Customer Reviews

Organic Chemistry I as a Second Language: Translating the Basic Concepts

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No, it's not written in the bible but you'll be harming yourself if you don't get this book. You'll be cheating yourself.Seriously. If i had to write the #1 law of orgo, it'll be get this book, period. [...]l. If you can't afford a new copy get a used one without writing. This will be worth your every penny you spend on it. I spent time during the first part of the semester working through the first 3 chapters in the book. This book is little but it has sooo many practice exercies i'm suprised at how it packs it into such a little book. I did ALL the exercises, and worked through everything. Trust me, the material is cemented in my brain. I read 70% of the required text for the exam but then everything in the textbook i knew so i kinda skimmed the top of it. It's been years since i did acid-base chemistry but this book lets you get the meat and potatoes without having having to g back and review. My teacher kept explaining something over and over and over again and i got fed up and gave my copy of this book to the girl who just didn't seem to get it and said read this. She turned to me and said "it makes sense." I aced my first test so easily and everyone in class is lost. Now orgo is my easiest subject. I'm taking 3 sciences with labs this semester so this book has made orgo the one class i don't have to sweat for.
I could go on and on and on about this book but the only way to really know it is to get it. either get it used from someone like i did, but try to get a copy without writing or buy it. I was going to buy it from amazon but then the dude put it up for sale on SDN. I bought this book along with the nuts and bolts of organic chem and while both are good, if i had to only get one, i'll get this. hands down.

As a professor of Organic Chemistry, I have found that this little book is an excellent supplement for students. It is well organized, has many helpful tips, is very readable and presents information in enough detail to be more helpful than typical "review" books.

Thank goodness for this book. I was struggling with the transition to organic chemistry getting a C in the first class, failing the second and then I found this book (and also the Organic Chemistry II) which got me an B in my second ochem class and an A+ in my third ochem class! This book has definitely helped me to think of the relationships between functional groups and their behaviors instead of just memorizing (which didn't work!). My roommates asks to borrow this book from me all the time as well because it helped save them too! It's definitely worth every penny for that "A" I desperately wanted.

I took o chem 15 years ago and remembered nothing. I bought this book and studied it the summer before I took the course. Having pre-learned the concepts in this book really helped me several times through the course, primarily with resonance, chair conformations and sn1, sn2 and e2 reactions. And I got and A in the course! I'm currently reading the second semester book to get ready for second semester.

I'm one of the lucky few who are able to have Dr. Klein as a professor. He requires the OSL books in his course -- and for good reason; they are infinitely easier to understand than standard textbooks, give lots of practice problems, and really help you understand the material. Of course it helps that Dr. Klein teaches the class in the same way that he wrote the book, but I would recommend this to any Orgo student.

However, don't expect to sell this book to someone else -- it's really a workbook, and it's very helpful to be able to write in and do the exercises in the book.

After reading the other positive reviews that almost make this book out to be a "holy grail" of the sorts, I assumed that this book would be of great help as an aid to my Organic Chemistry I textbook. However, as an aid, it really does a poor job of covering the information.

Klein spends ample amounts of time on Resonance, a concept which isn't too hard to grasp. Yes, it might be challenging for some, but when the course really gets tough (ie. Mechanisms), Klein tells you to "consult your textbook" and provides lots of white space in the book for you to copy down mechanisms and memorize them yourself.

It is this aspect of this "aid" which makes it so frustrating - Klein leaves you hanging in the most difficult part of Organic Chemistry. Quite frankly, I wouldn't waste my time with this book - if you really find yourself struggling with Resonance than you are going to have a lot more problems in organic chemistry than this book can solve.

Mechanisms are the hardest part of Orgo, and this book provides NO help for that besides white textboxes for you to copy them down from your textbook. Don't waste your time and money, if you want a supplement, get one that at least teaches you mechanisms.

I spent $40 for this book that is full of white textboxes for me to copy mechanisms down, I would hope that I can at least save some students from making the same mistake I did.

In all honesty, instead if buying this book, you are better off buying a few cases of beer - stress-busting is a good way to deal with organic chemistry!

First off, let me reiterate what others have said -- this is NOT a textbook and it is not going to come anywhere close to covering the volume or depth of material that you are likely to cover in a year of college-level organic chemistry. The author clearly states that this book is meant to be a SUPPLEMENT to your course textbook, not a replacement for it or even a "Cliff's Notes"-style summary of its content. If all you want is an overview of organic chemistry reaction mechanisms, save yourself $40 and try a Google search instead - there are thousands of websites showing the mechanisms.

With that out of the way, I found this book to be an amazing resource. Where my textbook seemed intent on rushing through as many mechanisms and factoids as possible, Organic Chemistry as a Second Language took its time in explaining the "why"s behind what was going on and communicated the underlying principles using humor and analogies so that the material felt approachable.

Did this book match the content of my course perfectly? No. Did it teach me the specifics of all the reactions I needed to know? Not even close. What this book did do, however, was equip me with a working vocabulary of organic chemistry fundamentals so that I didn't necessarily need to remember the minute details of every reaction because I could infer them from the given conditions.

If you're a natural o-chem whiz or you prefer just memorizing all the reaction mechanisms, you're probably not going to get much benefit from this book. But if you are someone who feels a little intimidated by organic chemistry and you really want to connect to the material, I think this is a great choice.

As a pre-med student, I am very fluent with the sciences. I am the kind of guy who will go through the text with a fine tooth comb to understand everything. Those of you who are in Organic Chemistry probably know that is very difficult as there is a lot of information. Your text will cover so much stuff that will end up overloading your brain and hurting your grade. This book is succinct and detailed. By far the most effective read of my science career. This book will shine light on every difficult concept covered in your first semester of organic chemistry. I was afraid that this book would be too "elementary" and not fulfill my inner curiosity as to why things work, I was fortunately wrong. This book adds the perfect amount of detail to really give you an understanding of the material. You will look at reactions and really understand why it reacts the way it does. Absolutely wonderful!

Two years ago, this book single-handedly saved me from literally failing my college orgo class. I attend UChicago, and despite hours of pouring away at my textbooks and problem sets, I could not wrap my head around what the professors were talking about form day to day. All of them were intelligent and very gifted researchers in their specific fields, but did not know how to convey organic chemistry at its basics and fundamental concepts. This book has the right balance of reading and practice, and encompasses the material at a level that isn't too generalized (like a review book) or detailed (like the nitty-gritty exceptions they list in textbooks). It is a book that you can work through at a good pace, and most importantly, it's a book that presents the info in a manageable, understandable fashion. You can actually digest the information, as opposed to just being overwhelmed and psychologically raped by it.

Anyway, I've recently started prepping for the MCAT, and dug this book up this morning, since the notes that I received with my prep-course doesn't come CLOSE to being as well-written as this book is. Looking at my old notes in the margins and the wrinkled pages just brought up all the memories... I can't imagine where I'd be today... but I definitely can't imaging having held on to my medical school ambitions if it wasn't for this book.

I purchased this book because I barely passed Orgo 1, so I wanted something that could give me a better understanding of the material. This book doesn't go super in depth, because it is not a textbook, but it does a great job of teaching you all of the fundamentals in a very easy to comprehend way.