2 comments about Properties of Materials: Anisotropy, Symmetry, Structure.

1. To all the curious minds of today and the future:
   
   It is a great pleasure to be the first person to write a review for the book by Professor Newnham, whom I know in person.
   
   As a background for those who do not know Prof. Newnham...let me tell you that he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and the Ben Frankling Medal Laureate in Electrical Engineering, to name a few of his credentials. What is today known as "piezoelectric composites" is his brainchild, which had an immense impact on modern medical ultrasound and sonar technology.
   
   With all that said, off we go to the review...
   
   Cheers,
   
   Dr.E.
   
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   The title of the book is truly a propos to what is covered therein. One cannot help but notice the perfect balance bewteen crystal physics and solid state chemistry throughtout the text. Prof. Newnham's prose is simple and clear, which makes the book very agreeable to read. All scientific explanations that are presented are "right on the money," to coin a phrase.
   
   Older classical texts on crystal physics such as Nye, Banvanghataman, Juretschke, Mason, Voigt, Wooster etc., which are good books to read, do not go beyond providing a phenomenological description of crystal anisotropy using tensors and matrices. On the other hand, classical and widely popular books on crystal chemistry or Solid State Chemistry, such as Jaffe and West, are excessively descriptive and with barely any mathematical treatment of the phenomena of interest.
   
   Prof. Newnham, on the other hand, establishes the necessary mathematical and crystallographic foundation in the first 6 chapters of his book with sufficient clarity and depth. He then proceeds to discuss a wide range of topics in the ensuing 26 chapters in a very systematic fashion.
   
   In addition to the conventional topics in crystal physics, the book also includes chapters on Nonlinear Phenomena (nonlinear dielectric and elastic response, electrostriction, magnetostriction and electromagnetostriction), Ferroic Crystals, Acoustics, and Nonlinear Optics, which are usually not encountered in classical crystal physics or chemistry texts. Most importantly, every physical phenomena described in the book is masterfully linked to its chemical or structural origin, and structure-property relations are effectively conveyed to the reader. The discussion of principles and facts are supported with plenty of experimental data to compare and contrast the effects of structure on properties, which helps the reader to develop a "feel" for what is being discussed. Also, the illustrations are carefully chosen, an fully integrated into the discussion. Furthermore, Prof. Newnham also describes the basics of an array of experimental techniques used to determine various properties of crystals, which complements the discussion very well.
   
   I believe the book is very accessible to even those who have a modest background in physics and chemistry as the subject is treated with a "from the ground up" approach. One merit of the book that should not go unmentioned here is its pedagogical value. And that, indeed, should not be a surprise to the reader since Prof. Newnham is well-known in the scientific community for his zeal to teaching. Hence, the title of this review: "A Classical Textbook from the Master..."
   
   In closing, I am believe that Prof. Newnham's book will most likely become the "Lehrbuch" for the new generation of scientists and enginneers who fancy (or need) to learn applied crystal physics and chemistry. Well...Voldemar Voigt's "Lehrbuch der Kristalphysik" was long overdue for retirement anyway (with all due respect, of course)... :-) I highly recommend it.
   
   PS: Did I mention that the price it right as well?
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2. I found this book easy to read even my background in physics is not so solid. However, it would be best if the author can use one chapter to describe experimentally how the materials are classified into different crystal classes and how the physical properties are characterized.

No comments about International Tables for Crystallography, Volume A: Space Group Symmetry (International Tables for Crystallography).

No comments about Foundations of Crystallography with Computer Applications.

1 comments about Descriptive Inorganic, Coordination, and Solid State Chemistry.

1. Currently taking (fall 07) inorganic chemistry and we are using this book. It is divided into three sections ( you can see that from the title) which can be read independently. Very good book so far, easy reading, problems are easy. All you need to read this book is general chemistry, it is the only prereq that the author recomends that you have before you take a class that uses this book.

No comments about Optical Properties of Metal Clusters (Springer Series in Materials Science).

5 comments about Manual of Mineral Science, 22nd Edition (Manual of Mineralogy).

1. I just finished the semester, so I think I have a pretty good feel for the book now. At the beginning I found it difficult simply because it occasionally used terms and diagrams before explaining them. As the semester progressed and I became more knowledgable about the subject, I found the textbook increasingly helpful and readable. Certainly there is a lot of good stuff in here, and the CD was unecessary but fun. Overall, it was a good complement to the lectures.



2. The book contains excellent diagrams, graphs and other illustrations, which are useful for all students. Although the CD has valuable tutorials for beginning students, the text is often too technical and "dry" for beginners. Besides discussing crystallography and mineralogy, the book also provides a good review of chemistry and methods for analyzing minerals. Overall, the book is an excellent reference for upper level undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. Lower-level undergraduates may require a less technical textbook.



3. Dana's Manual of Mineralogy is one of the most important manuals ever written on mineralogy. It has been re-edit by Cornelius Klein after the death of the author.



4. Oi, how much more convoluted can a text get? With every edition, this text gets less organized. Or that is at least true for the last 3 editions, anyways ... Eg. In how many chapters can the topic of "symmetry" be covered? Keeping it to 1 would be much easier to digest, thankyou.
   
   The text is written in old-school rambly style... sure, it covers all topics, but it is hard to learn from (and in my experience, even harder to teach from). There are better options out there. Nesse "Intro to Mineralogy" text.



5. Into the 5th week of Mineralogy class, this book *then* became extremely informative - this is not a self-instructional manual, and I do not believe it was intended to be so. Most students will find the writing style in this text a bit intellectually heady, having been written by a distinguished Harvard PhD professor. It could have been written more concisely, perhaps more simplisticly, but all the information is there, and from what I understand, past editions were more comprehensive than this 22nd edition. I personally love this text, and only *after* an introduction to the subject will this text make real sense to the reader. And yes, I agree with the previous posts regarding certain statements about crystal structures that require some sort of base level knowledge of chemistry or physics or math (i.e. symmetry concepts) in order to fully comprehend a particular passage, but that's what you get from an Ivy League PhD-er! I believe this text was designed for the third year student who should already have taken 1 semester each of at least chemistry and calculus. Although calculus isn't necessary for the class, it presupposes that you know and understand some basic conceptual geometry.
   
   I would suggest reading some basic introduction to mineralogy websites before tackling this book. Also, I have found that for the conscientious mineralogy students who possess a "more refined" reading level and who are putting genuine effort into the class, this book is a valuable edition. Other texts simply do not cover as much material as found here, such as x-ray diffraction and optics. Overall meant for students and not the self-taught, although that depends on the individual, but in general I would not recommend this for the beginner who wants to learn on his/her own. Still, a great text. Try getting some olders editions with less sub-subjects edited out for a real comprehensive text!

No comments about Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry.

No comments about Outline of Crystallography for Biologists.

No comments about Trace Elements in Terrestrial Environments: Biogeochemistry, Bioavailability, and Risks of Metals.

4 comments about Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry.

1. The text is filled with tons of info, yet written so that almost anyone can understand. This text is excellent for an intro course in inorganic or a first year undergraduate chemistry/biochemistry program. However, what it lacks in depth it gains for in it's user friendlyness. A must for students who don't plan on doing any adavnced inorganic chemistry.



2. In my opinion, this text is vastly inferior to something like the, often used, inorganic text by Rogers. The text did not seem logically composed, and the questions often seem to have little to do with the chapter at hand thus requiring copious back and forth between other diverse chapters. In a nutshell, the book is simply badly organized. If this were not bad enough, even in the fourth addition, typos are not that uncommon in both the book and its thin, yet expensive, solutions manual.



3. This is a very informative and readable introductory text to inorganic chemistry, and a good choice for those not needing a full semester of coordination, organometallic or solid state inorganic chemistry. We've used this and previous editions for several years for our sophomore-level course, which students pursuing a B.A. degree are required to take (it is also an elective for chemistry minors). This textbook is not comprehensive as "Cotton & Wilkinson" or "Greenwood & Earnshaw" and is probably not suitable for an Advanced Inorganic Chemistry course, which is the one our B.S. chemistry majors take. Overall, we're very satisfied with this textbook.



4. Decent chemistry book. Not terribly well written or that in depth. I bought it for a class, but probably would not buy it for "general reference." Completely black and white, no color.