Organic Chemistry

My assessment of this textbook is based upon concurrent usage of the solutions manual. Paula Bruice does a great job in presenting organic chemistry. I had virtually no knowledge of organic chemistry when starting the academic year, and felt I had a solid understanding of it at the end of the year. I obtained As both semesters, even though one of the professors only loosely followed the material in the text. However, the text was of sufficient quality that I was able to understand the material the professor presented by relying almost solely on the text. I prefer to learn things by reading and studying alone. I used this text with solutions manual almost exclusively. The author's presentation of subjects is logical and progressive. There are many worked problems within the text, and the solutions manual has fully worked solutions to the problems. Additionally, there are review subjects within the solutions manual to cover subjects that are not properly organic chemistry, but must be mastered to understand organic chemistry. The key to getting the most from this text is to work the problems at the end of the chapters. Paula Bruice does not present problems that were not covered in the chapter. Thus, if you read the chapter, you'll see the concepts in the problems at the end of the chapter. Where you have gaps in working the problems, you can readily fill the gaps by checking the solutions manual. Read the text, work the problems, you'll learn organic chemistry. As a final note, there is a web site to accompany the text. It isn't great, but I think most such web sites are deficient. Nevertheless, it was sometimes helpful when I simply couldn't grasp a concept. It is probably the best web site to accompany a text I've seen.

I read this book when the required text (McMurry) for the organic chemistry class I took was confusing or I wanted to review a topic in greater depth. I would not have minded if this book were the main required text for my class. I am getting rid of all of the other introductory organic chemistry books I had except for this one. This book provides greater depth and better explanations than the other books I used for reference. The McMurry text briefly mentions a few topics in a single sentence or paragraph, which many other introductory and outline books entirely omit (so I suggest not wasting time with them). This book actually contains reasonable explanations for those topics. The style of this book is not too wordy and not too brief. However, it is best to work problems while reading this, or any similar, book because readers will probably not gain much by reading it like a novel.

This text is a remarkable departure from the mundane world of organic chemistry texts. Not only does Dr. Bruice lay a good foundation by discussing electronic structure and nomenclature right upfront, she does a great job of including a historical perspective of the subject as well. This book is about understanding the material and applying your new found knowledge to solve problems never before encountered. This book is not about memorizing 400 reactions and trying to fit everything together on your own. One of the main departures this text has to offer is the detailed discussion of catalysis and bioorganic chemistry. Most students really enjoy the biochemical aspects of the subject and Dr. Bruice makes these connections throughout the book. I highly recommend this book dispite the few typographical errors mentioned in other reviews (what text doesn't have a few?). The improved artwork and simplicity of dialog is refreshing. M. Werner (Asst. Prof. Organic and Biochemistry)Lake Superior State University

I found a copy of the text in my college library, and I knew it was different. My professor focuses exclusively on reactions in industry; I just have to memorize what seem to me to be incoherent (but related) sets of reactions. I am a biochemistry student (and I actually took biochem before orgo) and the course seems to distance itself from biochemistry.In contrast, Bruice embraces biochemistry. It is still a full survey that contains all the topics you would expect in an orgo text, but teaches it in the context of biochemistry. It seems that whenever possible, the text includes some molecule that you will eventually see when you take biochemistry.Beyond this, it is a very clear and readable text, and tries to emphasize reaction mechanisms over memorization.I plan on buying it and reading it this summer to make up for all the stuff that my present orgo professor messed up on.

... As a recent graduate (Microbiology, BS), I have had my experiences with poorly written textbooks, but this book was the one shining exception. I, like many others, feared organic chemistry. However, this book breaks the intricacies of organic chemistry up into easy-to-understand steps which gives the student the necessary foundation to build upon, learn, and ultimately understand organic chemistry in a way that is efficient as well as long-lasting. Rather than memorizing mechanisms, the student is able to "work-through" the mechanism based on previous knowledge. I know this because I have read this book, cover-to-cover, and had only wished that my other text books were as well thought out and helpful as this one! ! . This book was not only written by an expert in organic chemistry, but by an expert in teaching as well. I have had my copy of this book since 1995 and still refer to it today. I highly recommend this book to students and teachers alike.