The Nature of the Chemical Bond and the Structure of Molecules and Crystals; An Introduction to Modern Structural Chemistry. (George Fisher Baker Non-Resident Lec)

Rating:
Summary: An all time classic
Review: "It is better to foresee, even without certainty, than not to foresee at all", writes Linus Pauling in the preface of this book, which has become a bible for chemists.When I first read this book, I thought that it was unnecessarily detailed.But then, as I patiently went through the chapters, I realised that Pauling has truly "foreseen with certainty" in his career and discoveries, which is slowly but surely revealed in this book.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how a few simple scientific ideas lead to the explanation of literally hundreds of phenomena.In this book, the two times Nobel Prize winner has beautifully demonstrated how his classic 'Valence Bond Theory' can be applied to explain the bewildering array of atoms, molecules and crystals around us.In each chapter, the author introduces certain classic principles like resonance, electronegativity,partial ionic character of bonds, partial double bond character, and hybridization.These concepts are today the cornerstone of the description of thousands of simple molecules. It should be noted that the valence bond approach has its drawbacks, which Pauling does not discuss.It is also true that the Molecular Orbital Theory has replaced his theory in making quantitative calculations.However, Pauling's masterly style of writing and the insights which almost each and every page of this book give the reader, are unparalleled.Even though the book would perhaps not prove useful as a modern chemistry book, I think it should be read by each and every chemist and chemistry student as the ultimate example of simplicity,variety and beauty.It is one of the finest examples of how one extraordinary scientist tries to explain diverse chemical phenomena with a few simple ideas.

Rating:
Summary: An all time classic
Review: "It is better to foresee, even without certainty, than not to foresee at all", writes Linus Pauling in the preface of this book, which has become a bible for chemists.When I first read this book, I thought that it was unnecessarily detailed.But then, as I patiently went through the chapters, I realised that Pauling has truly "foreseen with certainty" in his career and discoveries, which is slowly but surely revealed in this book.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how a few simple scientific ideas lead to the explanation of literally hundreds of phenomena.In this book, the two times Nobel Prize winner has beautifully demonstrated how his classic 'Valence Bond Theory' can be applied to explain the bewildering array of atoms, molecules and crystals around us.In each chapter, the author introduces certain classic principles like resonance, electronegativity,partial ionic character of bonds, partial double bond character, and hybridization.These concepts are today the cornerstone of the description of thousands of simple molecules. It should be noted that the valence bond approach has its drawbacks, which Pauling does not discuss.It is also true that the Molecular Orbital Theory has replaced his theory in making quantitative calculations.However, Pauling's masterly style of writing and the insights which almost each and every page of this book give the reader, are unparalleled.Even though the book would perhaps not prove useful as a modern chemistry book, I think it should be read by each and every chemist and chemistry student as the ultimate example of simplicity,variety and beauty.It is one of the finest examples of how one extraordinary scientist tries to explain diverse chemical phenomena with a few simple ideas.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Masterpiece
Review: This book is one of the Masterpiece in Chemistry.
You simply can not rate this book in stars values. It is one of the EPIC in Chemistry.
I should say it is a bible or Bhagavad-Gita for chemists,