Organic Chemistry I for Dummies

by Arthur Winter

A plain-English guide to one of the toughest science courses around
Organic chemistry is rated among the most difficult courses that students take and is frequently the cause of washout among pre-med, medical, and nursing students. This book is an easy-to-understand and fun reference to this challenging subject. It explains the principles of organic chemistry in simple terms and includes worked-out problems to help readers get up to speed on the basics.

Genres: Science, Chemistry, Nonfiction, School, Textbooks, Reference

388 pages, Paperback

First published July 8, 2005

Reviews

[Miles · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big fans of the For Dummies series. I can't say that I much like the titles themselves, since I think Organic Chemistry I Made Simple would appeal to me more. That said, generally the content is well designed to stand alone and give the reader a basic working knowledge of the material covered.

I'm afraid this particular book is an exception to that.

Organic Chem I emphasizes the need to work problems to truly understand the material. That's fine, but there are only two or three problems included in the book as far as I can recall. It seems that unlike most of the Dummies series, this book is intended as a supplement instead of a stand alone. For someone wanting to help themselves past some rough spots while taking a basic organic chem class it would be a marvelous help I'm (fairly) sure. That was not me, however. I was reading the book for my own education, and I came out feeling that I didn't know a great deal more than I did going in, save that organic chem is bloody confusing.

[MJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reviewing the second edition of Organic Chemistry I for Dummies which I borrowed from the library. Though I studied organic chemistry not too long ago, I wished to refresh my knowledge. Having said that, I wouldn’t recommend this book as a replacement for a textbook or professorial instruction; but then again the authors happen to agree. One aspect of the book that frustrated me were the depiction of certain mechanisms - even when illustrating the movement of electrons, certain steps are being skipped for the sake of brevity. While I am able to ‘fill in the blanks’, I can see how this would be annoying to a newbie. Perhaps this was fixed in subsequent editions? I certainly hope so. Otherwise, I did find this book useful - the authors wrote concisely and elucidated concepts to which some professors don’t dedicate enough time. I highly recommend this book for revision and as a companion to other media (if you’re tackling organic chemistry for the first time).

[Ryan R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Book=Hard=Big Confusing Words=I like turtles. If anyone is reading this,i have a question. Is the (Something) 4 dummies books mostly for college students and High School Students or for all ages (kinda). I LIKE TURTLES.

[Gokce Zora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was struggled Organic Chem I in my college times, veeery seriously. I took this course 4 times, fourth time lastly I could pass by DD. It is a first book I have read from Dummies series, I didn't become a huge fan of this book nor it helped me to pass the course. I recommend this book to people is not under pressure about the course.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this book a 3.5. It does a good job explaining concepts in a simpler way but there isn't an in-depth explanation that instructors might expect. I tended to use this book more as a way to review basic concepts that I learned in class or read in my textbook.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thumbed through this study guide on Organic Chemistry but did not read it from cover to cover. I realized from when I took an Organic Chemistry course in the summer of 1965 at the University of Illinois at Navy Pier many things have been discovered about atoms and molecules.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whoever thought an author could make organic chemistry fun and funny? Great way to overcome my college fears of this topic. Way over my head, made me glad I never had to take it, but loved the style and the applicability of organic chemistry to our lives.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't discuss similarities between different types of compounds (e.g. alkaloids) but seemed good otherwise

[Mary Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet? It saved my ass. Totally.

[Izzie Wilde · Rating 2 out of 5]

Informative, but not for dummies. You definitely have to know Chemistry to understand what it's saying.

[Yates Buckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful but not so useful, but I have to admit that I really do not enjoy the way the whole field of Organic Chemistry is structured. While at the ground level this is basically all about learning recipes, it would be much more useful if the emphasis was on using technological tools to assist with recipes rather than encouraging rote.

[-uht!]

The weakest part of my science knowledge is the marriage of chemistry to biology. I figured this would be an okay place to start, but I'd rather have a non-textbook... Anybody got any recommendations?

[Chole Allyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Helpful in learning the basics of Organic Chemistry. Recommended

[Joelle]

I am reading this so I can understand my wine chemistry class. It's been years since I have tortured my brain with chemistry.

I'm a little ashamed.

[Jegadeesan]

ORG.

[Nashan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got me an A!

[Kristina Wolfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made it half way before I stopped trying to understand it and just finished reading it. Looks like I'll be having to pay very close attention to my homework.

[Sxrmafia]

to read

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give it a 3.5. It does help somewhat breakdown some complicated terms to the basics but does not go deep into the subject

[Pustekuchenfee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gut strukturiertes Ergänzungswerk zu meiner OC-Vorlesung. Verständliche Erklärungen mit guten Bespielen.