reviews lntroduction
to Organic a n d Biological Chemistry
Stuart J. Baum and John W HiK Macmi Ian: New York, NY. 1993. VI i + 481 pp Rgs. an0 tao es. 20.5 k 25.7 cm.
I always have enjoyed using textbooks by John Hill and his coauthors. One of our freshman chemistry sequences has employed his Chemistry and Life text for years. However, it was disappointing to see the newest publication that deals only with organic and biochemistry. This book is a coverage of material that is encountered in the second semester of courses designed for students who are allied-health maiors (~redominantlvnursine students). Thr philosophy oithe dook, stated in-he prekce, rs tc serve a s a recund-semester source after a student hsr had the first seme.stcr of gcncral chemistry Material covered includes a good overview of the essentials of organic chemistry, with some interesting special topic chapters an drugs. The biochemistry section deals with classes of compounds (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids) a s wefl a s chapters that focus on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism. A number of health-related issues are covered brieflv in several of the sections. My concerns arc not with the book as such. It is well-written. the illustrations arequite well-done and the medical npplicntions appropriate. One minor quibble: the seutlun on use of ureatme krnase a s a diagnostic marker far a myocardial infarct omits the valuable role played by isoenzyrne data that will allow clear distinction between CK elevations due to myocardial damage and CK increases caused by trauma to skeletal muscle. The concern with this book is whether it is needed. Obviously, some people believe it is-the predecessor has gone through four editions. However, with the cost of textbooks as high as they are, why require students to buy two different books for a year of chemistry? This book is (with minor changes in wording) identical to the second half of Chemistry andLife (fourth edition) by Hill, Feigl, and Baum. Students in the one-year sequence for allied-health majors would benefit greatly from exposure to these authors throughout the year. Instead of purchasing Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry for a semester, let the students enjoy the excellent writing of Hill and colleagues for the entire year by using Chemistry and Life. Donald F. Calbreath Whiiotth College Spokane, WA 99251 Physical Chemistry R. G. Mortimer. BenjaminICummings Publishing Co.: Redwood City. CA. 1993. xvii + 1098 pp. Figs. and tables. 20.9 x 26.2 cm.
Physical chemistrytexthooks have been growingfatter in recent years. Of those on the market, this book probably is the fattest and the "meatiest". Including the six appendices, problem an-
swers, and index, this volume has more than 1100 pages. I t has 351 figures, 1139 problems, and 235 worked examples. This text is divided into 22 chapters. Chapter 1is an intmduction to systems, states, and processes. Chapters 2 to 8 deal with thermodynamics and its applications. The thermodynamic laws, phase equilibria, multieomponent system, chemical equilibria, and electmehemical systems are covered. Chapters 9 to 15 treat quantum mechanics and its applications. Basic principles, postulates, the hydrogen atom, multielectron atoms, and the electronic states of molecules are discussed in relatively rigorous fashion. A short chapter (27 pp) on translational, mtational, and vibrational states is followed by a longer chapter (64 pp) on spectmseapy and photochemistry. Chapters 16 to 19 cover nonequilibrium processes (gas kinetic theory, transport processes, and the rates and mechanisms of chemical reactions). The last three chapters involve the concepts of statistical mechanics and its application to nonequilihrium processes and the structure of condensed phases. The topics presented are similar to those in other current physical chemistry texts, and all of the areas essential to an undergraduate course are well covered. The style of this text differs somewhat from the others. At the beginning of each chapter are a boxed set of "Obieetives" that are ststed quitp simply-perhaps a bit wu srmply at &es. Thrre also ore two or three sentences representing a -l'rcview" This 1s followed hv five to 10-I'rinrioal Factsand Ideas."Eaehofthrsc helm to prepare the student f k t h e material to follow. On average, e&h chapter has 16 high quality figures, and these are really the highlights of the book. Approximately a dozen examples with solutions appear within the text of each chapter and ample problems are provided. Answers to about half of the problems are given in the back of the book. Each chapter ends with a fairly simple summary, reinforcing the objectives and principal ideas formed at the beginning. The text of the book reads smoothly. It is rich with the use of "we" in derivations to reduce the use of the passive. Far example: " are common. This has "we now make. . . " and ' k e construct the effect of counteracting much of the rigor in the hook. The one minor thing that could be improved is the cumbersome system for numbering equations and examples. The equations are numbered consequently for each section of a chapter. Thus, one particular equation has the lengthy designation 1 1 . 3 4 3 ~ . There are often about a hundred equations per chapter, so much space is devoted just to labels. The examples unlike the equations are numbered by chapter and not section. Thus, example 1.5 winds up in section 1.4, for example. The above criticism is quite insignificant when the wealth of material packed into this text is considered. In summary, this text has all the necessary ingredients to be used far a two-semester undergraduate physical chemistry course. How it would be received by students is difficult to assess without a trial run,but most likely it wauld do well. Anyone teaching physical chemistry will want to have a copy of this bwk as a reference.
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Reviewed in This lsssue Stuart J. Baum and John W. Hill, Introduction to Organic and Biological Chemistry R. G. Mortimer, Physical Chemistry Louise S. Grinstein, R o s e K. Rose, and Miriam Rafailovich, Women in Chemistry and Physics: A Biobibliographic Sourcebook Kendrick Frazier, The Hundredth Monkey and Other Paradigms of the Paramormal Titles of Interest Monographs New Volumes in Continuing Series
A108
Journal of Chemical Education
Reviewer Donald F. Calbreath
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A108
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Jaan Laane George B. Kauffman Laurie M. Kauffman
A108 A109
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George B. Kauffman
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