Customer Reviews

The Joy of Chemistry: The Amazing Science of Familiar Things

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been teaching hearing students at a local community college chemistry for the last two years, and enjoying it immensely. What I have not enjoyed was trying to find a decent textbook to use. The one we are currently using by Karen Timberlake is pretty good, especially given the horrendous book I started out with. However, I've been looking for some more chem books that can bring chemistry not down to the level of the students, but rather illustrate how chemistry is involved in our daily world.

The first book I got was a great book on the individual elements. that still wasn't what I was looking for. This book by Cobb and Fetterolf was exactly what I was looking for. Not only did it have experiments that I can use as demonstrations prior to my student's own labs, but it also provides significant background and understanding into all the important chemistry concepts. Loads of black and white illustrations, and just a good book overall. I noticed the first review on the back of the book was by the author of our current chemistry textbook, Timberlake...thought that was funny though not necessarily a selling point originally for me.

I didn't get the title "The Joy of Chemistry" until they mentioned the other two famous books with titles beginning with "The Joy of ...." Cute trick. Won't be selling this book off any time in the near future, as I am just now finishing reading it the first time and now I am going back with a 'fine-tooth' comb over the entire book and take out what I can use for different chemistry labs and classrooms.

Karen sAdler
Science Education

I picked up this book (though skeptical of the title)because my son is getting interested in chemistry. I found it to be very instructive and the demonstrations to be clear and fun too! I would recomend this book to anyone with a budding interest in chemistry - it is layed out very well and easy to follow - and most of all it doesn't read like a text book. My son and I had a good time going through it - though I think I had more to learn than he did. I enjoyed it so much that I picked up another of Cobb's books, Creations of Fire and found it equally compelling.

It's impossible in our fearful age to buy a good chemistry set-- until now. Who would have thought it would come as a book? Cobb's text is fun, easy to understand, and illustrates fundamental principles. Best of all, the experiments work! Highly recommended.

Many titles assume chemistry facts should best be left to the weighty college-level text: not so Cathy Cobb and Monty Fetterolf's Joy Of Chemistry: The Amazing Science Fo Familiar Things, which relates basic chemistry concepts to everyday life instead of complex math formulas alone. Chapters blend science, invention history, and a lively survey which translates chemistry concepts to real-life examples. Yes, there are formulas and scientific notes - but also a wonderful layman's language which makes Joy Of Chemistry accessible to a wider audience than most.

The big three sciences are biology, chemistry and physics, although an argument could be made that biology is merely a sophisticated type of chemistry and chemistry merely an extension of physics. All three are important, but when it comes to writing for the general reader, physics and biology seem to get the bigger slices of the publishing pie (especially when extending into subcategories like ecology or astronomy). The Joy of Chemistry, however, addresses this deficiency and offers a good introduction for the lay reader for this central science.

The focus on The Joy of Chemistry is not only on theory but how chemistry fits into the real world. For this reason, writers Cathy Cobb and Monty Fetterolf not only offer real-life illustrations but also provide experiments for the reader to try out. For example, an early chapter on the periodic table is preceded by the recipe for an experiment that exposes copper and aluminum wire to lye to show how two different metals react to a chemical. Then the chapter itself discusses the table and how it is derived, and how certain groups have similar chemical reactions; since copper and aluminum are not in the same group, they react differently.

The majority of the book deals with the ways chemistry works, from reactions to solutions to crystallization. The second portion of the book discusses various types of chemistry, including organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, biochemistry and analytical chemistry.

Even if you're not inclined to do the experiments (I wasn't), there is still plenty of good, informative material in this book. There are little mistakes here and there such as one point where the text states that two like magnetic poles attract each other, but overall, there aren't many flaws. If your knowledge of chemistry is weak - or if you're just looking for a refresher - The Joy of Chemistry will be a good resource.

While laced with humor, this is a very serious book, and truly a joy. What most surprised me is its willingness to tackle in some fashion all the deepest theoretical findings and issues. They may simplify, but are careful never to misstate. In comparing the dual nature of light, wave and particle, to a pet cat, both wild (when stalking birds) and domestic, the authors are less scientific than usual, but even this analogy contributes to understanding. Given my own confusion, I was glad to learn that "no one has completely explained" why a moving current causes magnetism. The authors do a really good job with chemical attraction, and explain that "all bonds have a bit of each quality - covalent, ionic and metallic - to a greater or lesser degree". I did find some of the references to entropy in explanations a bit unsatisfying, and I think it is because the authors were trying to avoid any discussion of probability.

There is a wealth of information. Despite having taken chemistry, years ago, I learned for the first time such things as what distinguishes a diesel engine, and how cheese is made. I did not actually do any of the many experiments described, but got a lot out of just reading about them. "The Joy of Chemistry" is a great book for anyone interested in science, whether or not you have ever taken a chemistry course.

I bought this book when my 12 year old said he wanted to learn chemistry. I started reading it to refresh my memory, and kept losing track of the book as my son kept stealing it! I have a liberal arts kind of mind, and was NOT looking forward to having to learn chemistry again to teach to my son. This book has changed my mind! I wish Cathy Cobb had been MY chemistry teacher, and I am looking forward to learning more.

The book I chose to read explains the basics of chemistry and introduces labs to back up each topic learned. The intended audience is predominately towards high school students as well as anyone who does not have a strong feel for chemistry. The purpose of this book is to teach chemistry in an educational way that makes it entertaining, which the authors did a good job accomplishing.
The authors do this through real-life examples of how chemistry is exemplified in real life as well as detailed laboratory experiments which can be easily done at home. For those who are willing to buy all the necessary materials for these experiments, as well as having the patience to make certain solutions, will find themselves most likely enjoying these experiments. However, in my case, I do not have the patience to perform these labs at home, but the book does a good job explaining the outcomes of the experiments anyways.
The book was clearly well written and actually easy to follow, which is not always the case for chemistry books and text books. It did a great job explaining chemistry concepts and used metaphors to explain these ideas and their significance. This allowed for quicker understanding and less need to embellish certain topics. The book was definitely concise; it only provided a brief understanding of basic chemistry ideas, and definitely could have gone into further detail for those who already have a general knowledge of the subject. However, this book was not intended for such an audience, and did a good job explaining topics to beginners of chemistry.
The authors use a wide range of material to educate the reader. This book focuses entirely on educating a wide spectrum of material for the reader to gather, and because of this, it is unbiased.
In my opinion, the beginning was the best part of the book. It was when I was most excited to read this book, but admittedly, it became a little boring to read halfway through. The beginning introduction was well written, because it excites the reader about what is to come. It explains how to make bottle rockets as well as oobleck. The authors did a great job incorporating relevant laboratory experiments which each chapter. Each experiment was explained before the chapter of its topic so the reader has a first-hand understanding of what they are about to learn in full detail. It allows the reader to understand its uses in everyday life. At times, I felt there was too much emphasis on experiments and examples and not as much explaining in the chapter.
I would recommend this book to students who are first learning chemistry and have a hard time grasping the information. It teaches a lot of the material a text book would offer but teaches concepts in a different teaching style. This could be beneficial for many students.
This book should definitely be kept on next year's chemistry class. There are few books which can capture such a great learning style. It offers the reader a different domain of information with its novel-like structure than a text book. It also should be added to the library's book collection, and should be recommended to read by those who struggle with grasping the concepts of chemistry.
This book did a good job addressing its information. The authors made a great attempt at making chemistry fun. I have grown fond of chemistry over the past year and this book has widened my spectrum of knowledge in the field of chemistry, even though it only taught the basics. Thus, it did a fine job serving the purpose of the assignment. At spots the book would be hard to get through, but the read was well worth it. I know that because of this book, I will have a better understanding on the significance of chemistry on the environment around us.

Vey interesting book that makes easy the understanding of chemistry. This is good for preparing a lecture or just for information as a cultural point of view. I recommend it for chemistry students.

Can't say enough about this book. Projects were great fun and very instructive. Learned so much about chemistry. A must read for anyone interested in the subject.