5 comments about Genes IX (Lewin, Genes XI).

1. In the four years since the publication of Genes VII there have been tremendous changes in the subject resulting from the success of many genome sequencing projects. The importance of RNA as a regulator has become increasingly evident and now can be seen to extend across all levels of gene expression in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The abundance of new material required that either the book be greatly expanded or that some material be removed. The decision was made to allow a modest expansion (from 1050 to 1100 pages) and to remove some material that was not strictly related to genes and their expansion.
   
   As Genes VIII was an improvement over Genes VII in terms of layout and presentation, this trend has been continued to allow the students to focus more sharply on the material. The new look has been tested to prove it facilitates student learning.
   
   Finally a new dedicated web site has been set up for this book. However, when I attempted to browse to it I got a 404 error. I've asked the publisher for a new URL or at least a reason that it's not up.



2. it is a good book for students who want to know basic concept of genetics.



3. I bought this book to accompany a graduate-level molecular biology course, and found it extremely unhelpful. Midway though the course I stopped reading the book entirely in favor of depending on information from the lectures. I regret spending the money. The major problems with the book are:
   
   - There are MANY obvious typos and editing errors. This is especially concerning because as a student you depend on your textbook for accurate information; you don't want to memorize a typo.
   
   - The figures are vague, incompletely labeled, and often misleading.
   
   - The organization of the text is disjointed. Essential detailed are completely left out of some discussions, only to be mentioned a few pages later. This makes it very difficult to form a coplete understanding of the topic.
   
   One advantage of this book is that at the end of each chapter it gives a comprehensive list of reviews and papers from scientific literature that you can use to supplement your reading. If you are unfortunate enough to have to depend on this book for your learning of molecular biology, I would recommend doing this.



4. The title of this review is a succinct description of it. We used Genes IX in one of my graduate courses at the University of Kansas Medical Center. The book is generally marketed as a high level text, but frankly I found it to be too simple. While I appreciate simplicity and generally promote the "KISS" way of thinking, I just couldn't get into it here. I felt it was lacking in detail. Further, there were a number of typos and minor factual errors that made me uncomfortable. I didn't feel confident learning from this book. I know its a widely loved text, so maybe I'm just missing something. I'll be generous and give three stars.



5. The seller is not honest. The book was as described however, but the return policy was not honored. I emailed the seller several times, and never got an answer. Do not buy from the seller because he tarnishes Amazon's business and those sellers and buyers who are ethical when doing transactions.
   "Josuatree books" (seller) is not a fair and honest person/business.
   DO NOT BUY FROM SELLER. "Josuatree" HAS NO INTEGRITY.

5 comments about Organic Chemistry with Learning by Modeling CD-ROM.

1. Ok, perhaps I'm being a little harsh. Whether or not you enjoy this book by the esteemed Professor Emeritus Dr. Carey (Virginia ) depends largely on the teaching methods you embrace. Personally, I am the "Joe Friday" of students. Just the facts please unless and until I ask for more. As I read Carey, I envision a group of gangly sophomores following their Professor around their Jeffersonian campus as their teacher drops morsels of wisdom and his students anxiously retrieve them. As the brisk walk comes to a close, Professor Carey will guide you back to the classroom from where you originally departed and tell you all that you really needed to know about organic chemistry.
   
   All of the aforementioned is a "Careyesque" way of saying, if you use this text, always read the last paragraph first. If you curious about "Why?", then go back and read the preceding paragraphs ( in order ).
   
   The fine details that Carey offers in some areas are truly quite interesting on subsequent reading but at first they are tiresome and admittedly distracting.
   
   I grew to love organic chemistry. Like most difficult subjects, it requires multiple textbooks to truly tame this monster. If you find the Carey approach annoying, I suggest some additional material.
   
   Brown/Foote have published a fine text on Organic Chemistry with an additional solutions manual. No fluff here. These guys grew on watching Friday and Gannon. They are an excellent source of mechnisms and practice problems not found in Carey. Another nice benefit of Brown/Foote is that they organize the problems in the back of each chapter under the topic of the material so you can target your weaknesses. Strongly recommended. 5 stars.
   
   Also, please utilize Professor Klein's ( Hopkins ) two books ( Organic Chemistry as a 2nd language and Second semester topics ). I found his books to be a wonderful STARTING point for topics and he often has wonderful heuristics that are helpful. Beware however, that I did find direct contradictions in a few areas between Carey and Klein on the subject of Substitution vs Elimination competition. In fairness to both, the matter is very difficult to illuminate because many times the answer is a prediction but results must be determined experimentally.
   
   Finally, do NOT buy flash cards. You must make your own. Use them religiously. Keep score of the number of times to get the answer right AND the number of times you get it wrong. Keep working the cards until you get it right more times than you get it wrong.
   
   I also purchased the solutions manual for Carey. All I can say is that you CANNOT live without it. It is a superb tool when used properly. The practice exams at the end of each chapter are terrific.
   
   Good luck on your journey. May you tame the monster young Jedi.



2. Orgo (I, II) was the most difficult subject I EVER had. I've taken both sections over and went through 2 books. The strengths of this particular book are its reaction summaries: before introducing a topic, the author dedicates a page or two to summarizing the reactions that lead up to this topic and then summarizes the reactions of the topic once he's through explaining it. Example: 'Reactions That Yield Alcohols' and then `Reactions of Alcohols'. Summaries are accompanied by short, yet thorough descriptions. With elaborate and comprehensive reaction mechanisms, this book is more of a reference that a textbook, although the text is inclusive and relatively simple. If you understand the lectures and use this book for mechanisms, reactions and problems, rather that for understanding concepts, you'll be fine.
   
   One major weakness of this book is the NMR IR Spectroscopy section, which does a poor job of explaining this easy but confusing topic. Another shortcoming -- the only all-inclusive table of functional groups is provided in the index at the very back of the book, so you'll have to make a copy to keep it handy at all times. The problems deserve a mention -- most are simple and repetitive, those who do them get the grades.
   
   A general note to the beginners: ALLNIGHTERS BEFORE ORGO EXAMS DO NOT WORK (even if you put Ritalin in your coffee)!!! Do yourselves a big favor, study constantly through the semester and just review before the exam. Concentrate on mechanisms and problems rather than on theory and you will successed. Remember -- memorization comes from doing problems and not from repeating a reaction 10 times in a row. All the luck in the world to the brave souls who register for o-chem!



3. An excellent text book for an introduction to Organic Chemistry, comprehensive and well structured.



4. I found this book to be quite excellent; it was used for an undergraduate course which I dropped, but I found the book so useful that I kept it. I find that this book is clearer than many professors. The strengths of this book are that it does a good job of discussing unifying themes, patterns, etc. The weaknesses are that it presents a somewhat abstract, idealized view of the subject, with little or no discussion of practical concerns or connections to other subjects. The author does not do a very good job of pointing the reader towards further reading, or discussing the ways in which one might pursue deeper questions.
   
   One of the other reviewers complained that this book has too much explanation--I think this extra discussion of the "how" and "why" is actually critical for learning the subject of O. chem. Many students find organic chemistry difficult because they approach it as a collection of random facts to be memorized. In this book, the author consistently discusses unifying themes, and weaves specific facts together with general principles into a coherent fabric of ideas. This makes otherwise painful material seem natural and easy--for the students who have the patience to read every paragraph thoroughly. (Students who don't want to do this, in my opinion, have no business taking O. Chem).
   
   The weaknesses of this book is that it is too idealized and perhaps at times too abstract. While the book does discuss reaction mechanisms and synthesis techniques, they are done in an overly idealized way. The author presents a very classical (and I would even go so far as to say short-sighted) view of Chemistry in which byproducts of reactions are totally ignored. Someone interested in chemical engineering, for instance, will likely find this book inadequate for their needs. Similarly, people interested in Biology and Biochemistry will find that this book does not make or even set up any of the obvious connections to these subjects. The thoughtful reader will find too many questions that arise naturally in the text that are not even mentioned, let alone addressed. Similarly, there is very little discussion of health and environmental issues associated with the various families of compounds. This is a shame, because the general trends and patterns in the toxicity and hazards associated with various compounds are intimately related to the trends and patterns in molecule structure and form that are discussed in this book.
   
   Overall, this is an above-average text that is well-suited for use as a textbook in a basic organic chemistry class. I think it is exceptionally well-suited to self-study. In either case, however, readers interested in chemical engineering, biology, biochemistry, and/or environmental issues, would need to rely on supplementary materials to address some of the omissions I described above.



5. Yes I used this book for 2 semesters of organic chem. The class wasn't fun but atleast this book was pretty good. It describes alot of the tough stuff in detail and has great summaries at the end of each chapter. It is worth the money and if you fail the class you sure cant blame it on this book. ALSO buy it used b/c the new one is much too expensive and turns out you may not like orgo that much anyway haha

3 comments about Introduction to Organic Laboratory Techniques: A Small-Scale Approach (Brooks/Cole Laboratory Series for Organic Chemistry).

1. An outstanding lab text for sophomore level 1-yr organic courses. Any chemistry/physical science major should not sell this book back at the end of the semester! Half of the book is dedicated to experiments which while informative is not the real gem here. The other half of the book covers techniques in organic and microscale chemistry. If you ever need to build a chromatographic column or do vacuum filtration again, you will be glad that you kept this book in your library.

   The techniques section alone justifies buying this book. Chemistry majors, microbiologists, environmental scientists and engineers will all find this text valuable in their future careers.




2. Dr. Pavia's class was so much fun. It was great to have a book written for our facility, by our instructors. I recommend this book to other schools because the techniques are clearly explained and the experiments are interesting.



3. It has taken this company a month to even send this book. It is quite amazing how slow this company and how it treats its customers. Do not expect books to come unless you want to wait til the book become a classic. Highly suggest to purchase from someone else. Luckly, I've been using a book from lab TA for my organic lab
   class.

3 comments about Student Study Guide and Solutions Manual for Brown/Foote/Iverson's Organic Chemistry, 4th.

1. Without this book, you are pretty much on your own when you are reading the main text. All the problems are solved clearly. Just reading it as a textbook can give you extra tips on somethings that you might have skipped in the book. Sometimes, you might get confused. Well, it is just chemistry. Read carefully.



2. The book has signs of wear and tear, but other than that the book was great. With a better price than any bookstore can offer who could pass it up?



3. Got the product on time and the book was in exactly the condition represented. A very good transaction....

5 comments about Schaum's Outline of Organic Chemistry.

1. Very few of the Schaum's outline series are helpful. This one is no exception. It does nothing to clarify the confusing concepts. All it does is provide more problems. Anyone taking organic chemistry knows that it is hard enough to have time to do all the problems in the assigned textbook let alone do more from this book. Furthermore,the answers to the questions are poorly explained. Save your time and money and check out your school library for other helpful books instead.



2. What you should remember about the Schaum's series is that all of them, though they may call themselves "outlines," are in fact rather cheap textbooks. They include many more solved problems than your standard textbook, but they are also not as slick or nice to look at.

   The organic chemistry outline can be helpful to you, perhaps. The main draw is that each chapter includes a summary of reactions that might be worth it... if, that is, you already know which reactions are more useful than others. The amount of information is great, and this may make it difficult for you to sort out which ones are worth your attention.

   The Schaum's outlines are, in my opinion, great for those motivated students who would like to gain some knowledge of the subject. They can also help when you are stuck with a problem, as chances are you will find a solved problem in the book that is at least similar. Whether that is worth the cost is another question.




3. Schaum's outlines are perfect for what they propose to do -- give the student as much practice as possible. They are experience tools, not teaching tools. The secret to doing well in genchem/orgchem is to practice, practice practice. The more problems you do, the better you will become. Concepts and theories are only half the game in chemistry.



4. I am giving this book 3 stars because I did not receive much help from it. A lot of the information that was covered in this book did not go into enough detail, like an entire subject was explained in two sentences. I needed a little more explanation, but I guess this is why the book is deemed an outline.

   I was able to gather some (a very small amount) useful information from it. But, pick the book up anyway, because to master Orgo you need as many resources as possible, especially at 3 in the morning and you are trying to figure out where to place an ethyl group. In addition to this book, grab an elementary type orgo book, like orgo for beginners or orgo for nursing majors. These type of books explain things with great detail using an ABC approach. Then do as many problems as you can! Buy a ring of notecards and write part of the reaction on the front and the rest on the back. Study these cards every night religiously. You should be able to make sense out of the reactions and pass the class with a good grade with a considerable amount of study. (I received an A using the above method)




5. Everyone can guess that a subject as extensive as Organic Chemistry, making well over thousand pages long textbooks, cannot be packed well with the same concept-teaching potential into a 400-page long outline. The authors make it clear from the very first page that to really master a subject one has to practice, practice, and again practice. The word "Outline" may serve a bad service to those who think this book is as shallow as, say, "Organic Chemistry Demystified". It is not, and in fact it's probably too advanced for those who rate this book low. On the other hand, "Outline" also serves a bad service to the book itself, as those seeking a more advanced practice may not even consider it. I would rather call it Intermediary Organic Chemistry. But I bet if you do find time to go thru every problem in the book you will never be the same person again as before.

1 comments about Macroscale and Microscale Organic Experiments.

1. Simply excellent. It provided adequate theory behind each of the experiments while explaining the experiments' procedures step by step.

5 comments about Organic Chemistry.

1. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE BOOK - IT WAS RIGHT IN TIME FOR CLASS! GREAT USED CONDITION - EXACTLY AS LISTED...THANKS AGAIN! A++++



2. This book is not Hardcover as stated in the ad. The book is not for sale in the US and Canada and it is clearly marked on the cover. It's violating the Copyright Act. I gave it one star because there was anything lower than that.



3. thanks for the book. the first 100-150 pages were wrinkled quite a bit but the price makes up for it. shipping was good. thanks again.



4. I had used this textbook at Ramapo College of New Jersey for Organic Chemistry I and II, and I found that the end of the chapter problems were superb in preparation for exams. I can't say much otherwise about the body of the text, reactions, mechanisms, etc., but I give this book an A+ for the End of Chapter Problems. They were tough and required a good amount of thought, which was exactly how I was tested in this class.



5. This book was required for college, but I saved over $70 by going through Amazon instead of the college bookstore. Thanks Amazon!

5 comments about Organic Chemistry Demystified.

1. I found this guide to be a valuable and worthwhile resource on the subject of organic chemistry. I was pleasantly surprised by its appealing and straightforward approach and explanations. The quizzes at the end of each chapter have been very useful to me for checking my comprehension of the material. I recommend this guide to all those interested in a medium to high level overview of the field.



2. This book got me through most of my Organic Chemistry class. We didn't have a textbook, and this book gave me the details the professor didn't have time to go over during class. It also broke all of the subjects down into small sections, so I could look up exactly the reaction we were going over without having to read an entire chapter in the book.
   
   However, it didn't make much sense to me unless I read the book with my class notes in front of me. If you're looking for a book that explains things differently than your textbook, this probably isn't it. (For that, I'd recommend Organic Chemistry as a Second Language.) But if you're looking for a textbook replacement or have a professor that tends to jump around chapters, this is what you need.



3. Started with another common book as a supplement to my course that simply wasn't cutting it. I picked up this book and it is a very good course supplement! A good breakdown to simply better understand what a standard textbook and the prof is trying to get accross, this book is exactly what you need to make it all make sense. The quizzes are extremely helpful too!



4. I couldn't figure out which organic chem book was best from the Amazon reviews, so I ventured out to my local Borders bookstore and compared about 6 or 8 of them. "Demystified" was the clear winner thanks to clarity and depth of explanation, chapter tests, a brief review of inorganic, and an engaging style of writing. "Organic for Dummies" was my second choice (seemed insightful) but none of the others held up when checked side-by-side. For instance I checked out 'esters' in all books, and got a short paragraph in every one except Demystified, which managed to devote a few pages to an actual explanation. I even paid full retail for it - still a great deal for this book. (sorry Amazon)



5. For its volume, it seems that in many instances the author spends way too much time explaining simple concepts. I still would not want to downplay the value of this book as it might be a good resource for those with basic understanding of chemistry. After all this is the intent of the Demystified series to lay down scientific subjects as simple as possible. For those who are preparing for the MCAT and already have a tangible grasp of the subject, prepare to experience exactly this: the time spent on the book may be felt as spent inefficiently.

5 comments about Examkrackers MCAT Organic Chemistry (Examkrackers).

1. I was disappointed in this book. I stopped using this book early on in my preparations because I kept finding typos as well as factual mistakes. The content is very brief, which is okay, but it is hard enough studying for the MCAT without worrying whether or not the material I am memorizing is correct or not. I really don't recommend this book.



2. I read this book twice now, and I think this book really helps alot. Other than those kaplan books which tells you straight out facts in a very boring way, EK orgo gives you good insight to understand the material fast. I think this books is a great book, but if you want 15 on the bs section, you should also look at other books like kaplan or princeton for more practice.



3. Top notch book that makes learning the Organic section of the MCAT as painless as possible. All the relevant information without the unnecessary "jibber-jabber". This book will definately get you prepared in the most efficient way possible. The other books (especially the verbal book) also come highly reccommended.



4. If you did well in organic chem 1 and 2, then this book is great for a quick review. the best part is you can even go through it quickly.



5. The book arrived in the time it was supposed to and was in the condition in which the seller said it would be.

5 comments about Organic Chemistry and CW+ GradeTracker Access Card Package (6th Edition) (Ace Organic Series).

1. This seems like a well-organized and helpful book. Even more helpful, perhaps, had I opened it for the class...oops.



2. This book is nicely written for someone who is not going to be an organic chemist. It is easy to read and understand. One downfall I will mention is that it is so easy to read, students are many times fooled into thinking that they understand the material. But overall, good features including helpful graphics, summaries and examples.



3. I'm in my second semester of organic chemistry and really struggled the first semester because my prof doesn't ellaborate on anything,likes to keep lectures generalized, and believes it's best that we learn on our own through the book. The $250 book we had to buy for the class is so wordy and poorly organized. We usually have 7-8 chapters on one exam (about every 3-4 weeks) and some of the chapters are 80-100 pages. When I study things I like the text or my notes I get caught up on the little things if it's not neatly/concisely/clearly written. This book is exactly what I love. It uses many colors to perfectly keep things easily readable. I had read hundreds of reviews (I'm not even kidding) about how wonderful Wade's texts are and how he teaches it as if you were a little kid--it's so true. You seriously cannnot read one of his chapters and not understand. I never use my other text anymore even if I know where the info I'm looking for is at. It is seriously one of the best science textbooks I have ever had because of how it's formated. He also has great examples in it that are useful....like ones that are often on our labs and on quizes/exams. The end of the chapter summaries are the best thing too. He literally sums everything up by writing all of the equations so everything is all on a couple of pages. I've photocopied many of the chapter reviews because they're such a concise and clean form of my notes.



4. The book content itself is great. The problem is from the seller, the cover was not "slightly" bent or torn it had been completely ripped in half and then glued back together (though glued together as well as possible considering) also the ACE organic part of the book that I specifically wanted was not included, instead an access code to a different Prentice Hall online tool was what came in the book.



5. Thank goodness for people on Amazon because if I had to purchase this book at the university my son is attending, that would have cost another $100.00. Thanks for a great transaction.