The Systematic Identification of Organic Compounds, 7th Edition

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Chemical Education Today

The Systematic Identification of Organic Compounds, 7th Edition R. L. Shriner, C. K. F. Hermann, T. C. Morrill, D. Y. Curtin, and R. C. Fuson. Wiley: New York, 1998. xiii + 669 pp. ISBN 0-471-59748-1. $28.95.

I have not seen an edition of this venerable book for some time and am very pleased with the changes that have been incorporated since then. This edition blends a nice mix of traditional and modern methods into a very usable and useful text. Since its arrival for review, it has not left arm’s reach of my chair and has been handled many times to answer a variety of questions—none of which were directly applicable to the course it is directed to, Qualitative Organic Chemistry, because it has not been offered at my institution yet! The beginning chapters present both macroscale and microscale techniques of analysis and physical property determination. An analogous approach to the separation of mixtures comes towards the end of the book. Likewise, traditional wet chemical analyses are presented and quickly followed by spectroscopic analyses. Regardless of one’s philosophical approach to teaching this class, everything one needs is presented in this book. The presentations are all clear and concise. Tests for the determination of the functional groups present, identification of the various salient features of these compounds, and suitable derivatizations are written in such a manner that even an introductory organic student could follow them. Finally, appendices are available that contain any data the student may need. I was particularly impressed with Appendix I, which just about makes The Chemist’s Companion redundant for a practicing organic chemist. In short, if you are offering a course dealing with either traditional qualitative organic chemistry or lean towards the use of spectroscopic analyses only, this text will serve your needs well. David Evans Department of Chemistry and Physics Coastal Carolina University P.O. Box 261954 Conway, SC 29528

JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 76 No. 8 August 1999 • Journal of Chemical Education

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