Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure

As a big fan of the 4th edition, I jumped for joy when the 5th edition came out. I purchased it immediately, and I was not disappointed. It's hard to imagine beating the comprehensiveness of the past editions, but somehow Jerry has done it again! Certainly there is a lot of redundancy, but there are so many more reactions and references added that March's 5th is another must have for any serious organic chemist.

Updated for the continuing growth of the field, Jerry March had simply written one of the most comprehensive works in organic chemistry. The huge, thick volume might not serve as a text but rather a desktop reference. It was chosen as a course bible for my organic synthesis class.The first part of the book deals with strcutures in organic chemistry. It serves as a prerequisite to understanding of reactions and mechanisms. This section contains information about some of the most ambiguous organic intermediates (species) such as nitrenes, carbenes, carbocations, and tautomers. One can also find detailed discussion on cis-trans isomerism and structural reactivity relations.Part II of the volume discusses organic reactions and types of reactions in depth. Representative reactions include nucleophilic substitution, electrophilic substitution, rearrangements and radical reactions. Though March's work is self-containing as a sole reference, it is also meant to serve as a companion to major texts such as Miller's "Advanced Organic Chemistry", the double volumes of "Advanced Organic Chemistry" by Carey and Sundberg and any undergraduate introductory texts.March's book distinguishes itself in discussion of organic named reaction such as Susuki reaction, Wolf-Kishner reduction, Swern oxidation, etc. One might often encounter difficulty in looking up named reactions. Jerry March's book will ease much of the trouble. Organic chemists and students should not miss this treasured work. Highly recommended.

This book simply is "the bible" for organic chemists - it is clearly organized and has the most powerful index I have ever seen in a book. It serves well not only as a reference guide for the working chemist but also is a good book for students.

I agree with the other reviewers. I'd like to add that this book is also phenomenally useful as a reference for all chemists, not just organic chemists. It is undoubtedly the most complete work in terms of useful organization of cited references going back nearly a century. Its usefulness has led me to dedicate a recent article to Jerry March. Since Jerry's death in 1997, it will be up to Wiley to find a suitable coauthor to update this volume. I can only hope for a choice as good as Jerry. Along with Cotton & Wilkinson's Adv. Inorg. Chem., Jerry's book is a must for every chemist's ready-reference library.

this book has been with me for the last 8 yrs.i like this book as all the info is imparted with the minimum usage of words,almost complete in itself,has references to original literature & with stunning clarity.if u are short of money go for it.it is the most complete ,self sufficient book available in the market.