Customer Reviews

Organic Chemistry (5th Edition)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My assessment of this textbook is based upon concurrent usage of the solutions manual.

Paula Bruice does a great job in presenting organic chemistry. I had virtually no knowledge of organic chemistry when starting the academic year, and felt I had a solid understanding of it at the end of the year. I obtained As both semesters, even though one of the professors only loosely followed the material in the text. However, the text was of sufficient quality that I was able to understand the material the professor presented by relying almost solely on the text.

I prefer to learn things by reading and studying alone. I used this text with solutions manual almost exclusively. The author's presentation of subjects is logical and progressive. There are many worked problems within the text, and the solutions manual has fully worked solutions to the problems. Additionally, there are review subjects within the solutions manual to cover subjects that are not properly organic chemistry, but must be mastered to understand organic chemistry.

The key to getting the most from this text is to work the problems at the end of the chapters. Paula Bruice does not present problems that were not covered in the chapter. Thus, if you read the chapter, you'll see the concepts in the problems at the end of the chapter. Where you have gaps in working the problems, you can readily fill the gaps by checking the solutions manual. Read the text, work the problems, you'll learn organic chemistry.

As a final note, there is a web site to accompany the text. It isn't great, but I think most such web sites are deficient. Nevertheless, it was sometimes helpful when I simply couldn't grasp a concept. It is probably the best web site to accompany a text I've seen.

I read this book when the required text (McMurry) for the organic chemistry class I took was confusing or I wanted to review a topic in greater depth. I would not have minded if this book were the main required text for my class. I am getting rid of all of the other introductory organic chemistry books I had except for this one.

This book provides greater depth and better explanations than the other books I used for reference. The McMurry text briefly mentions a few topics in a single sentence or paragraph, which many other introductory and outline books entirely omit (so I suggest not wasting time with them). This book actually contains reasonable explanations for those topics.

The style of this book is not too wordy and not too brief. However, it is best to work problems while reading this, or any similar, book because readers will probably not gain much by reading it like a novel.

Really really loved this book.

One of the best written college textbooks i have read in a long time

1). GOOD examples

2). REALLY thorough. It will cover nearly every topic in the entire ochem spectrum. When i was studying for the MCAT and couldnt find the answer to something all i had to do was pop open this book and find out about wolf-kirschner reductionr etc etc.

3). well written

4). easy to understand


Cons
1). really expensive, the solutions manual is really expensive too. Also the modeling kit is really expensive lol.

LOTS OF DOUGH, but if you can afford it its really a great book.

Bruice's way of writing is what separates this book from other texts such as Mcmurry. She conveys complicated ideas in very plain english. Futhermore, the illustrations in this text are superb. The book's clean and spacious format also translated to better brain studying conditions (esp. for OC people like me).

3 cons:
No access number for the book's site
Very expensive (unavailable locally [Philippines])
HEAVY :0

I had met this book on my undergraduate studies, it was the most interesting and exciting one(compare to other organic chemistry books) I had read on organic chemistry. It is even possible to learn the organic chemistry completely alone without visiting any lectures.
Still as graduate student me and other chemistry students in the university prefer this book in case you need to refresh the basis knowledge in organic chemistry.

It may seem unfair to give only 3 stars to what amounts to a very solid textbook -- but it is 3 stars in comparison to the best texts that are available for undergraduate organic chemistry. First, the good. The text is well illustrated with Spartan density drawings and colorful pictures and sidebars of various organic chemists that help maintain interest in the reading. The book is printed on high-quality paper and the binding is durable, which should help it withstand the beating given it by a diligent student. Color is used more liberally than other textbooks (such as McMurry); this is one of the best looking books available on the market for organic chemistry. Additionally, the chapters at the end of the book that highlight the role of organic chemistry in enzymology and drug discovery are a nice addition for classes geared more towards medical students/biologists.

Now the bad. First, the organization is quite different than other textbooks. In some areas the reorganization is a welcome change, but I question some of them. In particular, an extensive treatise of the nomenclature of the functional groups at the beginning of the book (Second chapter) delays the introduction of reactions; it makes for a tedious opening and leaves the impression that organic chemistry is a topic for pedants. Additionally, bunching together all the elimination reactions after the chapter on alkynes prevents a real introduction to multistep synthesis until Chapter 9, almost 400 pages into the book.

Perhaps more importantly for the student, the text is not as readable as, say, McMurry, Jones, or Wade. Part of the problem is simply that the book is so incredibly detailed. It's almost as if the author tried to condense both an undergraduate organic chemistry text and a graduate text into one, perhaps in order to justify its hefty pricetag (250$ for the book and solutions manual). In my opinion, the onslaught of information, particularly in the spectroscopy and substitution and elimination chapters, is simply overwhelming. Lastly, the student solutions manual--which should be the lifeblood of any student trying to learn the subject--is riddled with errors, an unexcusable foul for a book in its fifth edition. These errors undermine the confidence of students in their ability to work the problems.

Despite these faults, this is still a good text. The level of detail, while in my opinion stifling for most undergraduates trying to learn the material, makes it a good reference book. Given it's deeper coverage than other textbooks, it may work well in a course for chemistry majors. For most, however, the texts by Wade or McMurry offer better alternatives.

Like most students, I'd walked into organic chemistry scared out of my mind. The horror stories alone were enough to make one reconsider their career plans. But the Bruice book is very thorough, and is laid out in a much more coherent style than the Vollhardt version that so many professors favor.

Bruice's approach is a practical one - if two types of molecules react similarly, then they are taught together. Vollhardt goes molecule by molecule, and ends up effectively repeating reaction mechanisms that are essentially similar.

The text you use will ultimately be the choice of your professor, but if you want to understand, not memorize, organic chemistry, Bruice is the clear choice.

Organic Chem is a HARD subject. That being said, I think this text (5th edition) does a great job with explaining concepts. It's filled with colorful and more vivid pics than the other texts. Make sure that when you buy this text, buy the SOLUTIONS MANUAL as well. Trust me, you will do much better and understand the material much more with the solutions manual.
Some tips:
-Highlight stuff. You may think that you "get it," but unless you highlight or actively take notes, you probably don't totally understand what's going on.
-Finish ALL of the problems at least a week before your exam. If you don't try practice problems, you will FAIL your exam! Most test questions are like book problems.
-Stay caught up. It's really easy to fall behind, but this is the one class you do not want to put off work for. It's impossible to get an A by studying/learning everything the night before (unless you have a way-too-easy professor).

I needed a refresher in organic chemistry. Treatment of mechanism and reactivity is excellent, very clear. Not just a sophomore organic text, but a reference that can help well beyond college.

GUYS THIS BOOK IS LITERALLY THE BEST BOOK EVER! Trust me I am a med student! It explains everything graphically, It has a very smooth text! Be sure to get it with its study guide which is super helpful! I sold my book after I was done with my undergraduate but then regret it and bought it again! yes, it's that good! GOOD LUCK!