Organic Chemistry

Rating:
Summary: The Author was my professor
Review: I don't think that this book is a very well written organic chemistry book at all. First of all, this book contains numerous mistakes. The mistakes in themselves are not the main reason why this book is so bad. This book intended for people who have never taken organic chemistry before, however, it did not seem as such. Furthermore, there are several contradicting examples given in the book. For example, Sorrell says that an Sn1 reaction cannot occur with a primary carbocation since it is not sufficiently stabilized with hyperconjugation. However, he proceeds to use an example with ethane (which can only form a primary carbocation). Furthermore, several of the problems which are in the text are too simple while others are too hard. There is no middle ground. For those of us who bought the solutions to the questions, there are several errors in the book as well. Overall, I was not at all satisfied with this book, and was forced to use another organic chemistry text book.

Rating:
Summary: Not a very good book
Review: I don't think that this book is a very well written organic chemistry book at all. First of all, this book contains numerous mistakes. The mistakes in themselves are not the main reason why this book is so bad. This book intended for people who have never taken organic chemistry before, however, it did not seem as such. Furthermore, there are several contradicting examples given in the book. For example, Sorrell says that an Sn1 reaction cannot occur with a primary carbocation since it is not sufficiently stabilized with hyperconjugation. However, he proceeds to use an example with ethane (which can only form a primary carbocation). Furthermore, several of the problems which are in the text are too simple while others are too hard. There is no middle ground. For those of us who bought the solutions to the questions, there are several errors in the book as well. Overall, I was not at all satisfied with this book, and was forced to use another organic chemistry text book.

Rating:
Summary: The Author was my professor
Review: I had the pleasure (not) of having Thomas Sorrell for organic chemistry at UNC and this book is not very good. He didn't even refer to it that often. He would provide notes that were clearer than the book and I personally think they should be included in a new edition. The other classes don't use this book; he's the only one who uses, I guess to stroke his ego. I think if you pay attention in your lecture class, you could do well without this book.

Rating:
Summary: Organic chemistry, a new approach.
Review: The best book I have read on the subject. The only bad thing is that it wasn't available when I first struggled through Organic Chemistry. If you want clear explanations, are struggling in that subject, this book is the one to get. With clear far reaching explanations, complex reaction mechanisms come to light. The flow is different from comparable texts. The classifications and explanations on fundamental reactions of organic molecules are logical and an absolute joy to read. Advanced topics are covered with equal mastery. The book is over 1457 pages, the fine solution book is 698 pages. No CD is included in the book, this is somewhat unfortunate since software helps to visualize the 3 D world of organic chemistry. This one could become a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Layout, Highly Readable
Review: This book has been a wonderful companion to Organic Chemistry. One weakness of this book is that it leaves out the rendered color CGI representations of structures that other books often feature. Instead, the book's strength lies in the author's use of language--Sorrell presents very complex reactions (that thankfully often go beyond the scope of intro. level organic chemistry classes) in a readable, interesting manner. The organization of the book is also a strength: instead of deluging the reader with hundereds of hundereds of reactions of specific compounds (alkanes, alkenes, alkynes, etc...), the book conceptually organizes reactions by governing principle. The only real problem with the book is that there are several versions in print (although none are labeled as different versions) and certain versions contain typos and mistakes. If a second edition is ever published, this book could become the de facto standard in Organic Chem.