Harcourt College Publishers: Fort Worth, TX, 2002. xxii + 1017 pp + 156 pp appendices. ISBN 0-03-032011-9. $107.90.

This new general chemistry textbook is an excellent introduction to chemistry, covering concepts and applications in a balanced and well-rounded format. It is a mainstream text for science majors with excellent integration of biochemistry and modern applications. Explanations and graphics are clear and well thought out.

The authors are experienced writers for both the majors and nonmajors instructional markets. Their prior books in both areas have had strong applications orientations, and the present offering is no exception. There is a sense of maturity in the writing and constructing of this textbook, from the instructional emphases to the overall graphic style and to the topical sequencing.

The basic content is fully traditional, with a chapter listing similar to almost every general chemistry textbook. A chapter on organic and polymer chemistry is also included, soon after bonding is discussed. The chemical concepts within each chapter are complete and consistent with expectations. Each concept is fully explained and calculations are well illustrated. The end-of-chapter problems are appropriate and contain a nice mix of practice problems well labeled by topic, mixing concepts and calculations. There are also sections of questions not pre-identified by type.

All of these features are present for any of a half dozen or more general chemistry texts. Yet there is still a distinctive feel to the Moore, Stanitski, Jurs book. I think it comes from several directions: a clarity of underlying perspective and a clarity of approach underlying the use of application-related material and biochemistry. The underlying perspective is stated in the title of the text--chemistry is the science of molecules. Throughout the book the tight relationship between nanoscale structures and observable macroscopic properties is consistently highlighted. A large number of the figures show macroscopic behavior or structure with depictions of the underlying nanoscale structures right beside the figure. For example, a photo of two gaseous reactants meeting and reacting is accompanied by three break-out nanoscale diagrams--one showing the first reactant molecules, another showing the second reactant molecules, and a third showing the product molecules.

The second distinctive feature is the use of the application-related material. A few years ago applications of chemistry were illustrated in general chemistry textbooks by feature boxes--a half page on this, a half page on that. It was clear that the principles were the topic of the book, and the applications were interesting sidelights. That is not the focus of this text. Here there is full integration of principles, concepts, calculations, and applications. For example, the very start of the book is a full discussion of aspirin, Celebrex, and Vioxx, with the introduction of the "structure implies function" theme. That's quite a different approach from the typical dry definition sections at the front of most texts. The applications typically come toward the end of the chapter, but are major sections of the chapter, not just sidelights. And, while the applications are explained as important topics, those sections also illustrate principles of the chapter, taking the time to do both jobs well. For example, the section on air pollution is a full 12 pages, enzymes are explored in six full pages, and modern materials are 18 pages out of a 46-page chapter. In-depth coverage and good linkages to principles summarize how the application topics are handled.

Biochemistry is also well integrated in the text. Biomolecules show up in Chapter 3 (Chemical Compounds), including introductory functional groups and relatively complex structures such as carbohydrates and fats. Later, cholesterol concentrations, kinetic studies of cisplatin, and the complexation of iron in hemoglobin are examples used to illustrate chemical concepts through biochemistry. The best part of this is that biochemistry is not held up as a separate use of chemistry, but that the chemistry of biomolecules is routinely seen throughout the text.

Concepts are also well emphasized. One way to illustrate that is to quote one of the "Conceptual Challenge Problems" highlighted at the end of most chapters. Here is one such challenge problem, from the chapter Atoms and Molecules, quoted from p 68:

Suppose that you are faced with a problem similar to the one faced by Robert Millikan when he analyzed data from his oil drop experiment. Below are the masses of three stacks of dimes. What do you conclude to be the mass of a dime, and what is your argument? Stack 1 = 9.12 g, Stack 2 = 15.96 g, Stack 3 = 27.36 g

Understanding this problem will take students much further than simply memorizing the facts of Millikan's experiment.

Clearly, extra time and space have been devoted to doing applications and biochemistry right, not as the focus of the book, but as an accurate "first year college chemistry" overview of modern chemistry. So, what's been left out? It is hard to find anything significant left out, though a few things are shortened somewhat. For example, crystal lattices are discussed, but the Born-Haber cycle is not (an omission I support). Polyprotic acids and their multiple K_a's are discussed, but calculation of the concentration of each individual species is not. Perhaps more importantly to some instructors, the two descriptive chemistry chapters at the end of the book are less encyclopedic than in some general chemistry texts. While main group chemistry and industrial processes are well illustrated (including the Downs process, the chlor-alkali process, the Dow process, the Hall-Héroult process, and the Haber-Bosch process), there are fewer reactions discussed than in some texts.

If you teach general chemistry for science majors, you definitely should consider this text. It offers solid pedagogy, a clear and colorful visual layout, a meaningful underlying perspective ("The Molecular Science"), and a balanced integrated usage of applications-related material. The student who reads this text will gain an honest and meaningful overview of modern chemistry, both concepts and modern applications. That's what general chemistry is all about!