A Short Course In Organlc Chemldry Edward E. Burgoyne, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1979. vii 527 pp. Figs. & tables. 24.5 X 19.5 em.
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study Gulde with Solutions to Accompany Burgoyne: A Shod Course In Organlc Chemldry
N.Sue Horner. v + 197 pp. Fig%.&tables. 23 X 19 em. $6.95.
The World ol Organic Chemldry: A Laboratory Approach David C. Eoton, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1979. vii 355 pp. Figs. & tables. 23.5 X 19 cm.
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A title such as "A Short Cmrse in OrgnnicChemistry"seems to he-at least,tomort organic chemists-a promise uithr impwssi. ble. One often suspects that one-term courses are designed to give the nursing, biology, agriculture, and home economics students who take them the right toclaim they have "had" organic chemistry without subjecting them to the intellectual exercise that is crucial to understanding the subject; hence authors of texts for "short" organic courses are sometimes accused of false advertising. Edward Burgoyne has succeeded rather well in making good the promise and designing an or. ganic course that get9 the student helow the surface of the suhiect d e s ~ ~its t ebrevit~.In fact. the entire three-book ~ a c k a e of e which thiaiext is~ the mime . ~ . ~ . ~~~ . ~ memb;r is a k n e a basis far teaching a sound and stimulating oneterm organic course as one is likely to find. Professor Burgoyne has pared away skillfully leaving those topics that are necessary and interesting only to chemistry majors. He focuses, in the chapters on functional group ~~~~
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families, on chemical behavior rather than roles in synthetic strategies. He omitp lengthy discussions of such subjects as elimination versus substitution, NMR, contributions to rihg strain, electrocyclic reactions, and carhonium ion rearrangements. Yet he avoids the "organic-as-memorizationtrap" by including the theoretical and mechanistic essentials that allow the chemistry to make sense to the student. There is treatment of bonding and molecular geometry, energy profiles, resonance, and the key mechanisms of organic reactions-Sd, S N ~E, l , E2, electrophilic addition, aromatic substitution. There is an appropriate emphasis throughout on biochemical, medicinal, and otherwise relevant compounds. Ample use is made of equations and clear, attractive illustrations. Each chapter includes strategically-placed study problems, a complete summary, and a list of key terms. The accompanying study euide bv Sue Barnes orovides for each chaon~ ~, tcr in the text ~upplementaryreadings, answers toall pruhlems, and a self-tcating %PCtion. There are no glaring weaknesses to report. From the discussion,the student is apt to get the erroneous impression that hybridization involves a kind of excited state; London forces are not so generally overshadowed, as the baok implies, by dipole-dipoleforces; free energy change is not defined precisely; Cahn-Ingold-Prelag problems based on Fischer structures are nearly impossible for the beginning student. The self-testing sections of the study guide are of the fill-inthe-hlank variety. The authors of both the text and laboratory manual split an oeeasional infinitive. But these are largely noncritical deficiencies. "The World of Organic Chemistry," the laboratory manual in this package is not only a superb collection of experiments for a non-majors course, but also it is a treasure ~
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trove of fa& that the organic chemistry instructor will find valuable for illustrating lectures-a list of Nobel prize winners in Chemistry and Physics, compositions of various commercial analgesics, structures of all sorts of pberemones, chemosterilants, artificial sweeteners, esters responsible for common flavors, and antibiotics, for example. The author claims that the book represents an innovative approach to teaching organic chemistry in the laboratory. While it is true that a majority of the experiments make use of compounds that are likely to pique the interest of the non-chemistry major, the greatest novelty of the manual lies in its extensive use of well-researched background information. The result should be an experience that not only makes the stark structures on the Dazes of text and manual come alive fur thestudent, hut alw helps integrate chemistry into the overall educational process ~~~~~
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Gerald W. Gibson College of Charleston Charleston. SC 29401
Catalytic Hydrogenallon In Organlc Syntheses
Paul N. Rylander, Engelhard Minerals & Chemicals Corp., Menlo Park, New Jersey. Academic Press, New York, 1979.. Figs. & tables. 23.5 X 15.5 cm. x 325 pp. $34.M1.
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Since the discovery of catalytic hydrogenation by Sabatier and Senderens in 1897 there has been no single comprehensive monograph an this sole topic until 1965. In that year, two books, R. L. Augustine's "Catalytic Hydrogenation," and F. Zymalkowski's "Katalytische Hydrierungen," were published almost simultaneously in the United States and in Germany, respectively. Since then two more authors, M. Freifelder and P. N. Rylander, essentially monopolized (Continued an page A1 74)
Reviewed in This Issue Reviewer Gerald W. Gibson
A173
Paul N. Rylonder, Catalytic Hydrogenation in Organic Synthesis
Milos Hudlicky
A173
Earlene Brown Cunninghorn, Biochemistry: Mechanisms of Metabolism
Joan Lusk
A174
Marwin W. Kemp, Physical Chemistry: A Step-By-Step Approach
Jeff Davis
A174
Curtis T. Sears, Jr., and Conrad L. Stonitski, AspRelated Sciences
Christina A. Bailey
A176
Eduord E. Burgoyne, A Short Course in Organic Chemistry, N. Sue Barnes, Study Guide with Solutions to Accompany Burgoyne: A Short Course in Organic Chemistry, Douid C. Eaton, The World of Organic Chemistry: A Laboratory Approach
of Chemistry for Health-
Volume 57. Number 5, May 1980 / A173
