Chemistry of the Elements [Paperback]

N. N. Greenwood (Author), A. Earnshaw (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0080220576 | ISBN-13: 978-0080220574 | Publication Date: January 15, 1984 | Edition: 1st

This innovative textbook presents a balanced, coherent and comprehensive account of the chemistry of the elements for both undergraduate and postgraduate students. This crucial central area of chemistry is full of ingenious experiments, intriguing compounds and exciting new discoveries. The book covers not only the "inorganic" chemistry of the elements, but also analytical, theoretical, industrial, organometallic, bio-inorganic and other areas of chemistry which apply. The authors have broken with recent tradition in the teaching of their subject and adopted a new approach based on descriptive chemistry. The chemistry of the elements is still discussed within the context of an underlying theoretical framework, giving cohesion and structure to the text, but at all times the chemical facts are emphasized. This is a book that students will not only value during their formal education, but will keep and refer to throughout their careers as chemists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book represents an extremely important contribution to the spread and development of our knowledge of inorganic chemistry and of chemistry in general....constitutes a material support not only for the verification of existing theories but also a point of departure for the formulation of more comprehensive theories....the book offers a content superior to that of usual treatises of inorganic chemistry since it deals also with analytic, bio-inorganic, organo-metallic and even industrial aspects. The treatise is remarkable for the unitary and logical way in which the chapters are organised and in which the material within each chapter is set out....Because of the body of knowledge which it contains, Chemistry of the Elements is a reference book for university teachers, researchers and students.
Revista de Chimie (Romania)
...it will influence the knowledge and way of thinking of generations of students for years to come....Professor Greenwood was distinguished in 1983 with one of the major awards of the German Chemical Society. He would have deserved it for this textbook alone...
Angewandte Chemie, 25/2
The book contains a vast store of information on chemical reactions, structures and industrial uses. It is an excellent book, suitable for use at the advanced undergraduate-beginning graduate level as a reverence text. The authors are to be commended for a job well done.
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Volume 107, Number 18
They have succeeded admirably in selecting and presenting a staggering amount of material in what is an up-to-date, in depth treatment of descriptive chemistry that will be useful not only as a text but also as a standard referene book... The volume has an attractive format, with many important topics appearing in panels highlighted with a light gray background. The book is replete with countless equations and reaction schemes and more than 1,500 carefully selected references.
Journal of College Science Teaching

From the Publisher

Accordingly, the book covers not only the 'inorganic' chemistry of the elements, but also analytical, theoretical, industrial, organometallic, bio-inorganic and other cognate areas of chemistry. The authors have broken with recent tradition in the teaching of their subject and adopted a new and highly successful approach based on descriptive chemistry. The chemistry of the elements is still discussed within the context of an underlying theoretical framework, giving cohesion and structure to the text, but at all times the chemical facts are emphasized. Students are invited to enter the exciting world of chemical phenomena with a sound knowledge and understanding of the subject, to approach experimentation with an open mind, and to assess observations reliably. This is a book that students will not only value during their formal education, but also will keep and refer to throughout their careers as chemists. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1542 pages
• Publisher: Pergamon; 1st edition (January 15, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0080220576
• ISBN-13: 978-0080220574
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 2.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,392,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, practical, thorough, good reading!, August 8, 1999

By 

Harry Persinger <[e-mail] (Huntington, WV USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chemistry of the Elements, Second Edition (Paperback)

For years I have enjoyed the previous edition as a source of information and reference. It is a good adjunct to many of the courses in Chemistry to give additional background. The authors seem to anticipate what you will need to learn. The inset boxes are excellent in that they call attention to practical industrial chemistry and I know of no other text that so successfully stresses applied chemistry while most texts give no insight into the real world of the practical side of Chemistry. Do you know how a match is made? Chemistry of the Elements will educate you! Harry Persinger

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascination with elements, April 6, 2000

By 

V. N. Dvornychenko (Rockville, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chemistry of the Elements, Second Edition (Paperback)

Although I have some formal chemistry training, I am not a professional chemist, nor teacher. However, since childhood I have been fascinated by the chemical elements. I suppose this is similar to the fascination for prime numbers, Platonic solids, or elementary particles.

I suspect there are many others "out there" sharing this fascination. If so, and you are interested in any of the following, this book might be for you:

1) why are most elements metals? 2) why are there so few liquid elements? 3) why are there no gaseous metals? (Well actually there is: hydrogen) 4) why is there an island of super-dense elements centered about osmium? 5) why is carbon unique in that it is the progenitor of a vast family of compounds (the subject of organic chemistry)? 6) why do carbon's two nearest neighbors, silicon and boron, not have similar empires? (Silicon does have an empire -- rocks! -- but it is obviously quite different)7) what makes "heavy metals" heavy, and why are they so toxic? 8) why is there virtually no technetium in the Earth, though it is a relatively light metal, and not a member of the "heavy" radio-active series? 9) why is deuterium virtually a distinct elements (rather than just a form {isotope} of hydrogen)?

The book is "friendly" enough so as not to intimidate non-specialist, but at the same time it contains sufficient details and technical information to interest the expert. A special asset is the grouping of elements according to the periodic table. The mysteries of the transitions elements are especially well covered.

The book is enhaced by excellent graphics.

The price, while high for say a novel, it quite reasonable for a technical book.

Happy browsing!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent resource and text on the chemistry of elements, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Chemistry of the Elements, Second Edition (Paperback)

Greenwood and Earshaw is an excellent inorganic chemistry text as well as a valuable reference for the chemist or geochemist. Their systematic treatment of the elements by group within the periodic table makes for a coherent treatment of periodic properties.

Besides the almost encyclopedic coverage of element chemistry, they cover the sources and uses of the elements and their compounds, making the chemistry much more relevant to everyday life.

This is a good text for a university level inorganic class, but has enough general information that would be digestable for lower level students as well. An excellent resource for chemistry instructors at all levels.