Organic Chemistry [Hardcover]

Having only recently completed two semesters of undergraduate-level organic chemistry, I can't say that I'm familiar with many orgo textbooks outside of this one. But based on my experience reading Wade's Organic Chemistry (7th ed.), I have to say that this is a solid, dependable text for any student studying organic chemistry, either in school or independently.

The textbook can be divided informally into three 'parts': basic principles of organic compounds and reactions (Ch. 1-6, which cover atomic structure and bonding, acidity, alkanes and cycloalkanes, stereochemistry, alkyl halides, and substitution and elimination reactions); functional groups (Ch. 7-22, which encompass the structure, physical properties, spectroscopy (first examined in Ch. 12-13), and reactions of the various organic functional groups); and 'applied' organic chemistry (Ch. 23-26, which provide a brief introduction to biochemistry and polymer chemistry). As one might expect, there is considerable overlap in terms of coverage among the three parts: Chapters 7-22, for example, repeatedly build upon not only upon the principles introduced in the first six chapters, but also on each other with regard to reagents, syntheses, mechanisms, and usage. Similarly, biological and industrial examples are included throughout the text (often as side notes, but occasionally as separate sections) well before the third part of the book introduces them in greater detail.

What makes the book particularly instructive is its visual consistency with regard to presenting and organizing the material. Color-coding (to me, at least) is a massive boon when studying reaction mechanisms and organic structures, and for much of the text different colors are preserved for specific chemical features. (Virtually all 3-D representations of p-orbitals, for example, are rendered in blue and green, and electron movement arrows are shown in red.) Every chapter also features green Problem-Solving Hints (small boxes that give tips on understanding and solving organic chemistry problems) and Strategies (larger explanations and procedures for aspects such as drawing chair conformations, solving synthesis problems, and interpreting IR/NMR spectra), which I found very helpful while doing homework problems - of which there are many, both within and at the end of each chapter - and studying for exams. Additionally, Wade clearly presents twenty "Key Mechanisms" - alongside a large number of regular Mechanism boxes - that demonstrate some of the most common mechanistic features among a vast array of organic reactions (e.g. SN1/SN2/E1/E2, alcohol dehydration, etc). Such features - along with several more that I haven't listed here, due to space - allow for great organization of the large amount of material that this book covers.

Nevertheless, there are several flaws to be aware of when using Wade's text. While the explanations of structural and reaction phenomena are generally clear and concise, the text does tend to present some key reactions very briefly before giving extended treatment to other reactions of equal importance. This becomes especially apparent after the spectroscopy chapters (12-13), which I covered in my second semester of orgo: a fair number of reactions are merely 'listed' (typically the oxidation, reduction, and halogenation reactions) with one or two examples, without being provided with mechanisms or practical (laboratory) considerations. To be fair, sometimes this information is left out for the purpose of having the reader figure it out independently, as in a homework problem, but the text does this too often and subsequently leaves gaps in the material. While this may not pose a major problem for life science majors, it can be frustrating for chemistry majors - such as myself - to merely see an organic equation without a mechanism or sufficient explanation to accompany it. It would also be more helpful if problems were grouped explicitly by difficulty level, so that students and instructors can be more discriminating when choosing practice problems and questions. And finally, the sheer price of the book is certainly off-putting; given that the solutions manual (which is absolutely essential for getting the answers to the book problems) is also rather expensive, I would strongly recommend that you try to purchase this book as part of a discounted package. (I took organic chemistry at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and managed to purchase the book, solutions manual, and accompanying model kit and clicker - all new - for about $125.)

In summary, Wade's Organic Chemistry (7th ed.) is a fine textbook for anyone with an interest in studying organic chemistry. When accompanied with a good instructor - and one or more friends/guides for assistance! - this book can easily become a very effective and instructive undergraduate text.

To succeed with this book, make sure that you do all of the in-text problems at a minimum, in addition to whatever other assigned homework you get. I used the book for a class, but I would say that it's very good for self-study, because the in-text problems really help make sure that you're being an active reader and not just zombie-ing through the pages, and the solutions manual contains solutions to ALL problems, not just the odds. And when you're memorizing the reactions, probably the best way to do it is to use flashcards. One one side have the reagents on the left, draw an arrow, and have a question mark on the right for the products. On the other side, have the reagent, an arrow towards the products, and a question mark over the arrow. This ensures that you know the reaction inside and out.

One think another reviewer suggested that I agree with would be to add expected yields for reactions. Or an appendix of some of them, if it's thought that including them in early reactions might cause confusion.

EDIT: After finishing my second semester of organic chemistry, I have to say that I really agree with the reviewer I had previously mentioned, in that the book does get very repetitive in the last few chapters before the biochemistry. And there's not very many real synthesis questions. The majority of the "synthetic conversion" problems are two or three steps at most. But overall, this book is still very clear, and a good learning resource.

In a few words, this is a fantastic textbook.

I have never seen a book that goes into more detail than this one. The author is a very humble, down-to-earth guy and it shows in the way he wrote his book. He goes out of his way to make sure that the reader understands every aspect of organic chemistry even devotes parts of the book to problem solving tools for students and ways to remember the many mechanisms and reactions that are studied in the course.

The format of the book is exceptional and every aspect of that format is explained in the opening pages of the book.

I highly recommend this textbook to anyone with an interest in organic chemistry. The book may be dense but won't feel dense due to the author's ability to explain every detail in a way that any student can understand.

Buy the solutions manual! It really helps!