1 comments about Solid State Chemistry: An Introduction, Third Edition.

1. I'm using this book for a graduate level course and since I'm an undergrad, it really helps to explain some of the things that fly over my head during class. I recommend it for a great reference.

1 comments about Introduction to Nanoscale Science and Technology (Nanostructure Science and Technology).

1. Books like this are difficult to find. Every chapter is very well written, easy to follow and with lots of extra reading suggestions. Finally, a complete, well-organized reference of the field. It definitely belongs to the bookshelves of people seriously interested in learning what nanoscience is all about.

2 comments about Vogel's Qualitative Inorganic Analysis (7th Edition).

1. A good practical guide for students doing undergraduate inorganic experiments. Description of techniques are clear and comprehensive which makes it useful for a laboratory reference.



2. Vogel's book is the Bible of analytical chemists. Vogel has compiled all the most common analytical procedures and results into an easily followed book that is both treasured and guarded by chemistry teachers in the country. The best gift any chemist could hope to receive.

2 comments about Geochemistry: An Introduction.

1. This complete guide will tell you all the basic and in some ways advanced knowledge of GeoChemistry.



2. I recieved my book within a week and I am happy with it. Thanks!

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.

No comments about The Chemical Bond: A Fundamental Quantum-Mechanical Picture (Springer Series in Chemical Physics).

5 comments about Inorganic Chemistry, Third Edition w/CD.

1. I recently got a copy of this text from the publisher (for review purposes). So I took a look and then read some of the reviews here. Let me just say that "Angry Inorganic Student" is way off base. I've taught out of both Huyeey, Keiter & Keiter and Douglas, McDaniel & Alexander. Both are ok and this one is no worse. In fact I think it has a nice fresh look that updates the materials in the "old standard" textbooks. I found the sections on solid-state materials, nanomaterials and bioinorganic timely and appropriate. I may even consider switching to this textbook when I teach senior inorganic in the spring term.



2. For me, the utility of a chemistry text is defined in simple terms. Does it help me complete the homework assignments? Does it explain things in a way that my professor does not? Does it stand alone, apart from the instruction of my professor?
   
   I took an Inorganic course to fill a deficiency and so I bought this book. I found it to be very disappointing. The explanations of key concepts (such as term symbols and crystal field theory) is lacking and the problems that the text works out seem esoteric and too terse for someone trying to connect the dots.
   
   I like the Tarr and Mieslier text better.



3. This textbook is terrible. I am currently taking an intro level Inorganic chemistry course, and find that the text does a horrible job of explaining the concepts. It may be that to some professors this textbooks seems like it is fairly well written, but simply because they already understand the material.
   
   If you are looking for a textbook to actually learn inorganic chemistry, do not get this book. The topics aren't very explained and the overall setup of the book is terrible.
   
   The only good thing about this book is that it can be very useful if you are in a hurry on your way to class and have to go to the bathroom, only to find that there is no more toilet paper ... it might not be as comfortable as two ply toilet paper, but it gets the job done.



4. wow, I see lots of people don't like Atkins. Read my listmania list ("fundamentals of inorganic chemistry") for other titles worth considering and then do yourself a favor and buy Concise Inorganic Chemistry by J.D. Lee - not many people are aware of this fine book.
   
   If looking for a decent book on symmetry, group theory check out my "symmetry and group theory for chemistry students" list. These titles are for students - i.e. not designed to impress the professoriate.



5. Product was as expected, but the shrink-wrap was too tight and so the cover was bent slightly. Overall smooth transaction.

2 comments about Principles of Bioinorganic Chemistry.

1. Overall, this book is a useful reference for anyone engaging in a Bioinorganic course at the upper undergraduate or early postgraduate level. This book is sufficiently informative and can be used as a recommemded text for the upper undergraduate level in a course in Bioinorganic Chemistry.



2. Principles of Bioinorganic Chemistry is a very useful introductory textbook for chemists who are interested in such field.

No comments about Magnetic Ceramics (Chemistry of Solid State Materials).

4 comments about The Ingredients: A Guided Tour of the Elements.

1. Philip Ball's The Ingredients is a short and sweet introduction to the chemical elements. It is not a comprehensive description of each of the 110+ elements that appear on the periodic table. Rather it is a history of the concept of an element and a definition of what an element is done in context with examples. All the important terms from Chemistry 101 are there - atom, electron, element, isotope, neutron, nucleus, proton - as are all the important people and events in the history of the elements, but it is done in Ball's extremely readable prose style. Even though I've taught basic chemistry at the high school level and I've heard all this stuff before, I thoroughly enjoyed this short, but concept dense book.



2. There are 92 naturally occuring elements. They have been here since the Earth cooled, but only in the last couple of centuries have we truly come to understand them. In 'the ingredients', Phillip Ball takes the reader on a fast ride through the development of our understanding of the elements. Aristotle and his contemporaries saw everything pretty much as a combination of earth, wind, fire, and water. Variations of this view lasted well in the middle ages.
   
   The chapter on gold, precious from ancient times, is a bridge, bringing us into the modern age, where we see the development of the Periodic Table, an organization of information about the elements. Scientific method and technological advances allowed chemists to identify each of the elements. Physics, radiochemistry and quantum mechanics provided an explanation of why they act as they do.
   
   There are interesting discussions of medicine, alchemy and other topics. The chapter on manmade elements is also interesting.
   
   This little book was fun to read and should be easily followed by the non-scientific reader.



3. Philip Ball is one of the better authors in the realm of general science literature. This short book examines the Periodic Table of Elements and how the various elements were discovered by humans, and what function they serve in nature and human society. Combining a history of discovery, with hard science about many of the elements, the book is a good, interesting, easy-to-read primer in basic chemistry and how materials science.



4. As-of this writing, June 2008, "The Ingredients" is in-print as an Oxford University Press Very Short Introduction titled "The Elements".