Customer Reviews

Contemporary Chemical Analysis

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a professor teaching instrumental for the first time. I used Skoog's book as an undergrad, and again now to teach from - it was a last-minute decision and I now regret it. I think that this book by Rubinson would've been a much better choice. The emphasis on "analytical chemistry and problem solving, including instruments" fits the class I'm trying to teach MUCH better than Skoog's exhaustive explanation of instruments. Skoog really relies on a student's experience in quant to give the context (how to plan an analysis, how to test and validate the method, etc.) - many of my students are international grad students entering the program who are very weak in analytical, so they just don't have that experience...

I've used my desk copy of Rubinson's book extensively as I plan lectures, and I'll change textbooks for the class next fall when I teach it again. I don't know whether there are any plans for a second edition - it would be much appreciated, although the first edition is an excellent start.

the problem of errors in the books answer keys did detract from its value. in addition the graphical scheme of the book could have been more appealing. though it's an aesthetic complaint, the blues and greys got to be a bit difficult after long reading.

This book provides a well written introduction to the priciples of classical analytical chemistry, and more contemporary instrumental methods. Although the book is only in its first printed edition, the amount of mistakes made in example problems and throughout the end of chapter problems make the book very difficult to work with. In my quantitative analysis class last semester my classmates, my professor, and I sent a list of at least ten errors to the authors. This does not come close to accounting for all of the errors we found, and we did not even cover the instrumental section. The book has potential but it must be for the second edition at least.

All errors that were found have been removed from the 2nd printing, which is now being shipped. We look forward to further reviews with opinions on the content, appearance, and usefulness.