Organic Chemistry

It came quickly and it was exactly what I ordered with no markings or bendings in the book. Same information as the book that could be bought in the book store.

"...I write to explain chemistry to students the way I wish it had been explained to me years ago." McMurry has that line in the introduction to the text, and when I read that in the 3rd edition some years ago, it was one of the things that kept me from tucking tail and changing my major. He remains true to those words. This text is clear and unambiguous in its presentation. Rather than inundating the reader with details and overly rigorous academic explanations, as some texts do, McMurry presents organic chemistry in a straightforward, streamlined manner. The text progresses from basic physical organic chemistry and molecular orbital theory through functional groups and their reactivity, finally culminating in appropriate, but not exhaustive, chapters on biomolecules. After having learned organic chemistry from McMurry, I personally found tackling more advanced graduate texts (e.g. Carey and Sundberg) a more tractable endeavor.

THis is an awesome organic chemistry textbook. It is layed out very well, and even has "reaction summaries" at the end of the chapters to group together all reactions covered. The study guide is also a must with this book; even though the back of the textbook has the answers to selected chapter and unit questions, the study guide provides the solutions AND how they are achieved to the other questions. The only drawback to this set is the price.

One of the best science text I've read. McMurry is one of those authors who writes concisely in simple and highly organized manner. I've reviewed every OCHEM text I can get my hands on at the library; no one writes more clearly than this Harvard grad and professor at Cornell.