Textbooks of Organic Chemistry in the United States, 1885-1950
Examination of key textbooks shows the development of chemical ideas, and the intellectual background of generations of students in the field. Ira Remsen's "Organic Chemistry" (1885, fifth revision 1909), the first widely used American text, is best charaderized in Remsen's words about Fittig, his PhD mentor in Germany. "It is doubtful whether any textbooks of chemistry have ever been written that had less reference to underlying theories than his.. .. These hooks are made up of compact statements of fact.. ."k m s e n ' ~text, even in its later versions, is deficirnt not only in important topics like triphenylmethyl, hut in the fundamentals bf stereochemistry. American students could get a much broader view of the field from A. F. Hollemann's excellent text, available in translation from the Dutch in 1903, and in translations of Bernthsen's text from German, from 1895. Many students used texts and laboratory books in German. William A. Noyes' textbooks (1903, several later editions) also offered a more advanced and broader account, with excellent sections on nhvsical nro~ertiesand measurements. and discussions of reaction mechanism. James F. Norris' text (1912,1922; 58,500 copies sold by then) was notable for its inclusion of work on identification of unknowns, for broad hut not deep coverage, r and by Norris' statement for nrohlems a t c h a ~ t e endines. (1952) that the elec&onic theo&of struEture did not belong in an elementarv - oreanic - course. The development of qualitative organic analysis as a teaching device seems to be primarily an American one. The pioneer hook was by A. A. Noyes and S. P. Mulliken in 1897 (reviewed by Remsen in Amer. Chem. J.);S. P. Mulliken devoted a lifetime of patient scholarship to the preparation of four large volumes (190&1922) containing descriptions of over 10,000 compounds plus many dyes. One volume texts by H. T. Clarke (1912.5th ed. announced in Blackwell's catalog for
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D. Stanley Tarbell a n d Ann T r a c y Tarbell Vanderbilt University Nashville, Tennessee 37235 1975) and Oliver Kamm (1922,1932) were forerunners of the classic Shiner and Fuson (later with Curtin). This text, with its detailed procedures and challenging road map problems, was the basis for the valuable courses given in most departments starting in the 20's and 30's. The Instrumental Revolution of the 40's has transformed most "qual organic" courses into instrumental analysis. The most instructive features of the former, the preparation of solid derivatives and the road map problems, are fortunately retained in many elementary organic laboratory programs. The J. B. Conant text (1933, later revisions by Tishler and Blatt) offered a sound foundation; in spite of Conant's research interests, it contained little evidence of the rapidly developing theoretical bases of organic mechanism and structure. The Fieser-Fieser texts were eminently interesting and teachable, with limited material of theoretical character. H. J. Lucas' h k (1935) is a kev book, orieinal and masterly in its presentation ofthe physicd hasisof organic chemistry. I t could he used today in teaching a good course in modern s a diagram organic chemistry. F& example, ~ u e a presents based on X-ray crystallography of hexahromocyclohexane, hy Dickinson and Bilicke, which is one of the first experimental demonstrations of the chair form of cyclohexane, with axial and equatorial suhstituents. F. C. Whitmore's comprehensive text (1937) is still useful for reference, containing much information or organic reactions difficult to find elsewhere. The first modem critical review of the basic ideas of organic chemistry was W. Hfickel's "Theoretische Grundlagen" (1931, 1934), which was valuable for advanced students. Henry Gilman's "Organic Chemistry: An Advanced Treatise" (1938), with chapters hy many leading Americans, was a great boon to graduate students, who previously had nothing equally
useful in English. Wheland's "Advanced Organic Chemistry" (1949,1957) was a rieorous and learned examination of the fundamental ideas, with a strong historical feeling for the background of these ideas and the key experimental obaervations. Wheland's hook has perhaps been unduly neglected, because it came just before the development of conformational analysis and the extraordinary impact of the Instrumental Revolution, particularly nmr, on organic theory and practice. Fuson's "Advanced Oreanic Chemiitrv" (19501and "Heac" tions of Organic Compounds"gave comprehensive and erudite nresentations for advanced students. Lucas' text &d Hammett's classical monography, "Physical Organic Chemistry" (1940), inspired a generation of texts, strongly oriented toward reactions mechanisms; without to others. Cram and Hammond. Naller. and Roberts .nreiudice " and Caserio may be mentioned. A. E. Remick' "Electronic Interpretations of Organic A~~~~~
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Chemistry" (1943,1949) gave a thoughtful and critical review of physical organic chemistry including the Ingold system which was not described in detail by Ingold himself until 1953. Remick's book, less physical and magisterial in approach than Hammett, was a useful disseminator of the newer ideas to organic chemists. Monographs on the specialized branches of reaction mechanisms, instrumental techniques and specialized structural fields such as proteins, nucleic acids, steroids and polymers, are indispensable to the advanced student and research worker. They affect the contents of current texts, but cannot be mentioned further here. The textbooks of organic chemistry, from Remsen to Morrison and Boyd, reflect, with some time lag, the increasing sophistication and specialization of the science, and its increasing contributions to the progress of other fields.
Volume 54, Number 5, May 1977 1 267
