Organic Synthesis [Hardcover]

Michael B Smith (Author), Michael Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 007048242X | ISBN-13: 978-0070482425 | Publication Date: September 12, 2001 | Edition: 2

For complete and up-to-date coverage in the area of synthesis and reaction, Organic Synthesis 2e provides readers with a clearly written presentation that guides them through the material, carefully and methodically.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1416 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math; 2 edition (September 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 007048242X
• ISBN-13: 978-0070482425
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.4 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #814,519 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Chemistry > Organic > Synthesis

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Organic Synthesis, 2nd edition, December 18, 2001

By 

Michael B. Smith (Storrs, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Organic Synthesis (Hardcover)

I am the author and rated it high for obvious reasons. I was not going to rate it, but could not submit this form without it. I am taking the unusual step of writing because virtually all current reviews refer to the 1st edition - NOT the 2nd. This NEW book has been completely rewritten and while there are probably errors, it is NOT error-riddled like the 1st edition. I simply ask people to take a look with a fresh eye. McGraw-Hill and I have tried very hard to make it a quality book, and I am confident it will be very useful. If you have any questions or comments please contact me and I will do my best to answer them.
Thanks for your indulgence.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, but too many mistakes to be worthwhile, March 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Organic Synthesis (Hardcover)

This book gives a good overview of modern synthetic methods, but with mistakes on almost every page, it is not worth the trouble to figure out exactly what he is talking about. The book is exhaustively referenced, however, allowing quick access back into the primary literature to get more detailed explanations and clarifications.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is second only to March, March 5, 2003

By 

Lemas Mitchell "Libertarian/ Empiricist" (Hunan Changsha) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Organic Synthesis (Hardcover)

It's amazing to me that Smith is able to gather so many resources and consolidate them into one place. Everything is there. Reagents. Cross references to books that deal only in reagents, and so on and so on.

Often, one sees textbooks that give reactions and simply assume that they will work without citing a reference where someone has actually gone through the trouble to see if the reaction really will work. (This, I have found, is the quickest way to waste time in the lab. The easier it is to locate a protocol, the higher your lab productivity is.)

It's also good to see that he's taken the time and trouble to whittle away some of the pretty colors that a lot of books put in in order to try to draw the reader's attention away from the glaring lack of substance.

This book may, in the next few years, supercede the March text because a good number of his references are from within the past 5 years (50%, I believe), and it is such that if you are working in the lab and need to find *that* particular reference, then you can easily go and look it up.