The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual, A Student's Guide to Techniques Reviews

• Organic Lab Primer For Beginning Students

  
  By A1ARA52HB238HT on 2000-11-26
  This volume provides a plethora of information on equipment and techniques for introductory organic chemistry laboratory. It is best suited for first year organic sequence. A great deal of info includes keeping a lab notebook, experiment glasswares, separation techniques and IR spectroscopy. A particular section that I find helpful and handy is the discussion on jointware. The distinction and usage on different kinds of adaptation jointwares can be confusing. I believe Zubrick's book is one of the few out in the field that actually discusses the use of different jointware. The section "To Grease or not to grease" discusses whether or not to use a lubricant and when to use lubricant. For a novice organic lab student who is both confused and overwhelmed by massive equipment in the lab, this book is the perfect primer. Yet the information might be oversimplified and scarce to advanced student and lab chemist. Coverage on topics like TLC, distillation theory, spectroscopy could be more in-depth and detailed. I recommend this book for beginning students. For more advanced students, they should consult Vogel's "Practical Organic Chemistry".
  
  

• Possibly a little too basic

  
  By A3F35Z0DF0A74S on 2000-02-26
  I would recommend this book only for the absolute beginner in organic chemistry. While it does much to inspire confidence in the novice student, some of Prof. Zubrick's explanations of laboratory techniques could be a little more detailed. A better bet is Advanced practical organic chemistry, by Leonard, Procter and Lygo.
  
  

• A put-you-at-ease manual for a keep-you-on-edge subject

  
  By A30X9DVHFHFTWG on 2001-06-19
  Professor Zubrick cuts to the heart of the intimidating subject of Organic Chemistry. His dry, even warped sense of humor is a welcome break from the usual style found in chemistry texts. This book is worth reading even if you're not taking Organic Chem! As some of the other reviewers say, it is not a daily reference for the practicing organic chemist, but for anyone taking O Chem I or II, it is an absolute must-have! The numerous diagrams help make sense of which part is which, and how they go together. The detail Prof. Zubrick provides is sufficient without being excessive, which makes reading this book actually fun for anyone. His explanations will make you snicker, if not laugh out loud! If you're the only student in the class with this book, keep a close eye on it, it may grow legs. I promise (if you have a sense of humor), you'll enjoy this book more than most others, on this topic or otherwise!
  
  

• not worth the money

  
  By A27L35VROZX4Z6 on 2000-05-28
  All the information found in the book can be found on the internet. For the amount of money charged for this book, the authors coul have afforded to have some colored, and realistic pictures in the book. I only used it at the beginning of the term, then it became totally useless. Better informations are available through the internet for free.
  
  

• "I love it, I love it, I love it!"

  
  By on 1999-02-26
  I have had the opportunity to use this great manual for two semesters; it continues to be a permanent fixture to my hip. O. Chem can be and is for some a very difficult subject but Professor Zubrick has the rare talent of making the lab understandable and less of a fearful experience. Through his knowledgeable insight as well as his calm but "safety-first" attitude I have truly become an Organic Chemistry fan ("geek"). Thank you for all the laughs and wonderful guidance your manual has provided me throughout the two semesters. I recommend this manual to any O. Chem students, enthusiasts, as well as professors. Hope Professor Zubricks' next manual/book is as enjoyable to read...can't wait!
  
  
• Worthwile
  By A23SJG6PF5153G on 2006-01-27
  Zubrick's manual gives a comprehensive overview of fundamental lab methods. I've found it to be very useful on many ocassions. However, some of the explanations could be improved with discussion of the theory, especially the sections on chromatography. Even so, it's cheaper than other books and explains many techniques very well.
  
  
• Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual
  By on 1999-04-30
  An excellent book for anyone whos interested in organic chemistry, but doesn't know where to begin. Zubrick's "serious humor" gives the book an "interesting" tone... I'd recomend it to anyone, it's well worth the money!
  
  
• MY CONSTANT COMPANION IN LAB!
  By A1AHSUNW7XUFDM on 2000-10-05
  This book is the most immediately useful and user friendly chem textbook I have ever purchased. Written with delightful wit, the Survivor Manual sent me into lab feeling confident, prepared and ready to relax and enjoy the experience. I used it constantly in pre-lab, in experiment trouble-shooting and it was invaluable in lab write-up. Without it I would have wasted alot of time and effort. Org. Chem. students do not need any additional unnecessary stress and this book greatly lessened mine. I can't think of a time when I had a question in lab that was not addressed in the Survivor Manual.
  
  
• Best Reqired Text I Ever Bought
  By on 1999-10-13
  I wish all science text books could be this entertaining. I think I'd learn a lot more if they were. It's clear and easy to read. It gives me the vital info I need to know with mucking it up in a bunch of flowery scientific language that one would tend to get bogged down in. Zubrick should teach an English course on humor and tone.
  
  
• great book
  By A34M8GASX3T3D7 on 2005-10-09
  very helpful for organic chemistry lab, very clear directions and the author writes in a way geared towards students so it is funny
  
  
• Great Book for people who think chemistry is boring
  By on 1998-08-09
  This lab survival guide is funny and entertaining to read. It is a must have when writing up lab reports. It is written in humorious plain english, so that people like me who hate chemistry can actualy enjoy it for a chainge. It also hase excelent diagrams of equipment and how it is set up. A great book for all Organic chemistry students!
  
  
• A fantastic little book for students enrolled in organic chem.
  By A1F2TWF2NW308R on 2007-01-05
  This small book was a requirement in my organic chemistry lab last year. Unfortunately, I think I'm the only one who actually read it. Had others cracked the binding a few times I imagine there would have been fewer exploding flasks and spilled beakers. This awesome little text explains (with humor) the best ways to set up apparatus for experiments, to avoid explosions, and to get in and out of the lab quickly with as few mistakes as possible. I'm happy to report that I never lost any glassware to an explosion, though I did lose a couple pieces to carelessness. Zubrick also covers basic distillation, separation, washing, and extraction techniques, as well as briefly covering spectroscopy. A very simple and helpful book for ochem undergrads.
  
  
• Great supplement to o-chem lab
  By A31AOKGUZEQ4CN on 2005-10-08
  This is a great book to have for anyone taking an organic chemistry lab. It is very informative and comprehensive, and while you wouldn't think it because it is an o-chem book, it is also very readable and even funny at times. This is a great resource and I am glad I purchased it. It has certainly helped me to understand lab activities better.
  
  
• What have I done to you chemistry??
  By A3KUSSFNOKV661 on 2005-10-09
  I bought the book because they said it was good for writing Lab Reports. But no, I can't, The book is so incomplete, he wastes space trying to make it funny and humorous. I'm not gonna write his jokes on my report. Yeah and remember if you didn't copy the whole lab manual on your notebook, you are dumb and you got the highest F.
  
  
• Chemistry is FUN?
  By on 2004-07-13
  This made learning ochem fun...Which is something I can't say about any other textbook I have ever read. It was funny and made the subject matter easy to remember.
  
  
• Funny and thorough
  By A1LYMMRA90N7P5 on 2005-09-23
  One would think reading a lab manual sounds like punishment. Zubrick helps you through it with funny side comments while giving a very thorough break down of all equipment and procedures. He also gives plenty of good warnings on typical mistakes and explains why many techniques are done as they are.
  
  
• Can't take Ochem lab w/o it!
  By A2XQXO0TLC220A on 2006-09-12
  This is a phenomenal book in which Mr. Zubrick brings down the complexities involved in Organic Chemistry Lab into terms that undergraduates can understand. Also, in something I've never seen done before, he adds humor to his writing. I actually enjoy reading this book, and get more out of it then any other lab text I've ever read. If you take Organic Chemistry Lab without it, you're doing yourself a pretty big diservice.
  
  
• Extremely helpful for the beginner scientist.
  By on 1998-06-29
  Gives concise overview of experiments in easy to digest format (witty but effective). Covers micro and large scale experiments - excellent reference for pre-lab write-ups.
  
  
• This book sucks!
  By AWGHQAAGJACC4 on 2005-03-20
  I had to buy this book for my Organic Class and I hate it! If I am going to pay textbook prices for a book, I expect it to be professionally written, not shifting into first and second person and speaking in sentence fragments. I was supposed to keep it for 2nd semester, but I hated it so much I sold it back after first semester was over. What a waste of money.
  
  
• language of the text
  By A3ZS5EO09KWYE on 2005-09-09
  The manner in which the text is written is very helpful to those like myself who are new to Organic Chemstry; however, the referals to Chapter... for this and Chapter...for more information on this, makes it difficult to read the actual text sometimes.
  
  

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