The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals: An Introduction to Modern Structural Chemistry [Hardcover]

Linus Pauling (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 664 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Press; 3 edition (January 31, 1960)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801403332
• ISBN-13: 978-0801403330
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #409,238 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #29 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Chemistry > Physical & Theoretical > Quantum Chemistry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An all time classic, May 12, 2001

By 

Ashutosh Jogalekar "Sciencecat" (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals: An Introduction to Modern Structural Chemistry (Hardcover)

"It is better to foresee, even without certainty, than not to foresee at all", writes Linus Pauling in the preface of this book which become a bible of sorts for any chemists wanting to learn about the rational underpinnings of his or her discipline.

When I first came across this book I thought that it was too detailed and dense. But then as I patiently studied every chapters, I realized that Pauling has truly "foreseen with certainty" in his career and discoveries, a fact which is slowly but surely revealed in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how a few simple scientific ideas lead to the explanation of literally hundreds of phenomena.

In this book, the two times Nobel Prize winner has beautifully demonstrated how his classic 'Valence Bond Theory' can be applied to explain the bewildering array of atoms, molecules and crystals around us. In each chapter, the author introduces classic principles like resonance, electronegativity, partial ionic character of bonds, partial double bond character, and hybridization. Today these concepts are the cornerstone of the description of thousands of simple molecules and are part of every chemistry textbook. It's worth noting that the valence bond approach has its drawbacks which Pauling does not really discuss. It is also true that the Molecular Orbital Theory developed by Robert Mulliken, Friedrich Hund and others has largely replaced his theory in making quantitative calculations. However, Pauling's masterly style of writing and the insights which almost each and every page of this book give the reader are unmatched. Plus, the simple explanations of complex phenomena described in the book serve as powerful heuristics to understand the fundamental nature of chemical science, a science which is based on the reductionist laws of physics but which is also founded on its own emergent principles derived from a combination of rigor and empiricism.

This volume would perhaps not prove useful as a textbook for a modern day classroom because of its level of detail and relative age, and yet I think it should be read by each and every chemist and chemistry student as the ultimate example of simplicity, variety and beauty. It is one of the finest examples of how one extraordinary scientist tries to explain diverse chemical phenomena through a few simple ideas. Read this book to savor the soul of chemical science.

16 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Masterpiece, August 24, 2003

By 

Anant Kulkarni (INDIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals: An Introduction to Modern Structural Chemistry (Hardcover)

This book is one of the Masterpiece in Chemistry.
You simply can not rate this book in stars values. It is one of the EPIC in Chemistry.
I should say it is a bible or Bhagavad-Gita for chemists,