Organic chemistry at a glance
L. M. Harwood, J. E. McKendrick and R. C. Whitehead
Oxford: Blackwell 2004 | Pp122 | £13.99 | ISBN 0 865 42782 8
Reviewed by Jeremy Hinks

Organic chemistry at a glance is a rare example of a short format textbook that covers a great deal of ground without sacrificing clarity in the pursuit of brevity. The book covers structure and reactivity of organic compounds, and the relationship between the two (as well as having a short compendium of functional group interconversions). The quality of the writing leaves the reader with the potential to achieve a good understanding of a given topic within a short period of learning. 

The text’s double-page spread format, with notes on the page facing the illustrations to which they refer, works well and largely eliminates frustrating page flicking between fact and exemplification. Sensible use of colour and style helps to highlight particular points effectively, but might have been used more widely to emphasise subheadings on some of the schematic pages.

The authors suggest the need for the basics of chemistry to be provided to an increasingly diverse student cohort in an easily assimilable fashion. While this would be an objective of any textbook, it is fair to say that this one does this much better than many.

Organic chemistry at a glance will be a useful resource to undergraduates at all levels. The book is good enough in most of its coverage to be informative as the first point of contact with a topic. For more senior students its short, well-organised format will make this a useful support to the synoptic learning and assessment that are part of all chemistry degree programmes.