Customer Reviews

The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The reason this book is good is because it will help you actually learn how to do organic chemistry instead of just memorizing reactions and their mechanisms. This book answers "WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN?". A very important book for the graduate student in organic chemistry.

Organic chemistry is rapidly-expanding field. New reactions pop out every day in research. How do you manage to secure the skills in writing and understanding these organic mechanisms? Many students try very heard to memorize reaction patterns yet unfortunately not able to master the concepts in mechanisms.

This book is meant to fill this gap. It introduces to ligoic behind the organic reaction mechanisms. By looking at nucleophilic or electrophilic species, kinetic suggestions, lone pairs, possible synthons and leaving groups, disconnection approach, students are exposed in a wide-range of reactions. The goal of the book is to enable students to write correct and logical mechanisms for reactions that are not seen before.

This book should accompany any undergraduate organic text and/or serves alone as a text for advanced course. Highly recommended.

Every organic-chemistry graduate student will want this book when studying for cumes (cumulative exams). It doesn't seem appropriate as a textbook, but provides a wealth of information to help students develop their mechanistic problem-solving skills. As a professor at a research university, I have recommended it to all the members of my group.

This book was extremely helpful in studying for my PhD qualifier. I would suggest it to any first year (or later) grad student. One warning, though: this book has NO references!! I hope you never want to do any of these reactions in the lab... The lack of refs is the only thing keeping it to four stars instead of five.

I came to graduate school highly focused on analytical and physical chemistry (I had been an analytical chemist in industry). My background in organic was fair at best. I was taught by Dr. Grossman from this book. While it took a good bit of work, I got a B in his class. Moreover, I continued to refer to his book long after the course was over. It helped me pass my final cumulative exam, and I still refer to it. I found it helpful in a organometallic course (in which, incidentally, I got an A, thanks in no small part to Dr. Grossman's book.)

I bought this book to practice mechanisms because I'll be taking a physical organic class in the spring that uses them heavily. I used this book instead of sitting in on a sophomore organic class, because by job as a TA conflicted.

Anyway, this book is extraordinary. Dr. Grossman has taught me so many things about how to write a correct mechanism and how to recognize a bad mechanism when I see one. The book is written in a very clear and friendly manner and it's really quite hard to put down when you start reading it.

The book also has practice problems and the book's website has the answers, giving even more incentive to practice mechanisms.

This book is not the first of its kind. Audrey Miller wrote the first one-"Writing Reaction Mechanisms in Organic Chemistry". Miller used a renovating approch to treat organic reaction mechanisms. Mechanisms are not a bunch of random knowledges to be memorized any more. They can be analyzed and mastered.

However Grossman did a terrific job writing this book. It covers more material than Miller's. Both books are easy to read. Keys to answers of this book can be downloaded from internet(over 200 pages).

This book is great for graduate student who's struggling on his/her cumes, for industrial organic chemist who wants to have a thorough review of organic mechanism. Great value for the money.

I am a first year graduate student at UCDavis currently enrolled in the Ph.D program in theoretical organic chemistry.
I had always felt comfortable with reaction mechanisms in my undergraduate coursework, however upon entry into the graduate program at UCDavis, I felt immediately over my head! I felt light years behind my expected level of mastery, and in searching for help to stay afloat, this book was recommended to me by my research director.

I found it to be exceedingly helpful, as it starts at the very basics and works it's way to the extremely complicated by focusing on rational behind organic mechanisms rather than on simply memorizing trends.

With great examples, and tons of practice problems (with the solutions available online for free!) Dr. Grossman's writing is lucid and clear, while not waisting time on filler material, this relatively short book (by text standards!) provides a very clear and very in depth analysis of the various mechanism types as well as commonly seen organic activity.

With the help of this well organized and clear book, I was able to overcome my feelings of being behind the curve and came to a very noticeable improvement on my ability to solve complex mechanisms from current publications that I had little to no experience with. After finishing this book I am confident in my abilities to elucidate reasonable mechanisms for chemistry's most complicated (current and past) reactions. This has culminated not only in an A in my class, but has given me an invaluable reference for my research.

Also available is an interactive version of the practice problems with step by step hints and feedback, available through Dr. Grossman's site for a small fee.

Dr. Grossman has been personally very helpful with any and all concerns regarding the online content as well as the text it's self.

If you are a student of organic chemistry of any level, I would highly recommend this book, not only to graduate students, but to any undergraduates taking organic chemistry at any level, from first semester to last.

I can honestly say I have looked at many such books regarding organic mechanisms, and this is by far the best written, the clearest, and the most helpful in it's approach, structure, and it's focus on practice.

I can't sing this books praises enough! I have recommended it to many of my students and colleges and everyone of them has come back a believer!

Buy this book now! It's worth at least three times as much as the cost, and you won't be disappointed!

I only wish all chemistry books were like this one!

This is a great intro book. The reaction mechanisms are explained. Easy to understand

Being a PhD student in organic chemistry, I have read a lot of chemistry books in my days, and never have I come across a book that's understandable without a teacher's explanation. The numerous examples and pictures makes understanding what the author is writing about a breeze. I would highly suggest this book to anyone who is looking into pursuing a degree in Chemistry. It has already helped me out a great deal and I'm barely half way through!