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Organic Chemistry (5th Edition) (Ace Organic Series)x$106.00
  (34 reviews)
Best Price: $185.80 $106.00
This innovative book from acclaimed educator Paula Bruice is organized in a way that discourages rote memorization. The author’s writing has been praised for anticipating readers' questions, and appeals to their need to learn visually and by solving problems. Emphasizing that learners should reason their way to solutions rather than memorize facts, Bruice encourages them to think about what they have learned previously and apply that knowledge in a new setting. KEY TOPICS The book balances coverage of traditional topics with bioorganic chemistry, highlights mechanistic similarities, and ties synthesis and reactivity together–teaching the reactivity of a functional group and the synthesis of compounds obtained as a result of that reactivity. For the study of organic chemistry.
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Customer Reviews
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Excellent text but awful answer keys and Solution Manual
By on 2003-05-15
I just finished taking my first Organic Chemistry course and got an A -- and this text was a huge reason why. Her organization and explanation of reactions and mechanisms was great and her graphics were very helpful. This text was a huge improvement over my General Chemistry textbook (Zumdahl's Chemistry) which was awful. This text made the course very comprehensible. Only two things kept me from giving this book five stars. One, the answer key, both in the text and in the Solution Manual, was completely unreliable and many of the answers were wrong. Prentice Hall must have used one of their editorial interns to check the answer keys. Very sloppy work. Two, the NMR and IR chapters (Ch. 12 & 13) weren't as clear and comprehensible as the other chapters. Other than that, however, an excellent text for the Organic Chemistry novice.
The One Shining Exception
By ABW4AIVQVQ53Q on 1998-07-15
... 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.
A good text, but there are better alternatives for most students
By A26RL5A9I4CF4T on 2007-04-19
It may seem unfair to give only 3 stars to what amounts to a very solid textbook -- but it is 3 stars in comparison to the best texts that are available for undergraduate organic chemistry. First, the good. The text is well illustrated with Spartan density drawings and colorful pictures and sidebars of various organic chemists that help maintain interest in the reading. The book is printed on high-quality paper and the binding is durable, which should help it withstand the beating given it by a diligent student. Color is used more liberally than other textbooks (such as McMurry); this is one of the best looking books available on the market for organic chemistry. Additionally, the chapters at the end of the book that highlight the role of organic chemistry in enzymology and drug discovery are a nice addition for classes geared more towards medical students/biologists.
Now the bad. First, the organization is quite different than other textbooks. In some areas the reorganization is a welcome change, but I question some of them. In particular, an extensive treatise of the nomenclature of the functional groups at the beginning of the book (Second chapter) delays the introduction of reactions; it makes for a tedious opening and leaves the impression that organic chemistry is a topic for pedants. Additionally, bunching together all the elimination reactions after the chapter on alkynes prevents a real introduction to multistep synthesis until Chapter 9, almost 400 pages into the book.
Perhaps more importantly for the student, the text is not as readable as, say, McMurry, Jones, or Wade. Part of the problem is simply that the book is so incredibly detailed. It's almost as if the author tried to condense both an undergraduate organic chemistry text and a graduate text into one, perhaps in order to justify its hefty pricetag (250$ for the book and solutions manual). In my opinion, the onslaught of information, particularly in the spectroscopy and substitution and elimination chapters, is simply overwhelming. Lastly, the student solutions manual--which should be the lifeblood of any student trying to learn the subject--is riddled with errors, an unexcusable foul for a book in its fifth edition. These errors undermine the confidence of students in their ability to work the problems.
Despite these faults, this is still a good text. The level of detail, while in my opinion stifling for most undergraduates trying to learn the material, makes it a good reference book. Given it's deeper coverage than other textbooks, it may work well in a course for chemistry majors. For most, however, the texts by Wade or McMurry offer better alternatives.
Top Notch Organic Text
By A11003UZO6AN86 on 2003-05-09
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
A solid organic chemistry textbook
By A2MXNUTPQPML8K on 2007-07-28
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.
- Yes, but with restrictions
By A1991BUG8DMT5W on 2004-08-06
This is an excellent book that uses illuminating diagrams and examples to explain fundamental concepts. It is by no means, however, an easy reader. To understand the concepts you must read the chapters and do the problems at least 3 to 4 times. (if not more). I worked very hard in orgo, which is one of the reasons why I did well in it. The only reason that kept this rating from being higher, was the solutions manual and the chapter on stereochemistry. The solutions manual is very selective in it's explanations. The solutions to the problems are not explained in a way that everyone can understand it. A solutions manual should always include detailed explanations of every problem, and this solutions manual certainly doesn't do that. Then, on the flip side, if you thorougly understand the chapter before attempting the problems at the end of each chapter, then the solutions manual is an excellent guide. Chapter 5, the stereochemistry chapter, at least all of it, except section 5.19, is extremely poorly written. Stereochemistry is a very tough and important subject, and although the chapter was 50 pages long, it was written very inadequately with examples that don't exemplify simple concepts. Get a model set to learn stereochem, I finally learned at the end of Ochem 2, but that was because I finally understood the basics, and understood that it was extremely easy. Overall, this book is not for someone that doesn't have an interest in ochem, but for someone that takes passion with the subject. I never went to class, but i loved the subject, so the book, for me was excellent. If you love chemistry-BUY THIS BOOK.
- Comprehensive, easy to read, good problems,
By on 1999-08-13
The author de-emphasizes memorization and builds on fundamental principles. The book is easy to read, but at times uses silly imagery (e.g. unicorn). I was well enough prepared after 2 semesters with this book to do independent research in an organic lab. I would have liked to have seen more discussions on molecular orbital theory and maybe more on thermo.
- One of the best available
By A2XSR4I98K2TGJ on 2004-08-01
This is one of the best sophomore level o-chem text available. The explanation is clear and the writing style is straight-forward. The organization of the topics is somewhat different from the traditional functional group approach. This helps students to apply what they learn early in the course to the reactions in later chapters. I don't see how anyone who is ready to take o-chem can be confused by this organization unless his/her instructor takes a very different approach from the textbook itself. The answers to the problems are certainly not error free. But keep in mind, when you read anything written by today's college students, reduce the magnitude by at least 10 times to come even close to what they are trying to say. Our English language will soon lose any meaning if this trend of exageration doesn't stop soon. I am also not surprised that most students cannot learn organic chemistry on their own from this textbook. No other textbook would do either. Going to class is absolutely essential (if instructors can be understood by students) besides working lots of problems and learning to think.
- good for reference and review
By A2XG8X62ZCKR8F on 2007-06-13
I used this book (and others) as a reference in addition to the required text (McMurry) for an organic chemistry class I took. Thus, I only read this book when I found the McMurry text lacking or when 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. The McMurry text briefly mentions a few topics in a single sentence, 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, which made it a good supplementary text.
The style of this book is not too wordy; neither is it overly terse. However, it is difficult to read any math/chemistry/physics/etc text as a novel and expect to gain much from it, so work problems while reading any book of this nature.
- bruice's organic chem is not very helpful!
By on 2000-01-22
I am a student of organic chemistry at Rutgers University which uses bruise's book. I have used both the first and second edition and can tell you that the second edition differes very little from the first. It was not worth the money for me to buy the second edition after already owning the first. The author makes what would be an easy concept to understand very difficult. For example, a very easy reaction to predict in organic chemistry is the diels-alder reaction. Bruice's treatment of this does not include numbering the original carbon diene and dienophile, which makes predicting the product so much easier. organic chemistry is difficult enough without the added complexitity of the author trying to make things harder. Even the studyguide only has "selected topics" that it reviews. If one has difficulty with a topic that is not included in the "selected topics", then there is no place to review it. I would recommend Louden's organic chemistry which makes the same concepts easier to understand. If you want to fail organic, go for paula bruice's book.....
- An essential tool for the student of Organic Chemistry
By on 1998-06-29
A well organized book that approaches the subject in a way de-emphasizes rote memorization and helps the student master the subject by understanding the unifying principles of organic chemistry. Of particular value, the author provided numerous problems of varying difficulty. These problems were particularly well chosen by the author because they made the principles descibed in the text more readily understandable. In summary, it was a well organized, readable, and highly informative text on the subject of Organic Chemistry.
- Orgo w/Biochemistry emphasis
By on 2000-03-09
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.
- Errors run rampant
By A1MPGLJMJAV9PR on 2003-02-12
This book details the mechanisms well but was their an editing process? Numerous errors are throughout the book. I am missing two pages from the book as well. The solutions manual is also poorly organized.
- bruice's organic chem is not very helpful!
By on 2000-01-22
I am a student of organic chemistry at Rutgers University which uses bruise's book. I have used both the first and second edition and can tell you that the second edition differes very little from the first. It was not worth the money for me to buy the second edition after already owning the first. The author makes what would be an easy concept to understand very difficult. For example, a very easy reaction to predict in organic chemistry is the diels-alder reaction. Bruice's treatment of this does not include numbering the original carbon diene and dienophile, which makes predicting the product so much easier. organic chemistry is difficult enough without the added complexitity of the author trying to make things harder. Even the studyguide only has "selected topics" that it reviews. If one has difficulty with a topic that is not included in the "selected topics", then there is no place to review it. I would recommend Louden's organic chemistry which makes the same concepts easier to understand. If you want to fail organic, go for paula bruice's book.....
- Bruice's book is amazing!
By AUIWGOV4XWQMK on 2000-05-03
Dr. Bruice does an excellent job conveying the material and adds great trivia about scientists and interesting compounds (like the section on mustard gas). One of the best parts of the book is the use of color, which adds to the readability of the text. However, I don't think Dr. Bruice covered enough molecular orbital theory, and a more in-depth discussion of stereochemistry would be helpful. But overall, this book is great and I would recommend it to anyone.
- Great book.
By on 1998-08-22
Bruice has taken a difficult subject and made it understandable for students that have never seen any of the material before
- it's ok, but I would get another book instead
By on 2003-10-03
I had this book for class, she really jumps on her subjects,not well organized. There are also numerous errors. About 30% of the answers in the back of the book were wrong.
- Really great Ochem book
By A7R62HEOBUSRG on 2008-06-05
Really really loved this book.
One of the best written college textbooks i have read in a long time
1). GOOD examples
2). REALLY thorough. It will cover nearly every topic in the entire ochem spectrum. When i was studying for the MCAT and couldnt find the answer to something all i had to do was pop open this book and find out about wolf-kirschner reductionr etc etc.
3). well written
4). easy to understand
Cons
1). really expensive, the solutions manual is really expensive too. Also the modeling kit is really expensive lol.
LOTS OF DOUGH, but if you can afford it its really a great book.
- grrrr Organic
By A2EOKNMS42GFHU on 2000-11-29
Orgo is tough folks! it just might keep me out of vet school. i believe msu was the first school to start using the third edition. it wasn't even printed when we started class! we were in class a week b4 they came out & it took another month to get the study guide. i still haven't gotten the cd rom that was supposed to be included with the book. i called the publisher & they were supposed to send it to me. bruice tries her best to explain a topic that makes absolutely no sense to me. if u buy this book, make sure you get one with the cd rom in it. and if you wanna wait another semester, you can have mine, slightly, and i mean SLIGHTLY, used.
- Book is very complex for an intro organic chem text
By A3ESBECQNM9V0Z on 2007-07-01
I was required to use this book for my organic chemistry class. It is very complex and very detailed and I found it difficult to understand - I had to read each section multiple times to get it. I found that "Organic Chemistry" by Francis Carey to be a much better book for a first-time organic chem student. I ended up buying a used copy of that book and using it to help understand the concepts. The Bruice book seems like it would be better for someone who has some background in organic chem and seems to be written as if the reader just needs a refresher in the concepts.
- Very understandable org chem book
By AMB5845C04B0P on 2007-07-06
Bruice's way of writing is what separates this book from other texts such as Mcmurry. She conveys complicated ideas in very plain english. Futhermore, the illustrations in this text are superb. The book's clean and spacious format also translated to better brain studying conditions (esp. for OC people like me).
3 cons:
No access number for the book's site
Very expensive (unavailable locally [Philippines])
HEAVY :0
- The great book for undergraduate student
By A31JG3PR08QL85 on 2008-08-07
I had met this book on my undergraduate studies, it was the most interesting and exciting one(compare to other organic chemistry books) I had read on organic chemistry. It is even possible to learn the organic chemistry completely alone without visiting any lectures.
Still as graduate student me and other chemistry students in the university prefer this book in case you need to refresh the basis knowledge in organic chemistry.
- Nice cover, but what happened inside?
By on 1997-03-18
This book has it's own merits: an easy to understand aproach to some aspects of the organic chemistry, an understanding-instead-of-memorizing style, and everyday's life examples of organic molecules. Lamentably, the book gives the reader the idea that there was no proofread of it since ambiguity, errors, and contradiction can be easily found all across the chapters. The reader can't see to whom was the book written since sometimes it requires a profesor conference to understand some aspects, and sometimes it appears the the author want an 8-year-old child to understand other aspects. Errors in the mechanisms drawings (that could lead a student to serious misunderstanding) are found in every chapter. Even the student's guide is full of this kind of mistakes. Contradiction is also evident when explaning the method to assign the nomenclature of cycloalkanes: two absolutely contrary methods are described.
I'm sorry to say that this book is unaceptable as a teaching tool...END
- This book is the best book on organic chemistry!
By on 1997-03-16
Dr. Paula Bruice is extremely strict but friendly. Her book will light your mind because she explains why things are the way they are. The contents cover all the important subjects on organic chemistry and a little on biochemistry.
- Excellent condition, prompt shipping! Thanks!
By on 2003-09-05
Excellent condition, prompt shipping! Thanks!
- A Good Introductory Text for the Beginner
By A3TU8SKHORDE11 on 2006-07-30
With colorful illustrations and a supplemental website for extra practice and concept connection, this text is one of the better texts for introducing organic chemistry. As well, there is a teachers' resource from the publisher which allows easy creation of multimedia presentations for the classroom or preparing online notes for the students. It's organized well in the beginning, although some of the topics at the end get a bit redundant. The redundancy has its purpose, though, as it helps to demonstrate the parallels of laboratory chemistry and the in vivo biochemistry.
The astute instructor will be able to guide the beginner in the typographical errors in the text, which are all proposed to have been fixed in the newest edition (though I have not verified it personally). When the market value drops substantially, I recommend this edition. However, if you want a more intensive study of organic chemistry, I recommend the Advanced Organic Chemistry series by Caery and Sundberg. Though not as colorful nor student-friendly, those texts are byfar the most intensive study of organic chemistry I have personally come across.
- Very strange way of teaching organic chemistry
By A2ADTXJDVCNW89 on 2008-05-08
I just finished this class last semester. I found this book easy to follow, but I think it could have been arranged better. For instance, I would've started with SN 1/E 1 and SN 2/E 2 reactions first instead of jumping straight into the reactions of alkenes. I would've also appreciated if all of the nomenclature was in one concise chapter. I do appreciate the reaction summaries at the end of every chapter. That was quite useful. I really did not like the chapter on Mass spec, I felt it was lacking. The book also had some errors when it came to the practice problems and the answers in the back of the book. The chapter on stereochemistry was a headache. Do yourself a favor and attend the lecture and skip the chapter.
- It's ok
By A2WEBZMO2G9DPV on 2006-03-13
It's ok I guess but I have no other book for reference because this is my first time taking the course.
- A fine book for learning organic chemistry.
By A3D2HGAUFZE25R on 2006-11-06
I use this book in a college level organic chemistry lecture. I feel that the book is clear and also offers some colorful illustrations to convey the concepts. The figures and pictures throughout the book provide a nice "break" from the arguably heavy reading material. That is, I feel that I can better retain the information in this context opposed to strictly text. The only slight nuisance is perhaps the order of the book. My professor covers the book in a slightly different order than it is written, often skipping from chapter to chapter. However, I don't know if this is a fault of the book.
- The Best Textbook I Have Ever Owned
By AJDN2LGWLXVZR on 2007-01-12
This is by far the best textbook that I have ever owned. I did not go to class, but I was able to do well just by reading the book and doing the problems along the way. Organic is hard if you try to memorize. This text teaches fundamental principles well, which minimizes the strain when more complex problems arise. There are some problems with the solutions manual/study guide. There are many errors in the solutions, and I wish that the author would elaborate on many of the explanations.
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Organic Chemistry (5th Edition) (Ace Organic Series) Accessories
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