Synopses & Reviews
Written for the short course?where content must be thorough, but to-the-point, FUNDAMENTALS OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, Sixth Edition, continues to provide an effective, clear, and readable introduction to the beauty and logic of organic chemistry. McMurry presents only those subjects needed for a brief course while maintaining the important pedagogical tools commonly found in larger books. With clear explanations, thought-provoking examples, and an innovative vertical format for explaining reaction mechanisms, FUNDAMENTALS takes a modern approach: primary organization is by functional group, beginning with the simple (alkanes) and progressing to the more complex. Within the primary organization, there is also an emphasis on explaining the fundamental mechanistic similarities of reactions. Through this approach, memorization is minimized and understanding is maximized. The sixth edition brings in new content that applies organic chemistry to students, for example all of the chapter openers have been changed and incorporate a model and photograph of an application of organic chemistry such as Taxol from the pacific yew tree. The book introduces a running application in the Interlude boxes and in the problems relating agricultural chemicals intended to unify the subject further for students. All of the problems have been reorganized by topic to make easier to assign and review. New problem categories have been added. The new problem categories are "In the Field with Agrochemicals" and "In the Medicine Cabinet" to reinforce the focus on applications.
Review
"Chapter 17 is an excellent chapter?. It seems as though the author has a particular fondness for this topic that shows in his thoughtful and entertaining handling of the subject matter. The use of color to help students follow the transfer of atoms and pieces of molecules during catalytic reactions in this chapter is very effective. The author is also commended for his frequent reminders to the reader that these biological processes are comprised of organic reactions that they have studied earlier in the book." Alvan C. Hengge, Utah State University
Synopsis
Retaining the concise, to-the-point presentation that has already helped thousands of students move beyond memorization to a true understanding of the beauty and logic of organic chemistry, this Seventh Edition of John McMurry's FUNDAMENTALS OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY brings in new, focused content that shows students how organic chemistry applies to their everyday lives. In addition, redrawn chemical structures and artwork help students visualize important chemical concepts, a greater emphasis on biologically-related chemistry (including new problems) helps them grasp the enormous importance of organic chemistry in understanding the reactions that occur in living organisms, and new End ofChapter problems keyed to OWL allow them to work text-specific problems online. Lastly, for this edition, John McMurry reevaluated and revised his writing at the sentence level to ensure that the book's explanations, applications, and examples are more student-friendly, relevant, and motivating than ever before.
About the Author
John E. McMurry received his B.A. from Harvard University and his Ph.D. at Columbia University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Foundation Fellow. He has received several awards, which include the National Institutes of Health Career Development Award, the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award, and the Max Planck Research Award. In addition to ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, he is also the author or coauthor of ORGANIC CHEMISTRY: A BIOLOGICAL APPROACH, FUNDAMENTALS OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY, THE ORGANIC CHEMISTRY OF BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS.
Table of Contents
"We have found the McMurry texts to be unique in their utility for our two cycle approach and we are able to efficiently service two groups of students with different needs. For these reasons, we have been satisfied and have seen no reason for change." Robert Cameron, Samford University "Chapter 9 is well organized and includes an appropriate selection of material given the overall topic. The in-chapter problems are well chosen and presented in a timely manner. The illustrations are helpful and there are lots of end-of-chapter problems for students to work." Steven Holmgren, Montana State University "Chapter 17 is an excellent chapter…. It seems as though the author has a particular fondness for this topic that shows in his thoughtful and entertaining handling of the subject matter. The use of color to help students follow the transfer of atoms and pieces of molecules during catalytic reactions in this chapter is very effective. The author is also commended for his frequent reminders to the reader that these biological processes are comprised of organic reactions that they have studied earlier in the book." Alvan C. Hengge, Utah State University