No comments about Statistical Thermodynamics for Chemists and Biochemists.

1 comments about Elements (15 Volume Set).

1. This is the best than a book can do in a world
   full of bricks and walls for the young.
   I am waiting for the 3D animations and the videogame.
   In the mean time , use this series of 15 books with
   a software program and learn the basics of
   chemistry with real joy.

1 comments about Iron Oxides in the Laboratory: Preparation and Characterization.

1. This is a technical book. Although it claims to emphasize recipes (of simple type) to make in the lab, the book has lots of other information. There are also some very important tables. Best probably is how the book gives you a perspective on the iron oxides of our planet -- literally and also about the stabilities and conversions between iron oxides. Why not 5 stars? While it is true that magnetic properties (coercivity, specific [per gram] remanence) depend on a huge number of factors, not just the kind of iron oxide, not even ranges are tabulated for the various iron oxides. Also, principles of Mössbauer spectral interpretation are not explained. Also, kinds of magnetism aren't explained. I know some of these things from elsewhere, but it seems they should be included in a book on iron oxides. Finally, the 2nd edition has something I miss from the first. I just happen to like seeing analog gray-scale photographs of powder diffraction films of the x-ray crystallography. Those were in there for the various iron oxides in the first edition. For the second edition we have plots -- just not as cool as the x-ray powder film pictures. But this book is an excellent perspective builder for how the various iron oxides fit into the world -- literally -- as well as classifying their colors and kinds of magnetism. (Though magnetic classification is given, you'll have to learn elsewhere about what the kinds of magnetism really mean and what brings them about mechanistically.)

No comments about Chemistry of the Environment, Second Edition.

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 Polyoxometalate Chemistry: From Topology via Self-Assembly to Applications.

No comments about Biocoordination Chemistry (Oxford Chemistry Primers ; 25).

2 comments about Handbook of Radioactivity Analysis, Second Edition.

1. The text is very readable. Many illustrations and tables throughout the book provide useful information. Hundreds of cited references and state-of-the-art concepts and procedures are included. Even the most experienced and knowledgeable scientists in the field should find the book useful. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in the absolute activity analysis of radionuclides used in research or low levels of radioactivity encountered in the environment.



2. We have used successfully the "Handbook of Radioactivity Analysis" as a reference for training courses on Liquid Scintillation Analysis. The material in the book has been useful for course participants from a wide spectrum of fields including the biochemical, nuclear and environmental sciences, and health physics. The sections on Semiconductor Detectors for those interested in radiation spectral analysis, and Radionuclide Imaging for researchers using electronic autoradiography in the biosciences are also packed with lots of practical information. The book is highly recommended as a reference for anyone who uses radioisotopes as tracers in research or must analyze radioisotopes in all types of media including low-levels in the environment.

1 comments about Calcium Carbonate: From the Cretaceous Period into the 21st Century.

1. I'm a big fan of books that give the sweeping histories of common, overlooked substances, particularly when they use language that a layman can understand. (One of my favorites is The 13th Element, which gives the complete history of phosphorus and its promethean relationship to mankind.) Dealing with Calcium Carbonate, this book lives up to its ambitious title, showing how the mineral has influenced everything in civilization, from the earliest chalk artworks, to the plastic on our keyboards. Read this book and you will never look at limestone or paper or a bottle of Tums the same way again. Calcium is as indispensible a part of our experience on earth as carbon or oxygen or nitrogen or cadmium, or any other elements. And what's most remarkable about this book is that it's compelling for everyone. As most of you can probably already infer--I'm not the brightest bulb around. Yet I was enlightened and entertained, from the Cretaceous Period straight through to today. Nice work.

1 comments about Methods of X-ray and Neutron Scattering in Polymer Science (Topics in Polymer Science).

1. Ryoung-Joon Roe presents a handy reference and introduction to x-ray and neutron scattering, where emphasis is placed on using a terminology that helps the reader learn about both the techniques simultaenously. Scattering has served as one of the most important characterization tools for polymer community. This book outlines the basic mathematics and experimental details required to understand the structure and properties as revealed by these scattering methods in: crystalline and amorphous polymers, polymer solutions and blends, polymer dynamics and block copolymers. While emphasis is placed on demonstrating how all scattering shares similar theories and philosophy, the choice of several examples and applications of either techniques is used to remark on aspects peculiar to either X-ray studies or Neutron Scattering.
   
   Since most serious students of polymer science are familiar with light scattering, the book would appeal them as perfect guide to familiarize themselves with limits and use of neutron and X-ray scattering. A more detailed discussion on Polymers and Neutron Scattering is found in the classic text by Julia S. Higgins and Henry C. Beno^it, while for Light Scatttering texts by Pecora & Berne and by Wyn Brown are essential references. Compared to those classic references, Roe's text will appear as more accessible to people seeking introduction to scattering methods. By the same token, it contains only the essence, the flavor of aspects of polymer behavior, say crystallization, surface studies or dynamics, and one will need to delve into the other texts if he seeks exhaustive discussion.