Organic Chemistry Laboratory Techniques
This laboratory technique manual is very detailed and extremely well-written. All the discussed techniques are very commonly used in undergraduate research and teaching labs. The procedures and concepts are explained carefully in detail. The many accompanying pictures and sketches are incredibly useful visual aids.
The text of each subchapter was well thought-out and warned of common mistakes for students to avoid, including pictures of correct and incorrect set-ups.
I found the book very comprehensive as the concepts were described in careful detail.
The content of this laboratory technique manual was very accurate as far as I can tell. I did not detect any misinformation or falsehoods. Concepts and techniques were explained thoroughly and unbiasedly. Credible sources were cited where appropriate. I did not come across any typos in this book.
At the undergraduate level organic laboratory techniques and glassware have not changed dramatically over the past couple of decades and I do not foresee much of a change in the next decade and beyond. This manual thoroughly describes the most important techniques and equipment. These will be useful in many years to come. It takes into consideration the restrictions of equipment that may be available at different institutions and, when possible, gives different options to use when one procedure may not be possible due to lack of the required equipment or materials.
The text was extremely well-written, straightforward and easy to read and understand. The language was such that undergraduates, who may not know all the proper terms and lab jargon, would be able to easily follow.
Procedures were written in a step-by-step manner with careful choice of words that didn't leave much room for ambiguity.
These were accompanied by pictures of equipment and set-up etc that will immensely facilitate the students' ability to master these techniques. In fact, now that I am aware of this amazing book I will send an e-copy to all my research students and organic lab TAs because this will help them better understand these techniques they are performing on a daily basis. This will also be a formidable resource for students to learn about new techniques that they are about tot perform for the first time.
The book is consistent and structured. Chapters and subchapters are clearly defined. Terminology is not taken for granted but introduced when it first mentioned. There are hyperlinks within the text that link to other locations within the book where a certain concept or piece of equipment may be explained more thoroughly. Citations are used throughput the book where appropriate.
The text is a nice read - probably as much fun as it can be to read a lab manual.
Sometimes, scientific texts can be very tedious to read. This book however is well-written and well-organized. Additionally, it offers plenty of visualizations (pictures, schematics), that it makes reading and understanding quite easy.
There are no large blocks of text without sub-headers. All chapters are divided into appropriate sub-chapters and sub-sections that deal with a certain module. Sometimes the book used hyperlinked words to refer to other points in the text where a certain concept may be explained more thoroughly. I didn't find it overly self-referential however. Throughout the book there are citations to well-respected outside sources such as journal articles and other books (just below the text on a page where applicable).
I found the book was organized in a logical fashion. Simple concepts such as laboratory terminology for pieces of equipment and simple techniques are handled at the beginning. Then the manual moves to more advanced topics that may require understanding of the previously covered topics. Any time a new term is introduced it is defined and explained. Many visual aids such as pictures, figures, schematics and tables accompany the text. These items are appropriately enumerated and the text often refers back to these items so that its easy to visualize and follow what the text is describing.
I loved the books interface. The general text is written in a black font with appropriate spacing between lines. Figures and tables etc. are labeled with green font. Whenever something needs to be highlighted within the main text a black bolded or sometimes a red bolded font is used underlining its significance to the reader (red means more significant). Pictures, schematics, graphs, tables etc. are in color and make for a very pleasant reading experience.
I did not come across any grammatical errors in this text.
This is a scientific text and does not make mention to race, ethnicities or culture. The text was professionally written and I found no part of this text to be offensive or insensitive.
I loved this laboratory techniques manual ! The author did a great job accumulating all this information and organizing it in such a way that it is easily read and understood with plenty of visualizing aids.
Ii highly recommended this book for undergraduates as well as beginning graduate students. In some cases students may be using a certain technique on a daily basis already but sadly, they may not be fully aware of the science behind it. I think this book helps close this knowledge gap. Information on certain laboratory techniques is usually available on the internet. However I had not yet come across such a comprehensive text. 5/5 stars !
In fact, now that I am aware of this amazing book I will send an e-copy to all my research students and organic lab TAs because this will help them better understand these techniques they are performing on a daily basis. This will also be a formidable resource for students to learn about new techniques that they are about to perform for the first time (e.g. column chromatography.)