general

This text is best suited for very good students who are motivated, comfortable reading English at a high level and mathematically adept: other students would be served much better by a different book. It contains far more material than could possibly be covered in a standard freshman general chemistry sequence, even with a good class. The authors assume that their audience is composed of the students I described initially (I am told it is the textbook at MIT), and leave it to the instructor to "break it down" for the students. Initially, I was not fond of this book, but I have slowly changed my mind, and I believe I have a better grasp of introductory chemistry thanks to the extra depth it goes to and the challenges it made me rise to.

It is because of textbooks such as this one that students lose interest in chemistry, and, worse, science in general. Yes, it is filled with LOTS of information, but there are many instances in which otherwise relatively simple concepts are twisted into something incomprehensible. In some cases, it seemed that the authors went out of their way to explain a topic in the most convoluted manner possible. Come on guys, chemistry is complex enough as it is, so rather than write a tome displaying how much YOU know about the topic, how about a more "student friendly" textbook that doesn't so readily confirm most people's suspicians that chemistry is as dry as saw dust.

This text was used in 1999-2000 at Oregon State University for the 100-level General Chem sequence for non-science majors. It is an excellent text with a (generally) friendly approach to introductory topics, and there are many nice photographs and discussion boxes containing info about practical chem applications. For some reason, the authors include a significant section on organic chemistry in chapter 2, far before they discuss bonding.... Other than that, this book is great. Better than four out of five other general chem texts.