Best books on organic chemistry

[TheDJ]

Hi, I want to buy a book about organic chemistry, for autoeducation. What is/Which are the best book(s)?

Thanks
Live chemistry

[yellium]

If you have to start from scratch:
-morrison and boyd for general theory.
-vogel for practical chemistry.
-Something like march as a general compendium of organic chem.
-and of course PiHKAL as specialization :-)




BTW: there's only one way to become a good chemist, and that's lot of practicing. This also prevents that you'll start spewing 6-step theoretical reaction sequences, which
are however all impossible to perform in real life.

Unfortunately, 'a lot of practicing' is usually only possible when you're a chemistry student.

Hardcore libertarians consider the idea of a Libertarian Party dangerously socialist.

[Rhodium]

https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/chemistry/vogel3.html

http://www.chem.ucalgary.ca/courses/351/Carey5th/Carey.html

[pHarmacist]

http://www.cem.msu.edu/~reusch/VirtualText/intro1.htm#contnt

"Turn on, Tune in and Drop Out"

[alphacentauri]

And what about Solomons? Morrison-Boyd is a great book, short chapters, divided in functional groups (alcohols, amines, ecc...), but Solomons has a different approach: the divisions are made following the types of reactions, more than the functional groups. Than it has a very well written introduction about the concepts of polarity and bonds, it gives a quanto-mechanical description, but enough easy to read. I find radicalic reactions dealt better in Morrison-Boyd, but ionic reactions better in Solomons.
For a beginner is very good the Hart also, it is Morrison's type, but shorter and easier, "prescribed" for upper technical institutes of chemical address.
Say that if you know enough well the Hart, you have the exam of Organic I half ready.

[Megatherium]

Yup, Solomons, Organic Chemistry, 6th edition is a great book.  For beginners, that 's certainly what I would recommend.

Another really interesting book is Advanced organic chemistry, 3th edition, F.A. Carey & R.J. Sundberg.  What I find very usefull, are the refs. to the chemical literature for lab. procedures.  And yeah, for nice refs., there 's always the masterpiece of Jerry March: Advanced organic chemistry, 4th edition.  But, ... it 's rather tough to read ... it 's more a reference, a gateway to find appropriate journals.

[pHarmacist]

It's a course book... and It's not only for beginners  

[yellium]

Carey and Sundberg might be a bit too detailed for starters. It also has a tendency to look at organic chemistry too much from a point of view which is bordering on `organic quantummechanical chemistry'.  Which might be a fine exercise, but is often simply too damn boring.

March is one of those books where you can find reactions which you didn't know even existed. Sortof a shorthand offline beilstein. And just like beilstein, you use it to look up articles for the actual procedure.

(Beilstein does have the disadvantage that if refers quite often to obscure or otherwise inaccessible journals, or that the reaction is only a footnote in a whole paper.)

[alphacentauri]

Yes, you're right, Pharmacist. Solomons is the text book for Organic I at Industrial Chemistry in ******, you I used to go, the Pure Chemistry uses the Allinger, but in both the courses Morrison is well accepted. Morrison is indeed the text book for Pharmaceutical Chemists. All depends from the tastes of the professors. For Organic II, instead, you have to write and sketch fast as hell while he speaks. Speed is a good help for Organic II, as you can imagine.

[carcrash]

Organic Chemistry by Mcmurry + the workbook? Any idea how much was added or improved between the 3rd and the 5th edition? I have been studying hard and I have to say this book is understandably written for a non chemist. I am reading thru the book slowly, solving some problems, then re reading the entire book and doing all the workbook problems. Have another book for lab technique. Thanks to some dear friend for all the books.

Also are the freeman hgs molecular models better than prentice hall/molymod (those 2 are pretty identical and probably interchangeable)? Freeman seems to be better for showing bonding angles and distances since they use flexible connectors. So a double or tripple bond is done with 2 or 3 connectors. Upper level organic chemistry courses required the freeman set far more than prentice hall/molymod from what I found on google.

[Anansi]

Whilst I must agree with the suggestions above, being Vogel's, Morrison/Boyd, Solomon's and McMurry (having originally studied Morrison/Boyd at uni, and owning all of the above...)

There is an almost endless supply of O-chem textbooks these days, but there is also one more book that I've never seen mentioned here at the Hive, which seems to stand out as do the others mentioned above as a cut above the rest.

It's simply entitled "Organic Chemistry" and is by Kemp and Vellaccio. D. Kemp was the original author, Vellaccio has conributed to later editions. Kemp wrote the text as his course textbook for his students at Massachusetts Inst. Tech.(MIT) I only obtaned a copy of this book well after I was firmly grouded in organic chemistry, but looking back it would have been a wonderful book to have had when I was still studying, and also serves as a great reference text.

The book as I mentioned is published as a text for MIT, I obtained my copy in Australia, where it doesn't seem to be readily available. However, if its obtainable, this book is highly reccommended!!

...Anansi