Organic Chemistry Edge : Second Edition (Kaplan Organic Chemistry Edge)

Rating:
Summary: Excellent writing, clear & concise explanations
Review: I purchased this book several weeks into the first semester of my organic class after being discouraged by the textbook my course used. KAPLAN ORGANIC EDGE was a pleasure to read and learn from because the author of ORGANIC EDGE (Glenn Croston, Ph.D.) is a very good writer. If more textbooks were as well written as ORGANIC EDGE, I think students would experience much less difficulty in learning hard subjects like o-chem.
Dr. Croston strikes a good balance between the conversational tone and formal content of his writing. Occasionally the informal writing sounds silly ("...if there is a carbon in the house" made me laugh out loud when I read it), but does not distract from the subject matter. Unlike authors of many other review books, Dr. Croston does not "speak down" to the reader or simplify concepts to keep the light tone of the writing intact. Instead, he uses his skills as a writer to keep the tone light when the subject matter is very, very difficult.
The organization of this book is excellent. It made it much easier for me to understand how basic concepts built upon each other and why different reaction types were important.
The "conversations" between professor and student printed in the text are helpful, but seem to still need some refinement before they will be as helpful as they can be.
This book focuses on detailed explanations of concepts rather than throwing hundreds of practice problems at the reader. I would suggest purchasing a book such as the Schuam's in addition to Dr. Croston's excellent ORGANIC EDGE.
To recap: Excellent choice to supplement (or even replace) a dry, wordy textbook. Buy this and Schuam's Outline of Organic Chemistry and you will have all the resources necessary to do well in organic chemistry.