encyclopedias

This edition of "The Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, & Biologicals" shows remarkable improvement over its predecessor.
Boasting of diverse groups of chemicals and pharmaceuticals, it is a success in its own right. There are just plenty to be explored! The book brims with accurate up-to-date information. Pharmacists, Medics, Chemists, Biologists, Physicists, Agriculturists, and many other professionals who work with elements, compounds and mixtures will find this book very useful. It is revised, and is complemented with detailed descriptions, which include molecular formulae, molecular weights, as well as the percentage compositions of constituent chemicals in a compound or mixture.
It is a valuable reference tool.

This book must be the most organized reference book I have ever used. Its so fulfilling to be able to find exactly what you're looking for when you need it. Includes a common name index, chemical formula index, as well as registry numbers, therapeutic categories for drugs, useful tables, and organic chemical equations. highly recommended!

While not the first reference book I would recommend for a general library, it is certainly one a library or chemist's office shouldn't be without.

This is an encyclopedia, with abstracts on zillions of chemicals. Is this the most authoritative book on the planet? No. If you want that, go read Chem Abstracts.

If you want an handy reference which will give you a pointer in the right direction for information on chemicals/drugs/biologics, then this is for you.

Got chloroform in your waste water and wondering how it might have inadvertently developed from miscellaneous stuff dumped down the drain? Wow - acetone + bleach powder catalyzed with sulfuric acid = chloroform, with citations.

Not always the most useful, but definately a good resource.