Solids and Surfaces : A Chemist's View of Bonding in Extended Structures

Rating:
Summary: Every chemist needs to read this!
Review: This book bridges a gap between molecular orbital theory and the empirical/intuitive way chemists think about bonding in molecules. From there, it opens up vistas in extended systems (e.g. solids, conductive polymers) that most ordinary "molecular" chemists think of as foreign and forbidding because the language and tools used to treat them are those of solid state physicists with which most chemists are (regrettably) unfamiliar. Hoffmann brings all this good stuff home to chemists, without the bludgeon of complicated mathematics, inviting us in, showing us how much we already know. My own background is both physics and traditional synthetic organic/organometallic chemistry. Until I read this book, I had struggled to see how the physics and chemistry meet. This book has really bridged the gap.

Rating:
Summary: A straightforward, visual examination of a difficult subject
Review: This book bridges the language gap between chemistry and condensed matter physics. Starting from the language that all chemists are comfortable with - that of molecular orbitals - Hoffman builds up the idea of bonding in extended structures (solids) as if a solid was just a giant molecule. This is done with a minimum of mathematics, mostly using simple and graphical representation. As a primer to the area of solid state chemistry, this book is invaluable.

I'm not sure if physicists, starting from the other end of the language will find it as useful as a chemist, but it should be straightforward for them as well, giving them the chemist's point of view (language).

This is a short book, and wisely does not try to exceed its boundries, that of an introduction/overview. For a more mathematical treatment, I would suggest Burdett's "Chemical Bonding in Solids." If you only want an introduction written in plain language with lots of graphics, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: A straightforward, visual examination of a difficult subject
Review: This book bridges the language gap between chemistry and condensed matter physics. Starting from the language that all chemists are comfortable with - that of molecular orbitals - Hoffman builds up the idea of bonding in extended structures (solids) as if a solid was just a giant molecule. This is done with a minimum of mathematics, mostly using simple and graphical representation. As a primer to the area of solid state chemistry, this book is invaluable.

I'm not sure if physicists, starting from the other end of the language will find it as useful as a chemist, but it should be straightforward for them as well, giving them the chemist's point of view (language).

This is a short book, and wisely does not try to exceed its boundries, that of an introduction/overview. For a more mathematical treatment, I would suggest Burdett's "Chemical Bonding in Solids." If you only want an introduction written in plain language with lots of graphics, this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: Conceptually brilliant !
Review: This is simply the funniest and most enjoyable book on theoretical inorganic chemistry I've ever read. Its format is close to your typical bedside table novel, lively informal and packed with the most awesome qualitative insights on bonding with molecular orbital theory without the need to resort to hardcore mathematics. It also has some amusing puns and jokes mixed with the enthusiasm of conveying this knowledge. The more interested reader should also read Jeremy Burdett's "Chemical Bonding in Solids" for a more detailed account of the quantum chemical and solid state aspects involved. All in all 140 pages of pure pleasure.