No doubt, many students equate enrolling in organic chemistry to booking passage on the Titanic. After securing first-class ticketsour students can spend $250 on text, solutions manual/study guide, lab book, and model kit (not to mention an optional book on spectroscopy)they embark upon the rough waters of molecular structure, reaction mechanism, and spectroscopy with frequent queasy surges of chirality, reactions, synthesis, etc.

The prospect of owning one's own personal life raft is tempting. Insurance against the elements. Suzanne Theresa Mabrouk has "custom published" The Organic Chemistry Survival Manual to assist organic students on their voyage, but upon reviewing the manual I'm skeptical of its value.

This 115-page paperback begins with some general study hints and ends with a section on synthesis. In between, in less-than-one to a-few-page segments, it presents information on drawing organic structures, isomers, functional group classifications, nomenclature, physical properties, resonance, and mechanisms. The principal difficulty that I have with the text manifests itself early, and often. The "12 helpful study hints" section opening the book includes a full page that maps over 20 reactions of carboxylic acids. A student reading this first section on opening day could not place this map or several other structures or technical words in the section into any context. Similarly, in the following section on electronic configurations, a full-page chart, without explanation, states the hybridization of oxygen in methanol is sp³, in furan is sp². Students are unlikely to appreciate the concept of aromaticity at this point in the course. Later, discussing Fischer and Haworth projections, the text references stereocenters, R, S, D, L, and sugar structures before any of these topics has been presented. This approach is typical throughout the book, and consequently, it is difficult to understand how a student could use the manual. Each section is more a summary of the topic, that could be used to study for a final exam, than a progressive guide to be used as the course unfolds.

The book is not entirely free of typographical/omission errors, most of which could easily be corrected by alerting the students in advance. There is some presentation of material with which I have some quibble, however. For example, the section on electrophilic addition to dienes, states "Following the addition of H⁺ to the [1,3-buta]diene, two resonance forms are generated. The chloride ion adds to both carbocations ." Similarly, in electrophilic aromatic substitution, the text presents the arenium contributors without reference to a resonance hybrid.

The manual frequently summarizes a topic by enumeration. A problem develops when a set of rules, for instance, is not accompanied by sufficient examples to explain the rules. The section on resonance structures provides nine rules and a couple of sample problems, but doesn't connect the two very well. On balance, however, most sections have adequate examples. The text contains few sample problems, and no problems for students to work on their own.

Mabrouk's goal is one shared by most of us who teach organic chemistry. How can we best encourage and assist our students? She has ambitiously prepared a survival manual tailored to her course, her teaching style, and her students. Unfortunately, the guide is not likely to travel well to other courses, other teachers, or other students.