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Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry, Third Edition
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applied to specific reactions), the initial treatment in Chapter 2 is
John McMurry. Brooks/Cole: Pacific Grove. CA. 1994, xx + 552
pp. Figs. and tables. 19.4 x 24.2 cm. $63.00.
The third edition of this textbook is designed far use in a brief
course in organic chemistry. This edition shares much in common
with its predecessors. I t is comparatively short, is organized by
functlanal ~ ~ u u possessesp, fin; stylmg and rarcfully prrscnrrd
nnwork, n r d is written in an currrdmgly itudcnt-friendly man-
ner Thr tnhle nfrontrnts ofthir edlrl~n.tn terms ofchapter heud-
ings, is identical to the second edition with the sole-exception
beine the inclusion of a n additional chaoter (Chanter 17) entitled
" ~ h e ~ ~ r e sChemistrv
nie of Metabolic ~ k b w a v s " . . ~ h new
i s chan-
~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~ ~~ ~ ~
w r is wrll written and providcs clo.un: h r the hmk w t h an array
o f t a n ~ ~ b l e e x s m p lielsl u i t r a t m g t h ~ theorganic
t reactwnsofsim-
ple urgmwms, w h h bemg ntoreconiplrx than those rypcnlly pcr-
formed in rhc lnhorntory. we gwerned, noneth&ir, by the iame
prmclpla.; that are taught in the earlwr chapters. Whllc the first
16rhaptcrs possess idcnricnl hcndtngs wirh thosr from the second
edition, some important changes ha& been made in terms of can-
tent. The greatest improvement comes in Chapter 1 where the
authors have added review treatments on acid-base chemistly,
electranegativity, and bonding. Further changes include a modest
expansion in the number of end-chapter problems, the inclusion of
mare in-chapter drill problems, and the addition of full color to
several chapters.
McMurry, like all his competition, treats spectroscopy (IR, W,
13c, and 'H NMR) as aself-contained unit in a l a t e chapter (Chap-
ter 13). The earlier chapters that deal with the common functional
groups possess no spectroscopic component a t all. This simplifies
..
instruction if sneetraseonv is de-emohasized bv the instructor. If
the instructor 'prefers the incluiwn uf 3truct;re detc~mination
throughout t h r lunctionnl group treatment, then rhr approach
taken here wll rrvrrrl,y lrmlt the u t h t y afthls b ~ r The k rumpletc
omission of mass spectrometry is a clear short-fall in this text.
On the absolute scale, this book has an array of strengths. The
manner of writing and clarity of presentation is first-rate. An in-
novative vertical format to exolain reaction mechanisms is util-
ized. The mechanlsma are pnnted venrcally, whdr crplmatmns of
rhr stcp-hg-atcp changes ore prlntcd nrvr to the rmerwn x r o w
Thls appnmch works very well. A n effective means for emphnqrr-
ing key terminulugy is employed i r 11131 ~ key terms arc srgrrgnrcd
from the text, being placed in the margin next to where they first
appear in the text. Selected chapters conclude with well-prepared
summaries of key terms and key reactions.
This reviewer can find no pedagogic or chemical weaknesses in-
herent to this bwk, but there is same unrealized potential. For
instance, the author's mechanistic approach is excellent, however,
it would have been better had he extended this approach to a
broader array of reactions. The author also has included several
"interludes" that show interesting applications of organic chemis-
try to industrial and biological systems. These end-of-chapter
treatments are, indeed, engaging to the student, but once mare
are too few in number. And finally, while the chemistry of reactive
intermediates is addressed adequately throughout the book (as
Reviewed in this Issue
John McMurv, Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry, Third Edition
Ralph J. Fessenden and Joan S. Fessenden,
Organic Chemistry, Fifth Edition
Richard 0. C. Norman and James M. Coxon,
Principles of Organic Synthesis, Third Edition
Titles of Interest
far too brief and should be expanded to include the structure and
reactivity of anions and free radicals in addition to cations.
Robert W. Holman
Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY 421 01
Organic Chemistry, Fifth Edition
Ralph J. Fessenden and Joan S. Fessenden. BrooksICole: Pa-
cific Grove. CA, 1994. xxii + 1122 pp. Figs. and tables. 18.7 x
26.2 cm. $77.75.
I t is ohvious from the fact that this is the fifth edition of this text
that it has been well received in the past. The latest edition is a
quality text that presents a traditional view of organic chemistry.
This edition is similar to previous editions in that it covers the
fundamental principles of organic chemistry in a clear and logical
manner. Two new features make this a more interesting book. The
first is the inclusion of historical aspects of the development ofthe
science as a part of each chapter. The second is a problem a t the
end of each chaoter. referred to as a n Essav Problem. which eives
a real world example uf the matrrrul drscussed IT, the chapter and
then qui7,es the rcadcr on how lcnrnrd prlnciplrs apply to that
ipec~firexample These pnhlem.;, hwever, may lw of more inter-
est to the instructar than to the student.
The organization of the text material is much the same as in
previous editions. Introductory material is found in Chapters 1-4.
The bulk of the material is presented in a section called Organic
Reactions and Mechanisms (Chapters 5-18). This section is hasi-
cally the functional group approach to presentation of informa-
tion. P r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e m a t e r i a l on i n f r a r e d a n d NMR
spectroscopy in Chapter 9 is especially well done. Topics of Spe-
cialized Interest (Chapters 19-22) contain information in some
specialized areas (perieyclie reactions, natural products, etc.)
which could be used a t the discretion of the instructor. The book
ends with t h e traditional chapters on Bio-organic chemistry
(Chapters 23-26). As is true with most organic texts, more mate-
rial is offered than can be covered in a ane-year sequence of lec-
tures.
Those who are familiar with some ofthe other widely used texts
in organic chemistry will find that the a r t work, diagrams, and
structures offered are not of the same oualitv that they are used
to seeine. The use of color is ineffective 'due tb the verv-lieht hues
used. The u w i f mercy d w v n m r i s not preientrd in as rlyorous a
-
manner as 1.i luund in 0tht.r texts. Xu distioctmn is made lwtwteo
potcnt~alcncrgy and free energy dingrams While this may not be
detrimental to an understanding of organic chemistry, physical or-
ganic chemists will find it less than satisfactory Multistep reac-
tion mechanisms are written out as consecutive reactions and not
as separate halanced equations. Because the concept of a mecha-
nism is difficult for the student a t best, this presentation adds
more confusion than is necessary. Instructors who like to use the
band-line format far structures will not find it used in this text
Reviewer
Robert W. Holman
Joe C. Greever
Shelton Bank
Volume 72 Number 7 July 1995 A151