess more than a few virtually identical functional groups. If your apprehension is mounting, be assured that there is a wealth of good chemistry described in this book. It is just as versatile as the molecules described within it. If I wanted to interest undergraduates in a research project involving carbohydrates, I would suggest they read Chapters 1–5 on the structure of monosaccharides; then browse chapters 10–12, which cover disaccharides, glycoconjugates and carbohydrate-based vaccines. These chapters are brief, but in them the author accomplishes one of his stated goals: to “deliver a new treatment of the subject”. The writing is engaging, and inclusion of ample historical flavor deftly woven into the basic details of mono- and disaccharide structure is as refreshing as it is concise. It is quite evident from the beginning that the author has a substantial passion for this area of study. After reading these chapters, the reader might well be infected with similar enthusiasm for carbohydrate chemistry. For any graduate student or postdoc who is about to start research in monosaccharide synthesis and who is unfamiliar with the area, Chapters 6–8, comprising 60% of the book, should be required reading. The serious reader can assimilate a substantial body of knowledge that becomes a firm foundation for further study. There is a strong (much more
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formal) flavor, akin to Chemical Reviews, at this point, and generous detail is provided in a set of minireviews on specialized areas of carbohydrate synthesis. Extensive lists of several hundred references are not compiled at the end of each chapter; instead, shorter lists of several dozen references follow each section. The material is quite up to date. Discussion of enzymatic synthesis, combinatorial library construction, and polymer-supported reactions furnish an elegant complement to firmly established classical reactions. The transition from classical to modern methods begins in Chapter 6 and is complete by Chapter 9, which focuses on oligosaccharide synthesis. In the preface the author asks, “Who followed in [Fischer’s] footsteps, who are the emerging giants of carbohydrate chemistry?” After the first five chapters, I was more than ready to find out. Many names are mentioned in Chapters 6–9. Not surprisingly, notables like Corey, D. H. R. Barton, Danishefsky, and Merrifield were not reluctant to venture briefly into this area. More frequently mentioned are Lemieux, Mitsunobu, Gigg, Crich, and Frasier-Reid, among others. However, there is no attempt to even briefly focus on any of these individuals, summarizing contributions over the span of their respective professional periods. To build these stories, the reader must dig through the references to find important names that appear more often than others. In the preface, the author admits that Chapters 11 and 12 offer only a cursory introduction to carbohydrates in biology—glycolipids, glycoproteins, and the like, as well as recent research on carbohydrate-based vaccines. Given the book’s title and the plethora of new developments in biotechnology, this is a little disappointing. For those wanting more extensive detail on the big names and research areas that are currently most active, the book is like an old Hitchcock movie—Chapter 12 is a snap ending that leaves you hanging. Perhaps the author was following the advice about a good entertainer who leaves despite the audience’s calling for an encore. Taken as a whole, Carbohydrates: The Sweet Molecules of Life is like a newly discovered dessert—after finishing it, the reader will certainly want more. Eugene Gooch is in the Chemistry Department, Elon University, Elon, NC 27244;
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 79 No. 5 May 2002 • JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu
