Introductory Chemistry
The topics listed in the Table of Contents are fairly typical of a textbook aimed at an Introductory Chemistry audience. Upon closer examination, these topics receive a surface-level treatment; this is not inappropriate for a one-semester "bridge" type course between high school and college-level chemistry. There is no index or glossary, so students would be forced to rely on the sequential organization of the book to find specific information.
This textbook is representative of a typical introductory chemistry textbook. There are only minor errors and oversimplifications in the text.
The content relies on longstanding, tried-and-true examples from the field. It will not lose its longevity, but students (and instructors) may find it difficult to connect to the relevance of chemistry to modern issues.
The text has clear explanations written in simple terms. It should be accessible to high school and early college-level students. The explanations are not always the most efficient possible, but neither are those of most chemistry textbooks!
The book entirely self-consistent.
The text is very sequential in nature, as chemistry is in general. It would be difficult for an instructor to use the chapters out of the order in which they are presented.
The logical progression through the book is typical of introductory chemistry textbooks.
The textbook is very sequential, and the formatting is very straightforward and easy to navigate. However, it does very little to grab the reader's attention.
The book has been edited for grammar and spelling. There were only a limited number of grammatical errors.
The textbook was designed around the premise that "Chemistry is Everywhere", but I don't feel that the case was made very well throughout. There is no culturally offensive content, but there were fewer connections to everyday life than I would have expected.
This book is a good start for an instructor who desires to adapt and develop her or his own supplementary material and examples to flesh out an introductory college-level course. It would readily replace the vast majority of textbooks sold by for-profit publishers in this market, and the effort required by the instructor to adapt the materials would well be worth the effort in terms of cost savings for her or his students.