Fundamentals of Chemlstry
E. Kostiner and J . R. Rea, Harcourt,
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Brace, Jovanovich, New York, 1979. iii 472 pp. Figs. and tables. 24.5 X 19.5 em. $14.95. This book is intended to he used in a oneterm, pre-professional .introduction to chemistry. The author claims that no prior chemical training is reauired and that students ,n a varirt, of other t i ~ l d s w ~find l l this t r x r npplwal~lrin thrir tmirung. hur there nrr u trs pn,blr.ms wirh the !lac of this text by persons not having had previous chemistry experience. The book is written a t the level of the chemistry major and appears to be a condensed version of the normal two-term majors course. In this light, the book would fmd greater use in a one-term course for majors, and courses designed to educate in the nursing, allied health, home economics, education, agriculture, and liberal arts programs would be better suited by other texts. ~saone-t&m textbook forehemistry majors, this hook appears to be quite strong. There are a large number of solvedexereises throughout the text, and the author takes a quantitative approach whenever possible. The examples are well chosen and clearly explained which will enable students to follow the reasoning without any difficulty. Each chapter has a sufficient number of problems associated with it, and the exercises seem t o be well designed in their reinforcement of textual concepts. In addition to the problems, every chapter begins with a set of guidelines that serve to set out the important ideas presented in the chapter, and each chapter ends with a list of important terms and concepts that students should be able to define. I t would have been better to provide short definitions for each term, hut then again a student in a majors course should be able to define the term for himself. ~
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-Reviewed
It is to the credit of the authors that they have devoted two chapters to stoichiometry before discussing atomic structure and bonding. Too often students are bombarded with physics, and they wonder when the chemistry will begin. This text immediately introduces the mole concept, formulae, chemical equations, and stoichiometry problems, and this approach a t least puts the atomic physics that will fallow in the proper perspective. Subsequent chapters deal with gases, solutions, phase changes, equilibrium, acids and bases, and Redox reactions. The last two chapters deal with organic chemistry and hioehemistry, but the coverage of these two areas is probably insufficient for any health-related field. The omissiqn of a chapter dealing with ionic equilibria probably also makes this text insufficient far'a majors course, hut one would assume that the gap could be filled in by the instructor if thishook were chosen for such a course. I t is hard to recommend this text far a specific course, in spite of the author's attempt to do so (as stated in the preface). It is certainly suited for a one-term introductory chemistry course, but it is the opinion of this reviewer that the nature of that course might he hard t o match to this text. Perhaps aseeond edition will appear in which more material related to health fields will beadded, and then this textbook will be quite strong in that type of application. The book is well written, hut its subject matter does not seem to match with a particular purpose. Harry G. Brinain Seton Ha# University South Orange, NJ 07079
General Chemlstry
Jerry March and Stanley Windwer, Macmillan, New York, 1979. vii +383 pp. Figs. and tables, 23.9 X 16.5 em. $18.95 In a recent search for a new text in the in-
trcduetory chemistry course a t our institution this book was selected as one of the two finalists. The text appears to be designed for students who require a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of chemistry as a preparation for later courses in organic chemistry, physical chemistry, or biochemistry. The format of the text seems to follow the pattern of the more successful recent introductory texts, although two changes are worth notingXtoms, molecules, ions, and the Periodic Table are introduced briefly in Chapter 2, but extensive treatment of atomic structure is postponed until Chapter 12. Also, the chapter on gaseous equilibrium appears in Chapter h a r l i e r than in many teats. The authors claim, however, that it i~not essential that topics be taken in the order presented and that a reversal of this order should present no problems of continuity. The text is attractive in appearance with clear, legible type and is handsomely illustrated. Some examiners may, like this reviewer, ohject t o the elongated 7% X 11inch size rather than the more common 6% X 9% inch size. One of the outstanding features was the large selection of problems a t the end of each chapter. The problems appeared to he the "bread and butter" type that test the student's understanding of the topics covered. Some of the problems are arranged in the order that they are discussed in the chaptef while others are scrambled so that the student must find his awn clues to solution. Well-illustrated examples of solutions to s a m ~ l problems e are provided in the body of the text. To stress the fact that chemistry is founded on chemical principles and that these principles were adopted by a gradual process, the authors have placed a strong emphasis on the historical development of chemistry. Attention is also directed t o environmental prablems of air and water, and a special interlude chapter presents the dilemma of the increased demand for energy in a world of depleting energy resources. Most of the units used throuebout the book are traditiwal, hut SI unit* are intlude,l in rhc Appmdir. Surprisingly, the holanrinyuf rcdm cquntions hv rhc uridation number method was omitted from the body of the t a t (Continued on page A20)
in this issue
E. Kostiner and J . R. Rea, Fundamentals of Chemistry .Jerry March and Stanlry Windarer. General Chemistry John R. Holum, Elements of General and Biological Chemistry, 5th Ed. Frank R. Arrnsfronfi and Thomas P R m n e f t , Biochemistry David Mansfield, Principles of Physical Chemistry Cordon M. Hormw, Physical Chemistry M. W . Robertr and C. S. McKee, Chemistry of the Metal Gas Interface Jay K . Koehi, editor, Organometallic Mechanisms and Catalysis Louis F Fieser and Krnneth L. Williamson, Organic Experiments, Fourth Edition Roger Adnms. John R. Johnson and Charlm F Wilrox, Jr., ~ a h o r a i o r yExperiments iri Organic Chemistry
Reuiewer Harry G. Brittain Paul L. Cook Christina A. Bailey Melvin Fried Halbert H. Carmiehael Gordon B. Skinner George Blyholder John J . Alexander Loren L. Braun Kenneth K. Andersen
Volume 57, Number 1. January 1980 1 A19
