Chemistry of the Elements

Rezensionen / Stimmen

Amazon reviewers: "This chemistry bible should stay on the desk of every chemist and scientist alike." --Pichierri Fabio, Japan "An essential for a Chemistry library; I bought this book as a recommended text to accompany a senior/graduate two semester inorganic chemistry of the elements course. One of the few "texts" I would have had no problems buying outside of school. The information is extensive, but well organized and useful. --Kara McWhorter, Austin, TX USA "This book is an essential component of the practicicing inorganic chemist's library. The fundamental information contained within are the seeds for the further study of chemistry." --Professor of Chemistry "For years I have enjoyed the previous edition as a source of information and reference. It is a good adjunct to many of the courses in Chemistry to give additional background. The authors seem to anticipate what you will need to learn. The inset boxes are excellent in that they call attention to practical industrial chemistry and I know of no other text that so successfully stresses applied chemistry while most texts give no insight into the real world of the practical side of Chemistry. Do you know how a match is made? Chemistry of the Elements will educate you!" --Harry Persinger

"For anyone in need of a general reference on the chemical elements and their compounds (anyone majoring or working in chemistry), this book is indeed the bible. It has the advantage of being a well-written reference, but make no mistake, it is a reference - in the same way that a book on grammar, even if it is well-written, is still a book on grammar. Which means that if you are looking for an interesting and pleasantly readable popular science book about the chemical elements, and unless you have a serious technical interest in chemistry, this is probably not the best choice. The author doesn't make any claims that it was written for a popular audience, but some of the reviews seem to hint that it might be." --Steven Mason, California "A useful general reference for the chemistry major. Before I got a copy of this book I was always intrigued by the references to it in other texts. It does indeed have many interesting things in it. Some of the material it covers I have not seen in any other text. With that said however, this book is not really all that suitable as a standalone text for a course. It is missing too much descriptive chemistry and coordination theory to support an inorganic course. It is written at too high a level for a general chemistry course. It just doesn't seem to fit well anywhere. It has a great deal of information, arranged based on periodicity, especially in the areas of terrestrial abundance and industrial chemistry. Chemistry of the Elements repeats very little of what is covered in Cotton & Wilkinson's Advanced Inorganic and is well worth having to supplement that text. I enjoy reading this book, but I doubt I will ever use it exclusively for a course. Worth the money for the major and those interested but not for everyone! --Thomas F. Wall, Massachusetts, USA External Reviews (second edition): ' The innovative and successful textbook presents a balanced coherent and comprehensive account of the elements for both undergraduate and postgraduate students.' Documentation Journal ' Completely revised and updated' ' Gives a balanced, coherent and comprehensive account of the chemistry of the elements for undergraduate and postgraduate students' ' The authors use descriptive chemistry to discuss the Chemistry of the Elements." --Applied Organometallic Chemistry, Vol 12, Issue 12 THE CHEMICAL ENGINEER, FEB '98 "Excellent encyclopedic reference. Bibliographic sections are very well-done Information in margins for supplement text. 'Presents a balanced, coherent and comprehensive account of the chemistry of the elements.' Documentation Journal ' Completely revised and updated' ' Gives a balanced, coherent and comprehensive account of the chemistry of the elements for undergraduate and postgraduate students' ' The authors use descriptive chemistry to discuss the Chemistry of the Elements? Booknews "The second edition continues the good work of the first and should be acquired by all serious chemistry undergraduates and graduate students (and inorganic chemistry staff)..it is good value for money,.all chemists should buy this new edition, and use it." External Reviews (first edition) Journal of the American Chemical Society, Volume 107, Number 18 The book contains a vast store of information on chemical reactions, structures and industrial uses. It is an excellent book, suitable for use at the advanced undergraduate-beginning graduate level as a reference text. The authors are to be commended for a job well done. Journal of College Science Teaching They have succeeded admirably in selecting and presenting a staggering amount of material in what is an up-to-date, in depth treatment of descriptive chemistry that will be useful not only as a text but also as a standard reference book... The volume has an attractive format, with many important topics appearing in panels highlighted with a light gray background. The book is replete with countless equations and reaction schemes and more than 1,500 carefully selected references. JCST March / April 1990, p318-320 POLISH JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY (FORMERLY ROCZNIKI CHEMII) 1988, 62, 915 N. N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw -Chemistry of the Elements, reprinted edition with corrections, Pergamon Press, Oxford-New York-Toronto-Sydney-Paris-Frankfurt 1986, XXI + 1543 pages. Price $38.95 Among the numerous chemical monographs and textbooks published nowadays very rarely does there appear on the market such a valuable book. The authors consciously did not entitle it "Inorganic Chemistry" as it significantly strays in character from a typical modern textbook on inorganic chemistry. Besides an enormous and carefully organized amount of information on inorganic compounds, it covers some areas of theoretical and analytical chemistry, chemical technology, environmental and bio-inorganic chemistry. Considerable attention is paid to the hydrogen bond in various molecules and synthesis and structure of organometallic compounds. Besides 28 chapters dealing with particular chemical elements, their reactivity and compounds, three chapters are devotated to genera! subjects such as the origin of the elements (cosmochemistry), chemical periodicity and coordination compounds. Several chapters are written with especially deep insight, as for instance those concerning boron, phosphorus and sulfur. Much attention is also paid to carbonyls, cluster compounds and complexes, having as ligands molecules of N2, O2 and SO2. Special emphasis is very successfully directed towards the graphic design of the book with its numerous and clear schemes, comparative tables of properties, reactions, redox equilibria and scheme of the natural cycle of elements. Very instructive are the tables providing essential facts from the history of discoveries and applications of the elements and their compounds. Carefully selected references (monographs and papers from journals with full titles) lead the reader from the most significant historic publications up till 1982. Among the great amount of encyclopedic information on elements and compounds one can also find some historic curiosities as the age of famous scientists when they made their discoveries or ~interesting facts from the history of the discoverv of elements (who knows the name "masurium" from the Polish lake district given initially to technetium?). This innovative textbook' certainly deserves to become a reference book of inorganic chemistry for students and lecturers for long years ahead. The authors should be congratulated for their extreme skill in composing so much information In one, although vast, volume. I would like also to wish that all Polish chemical libraries get this volume as soon as possible. Marek Trojanowicz Book review by David Adams, reader in physical inorganic chemistry at the University of Leicester. Chemistry of the Elements by Norman N. Greenwood and Alan Earnshaw Pergamon , GBP19.50, ISBN 0 08 022056 8 and 922057 6 Chemistry of the Elements is a work of extraordinary scope and quality which, despite the quantity of information packed into it, remains attractive for its elegant prose style. It is not about theoretica1 or physical-inorganic chemistry. Although there is of necessity a theoretical framework, where such principles are called for they are mostly introduced within the context of an appropriate element. The treatment includes bio-inorganic and organometallic aspects of the subject; and, unusually, there is a strong emphasis on industrial chemistry. Beginning with the creation of the universe in the hot "big bang", the book proceeds by way of an outline of stellar evolution to the synthesis of the elements and to aspects of chemical periodicity. With the exception of one chapter on coordination compounds, the remaining 29 chapters deal with the chemistry of a particular element or group of elements, proceeding from s to p to d to f blocks. There are no specific chapters devoted to such topics as solid-state or organometallic chemistry although information on both areas is distributed throughout the book. Structural material abounds. Spectroscopic data are much less prominent, although there are useful summaries of the electronic spectra associated with particular d configurations under appropriate elements. The philosophy of the book necessarily precludes presentation of general approaches to preparative methods and above all, to mechanistic considerations, which are absent to an astonishing degree. This work is really about factual chemical chemistry of the elements, albeit in a modem theoretical setting. Judged on this basis, it is unsurpassed by any other single-volume treatment. Most refreshingly, there is a strong feeling for the history of the subject. Each element is approached by way of an account of its discovery and major dates in the development of the chemistry and manufacture of its compounds; and numerous comments, asides and footnotes inform, fascinate and even amuse (for example, Michael Faraday addressing Father Thames). The first paragraph on sulfur includes no fewer than seven biblical references ("Then the Lord rained up on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire"), and others to Pliny the Elder and Homer ("Bring me sulfur, old nurse"). The origins of the names of many elements,compounds and minerals alone provides a regular source of enlightenment and pleasure. Simply reading the panels of historical data in each chapter would give a student a most valuable, integrated summary of a remarkable amount of chemical development. This sense of history pervades the whole treatment and, together with the considerable emphasis on industrial processes, tonnages and plant (of which many photographs are included), succeeds in giving a rounded impression of purpose full scientific and technological endeavour by real people. It manages to put man back into science, rather than simply make claims for its "relevance". And the accounts of the uses of the inorganic materials described really expand the conventional borders of the subject - for example, lithium in batteries, the physics and chemistry of transistors, the rusting of iron, desalination, xerography, and so on. The greatest strength of this work is the account of s and p block chemistry which covers over 1,000 pages, compared with some 400 devoted to d and f blocks. It is this heavy emphasis upon these s and p blocks which distinguishes the treatment from others which take an essentially descriptive approach. It includes some notable essays, those on boron and sulfur being especially memorable. Every corner of the volume, end papers included, is jammed with facts. Even the linguistic origins of SI prefixes are listed, including the "unbelievably grotesque" derivation of peta and exa. There are appendices on atomic orbitals. svmmetry, ionic radii, lists of Nobel prize winners in chemistrv and phvsics and a comprehensive index. Prodigious effort went into this volume, which is a magnificent achievement. As a work of reference alone it will be of longstanding value, and I hope too that it will be widely used by undergraduates. Its integrated approach, setting the chemical facts within the context of theory, history, technology, manufacture and applications, succeeds in showing chemistry as a human activity. JCST March / April 1990 George B. Kauffman, professor of chemistry, California State University Fresno, California 93740 Chemistry, of the Elements, Norman N Greenwood and Alan Earnshaw First Edition. 1,547 pp $120 Cloth, $34 75 Paper, boxed. Pergamon Press, Oxford (England), New York, 198.1. According to the authors, this huge book (which weighs approximately five pounds in the paperback edition) is intended "to give a balanced, coherent, and comprehensive account of the chemistry of the elements for both undergraduate and postgraduate students ' Professors Greenwood and Earnshaw have specifically avoided the term "inorganic chemistry)," thinking it "emphasizes an outmoded view of chemistry which is no longer appropriate In the closing decades of the twentieth century." Thus the volume is not limited to traditional inorganic chemistry, but includes generous doses of analytical, theoretical, industrial,-nuclear, organometallic, solid state, and bioinorganic chemistry as well as geochemistry and mineralogy. The authors have even attempted to convey the growth, excitement, and dynamic nature of the subject by providing historical background material when appropriate Recognizing that theories change, whereas facts do so less often and usually mostly in their interpretation, the authors have chosen to emphasize the phenomena of chemistry, but "within the context of an underlying theoretical framework that gives cohesion and structure to the text." They have succeeded admirably in selecting and presenting a staggering amount of material in what is an up-to-date, in-depth treatment of descriptive chemistry that will be useful not only a text but also as a standard reference book. Questions usually neglected in other texts are answered Where do the elements come from? How were they made? Why do they have their observed terrestrial abundances' What determines their atomic weights? Most of the chapters consider the terrestrial abundance, distribution, preparation, properties, reactions, and uses of the elements and their compounds with emphasis on trends within the periodic table. The authors contacted more than 500 chemical firms throughout the world for information on industrial manufacturing processes, quantities, uses, and current prices of the chemicals that they produce, and this wealth of technical information has been masterfully incorporated into the text. Although much space is devoted to recent chemistry (many of the references cite books and journals published in 1983), references as early as Genesis 1:10 are cited, in keeping with the authors' interest in the historical development of their subject Abundant historical data are succinctly presented in chronological tables and time charts. The authors are not obsessed with "relevance," believing that "today's relevance is tomorrow's obsolescence," but they still manage to include many topics of contemporary concern such as transistors, silicone polymers, desalination, sodium-sulfur and dry batteries, xerography, atmospheric SO, and environmental pollution, Ziegler-Natta catalysts, the biochemistry of iron and cobalt, iron and steel, catalytic applications of alkene and alkyne complexes, history of photography, discovery of actinides, natural nuclear reactors-the Oklo phenomenon, and atomic energy. The volume has an attractive format, with many important topics appearing in panels highlighted with a light gray background. The book is replete with countless equations and reaction schemes and more than 1,500 carefully selected references Seven valuable supplementary appendices and a detailed 36-page index conclude this gigantic volume, which will probably find greater use as a standard work of reference than as a text. For a book of its size the errors are few and minor. The authors deserve our thanks and congratulations for providing us with such a comprehensive yet readable account of the elements and their compounds. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 25 1986, No 2. (Hubert Schmidh) Chemistry of the Elements by N. N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw. Pergamon Press. Oxford 1984. 1542 pp. hardback. $95.00 ISBN 008 0220568 The appearance of a new textbook on a fundamental scientific discipline is an important literary occurrence. If the new work can establish itself it will influence the knowledge and way of thinking of generations of students for years to come The existing works have certainly done this, and the traces are generally easy to identify. The author's selection of material and his distribution of emphasis amongst the theoretical concepts can direct a mass of young talents towards certain areas while others remain apparently unattractive ? at least thy were to the author Furthermore. it is the case that if the standard works do not accomodate new material early enough then the rising generation is educated in a certain language with inadequate teaching and learning aids while those learning in other languages are already getting to grips with new perspectives. Such disadvantageous developments can only be avoided if genuine alternatives appear on the market and lead to fruitful competition. In this sense the appearance of the German translation of Cotton and Wilkinson was, in its day, the extraordinarily beneficial compensation for the failings of Holleman-Wiberg that was then unmistakably showing its age This is not to imply that from then on everyone would be happy with the new style of textbook - it quickly becomes evident from edition to edition that many outmoded ideas may have been opposed too forcefully. Greenwood and Earnshaw which has been available from mid 1984 is a very remarkable book, quite aside from its natural role as a complement to the assortment of traditional texts. In a "test drive" over several months, this reviewer got so used to the new vehicle that he rarely wanted to bring the other models out of the garage. The book rarely disappointed, neither when complete chapters were used to refresh knowledge nor when 'spot checks? were made to recall individual facts. Incidentally it should be emphasized at the outset that, in spite of the title, this is a textbook of inorganic chemistry. This is true at any rate to the extent that no organic chemistry is included. Fortunately, fringe areas in all directions are considered so that practically no stone is left unturned in respect of their definition of inorganic chemistry, surprisingly dismissed in the foreword as an outmoded concept. The greatest advantage of the book is that it has already taken into account the most up to date developments. The extensive bibliography is spread through the text; its entries, both in the biographical historical part and, not least in the scientific technical sections really do extend into 1983. Naturally it would have been astounding if this success had been uniform and it must be said that, for example, more than 2 sentences (on p 110) could have been wished on the natride ion, Na- . and on the corresponding oxidation state of gold. Au-. (on p 1367). nor is the most recent technology of iron and stee1 production included yet such points are exceptions which require practically rnicroscopic examination of the text. Optically the text is well produced with pleasing formula depictions and clearly laid out tables and diagrams Annoyingly, the latter are not free of mistakes on p. 58 the caption is twiceover puzzling (H2!) Blocks of text printed on a grey background emphasize special sections: for some people this will seem overdone since it breaks up the continuity of the text or at least renders it clumsy. The theoretical chapters and the selection of material show a distinct preference for the s and p block elements, to which 1000 of the total 1500 pages are given over. d and f block elements are banished to the last third of the book so that little space remains for their coordination and organometallic chemistry. However, this does not amount to being "anti Cotton and Wilkinson? since it is precisely in the chapters on the transition elements that the authors have striven to pick out the essential points from a superabundance of facts. Ultimately the question must be posed whether the book leans towards molecular or solid state chemistry and whether it can be recommended to protagonists of either case. The answer must be that the former prevails. Here the book is best able to satisfy high expectations However, in all the other passages too it makes fascinating reading materials, especially for students in first or middle semesters, as well as for the practising chemist and the chemistry teacher. The presentation of the book is pleasing and convenient: the English is pleasantly relaxed but still precise. The book could well be taken from the writing desk, if not straight to bed, at least as far as the sofa. For around DM 100 (in paperback) it is edifying entertainment, well worth the money. Is a German translation desirable? For reasons already given in the introduction this would be an enrichment, assuming that the German version was immediate1y brought back up to date and that the language was kept as fluent as in the original so that nothing was lost in this respect. The book would then easily be in a position to compete with (the new) Holleman-biberg and Cotton and Wilkinson could only stay in contention so long as it too was modernized and reorganized. In the introduction (by R. J. Gillespie) and in the authors' foreword referred to above. it transpires that "Chemistry of the Elements'' breaks with the tradition of British and American textbooks Insofar that it is concerned more with timeless facts and phenomena, which theoretical concepts can be measured against and directed towards This is supposed to stimulate the curiosity without which future research cannot thrive. As is well known, this approach is not so novel in German textbooks and so this newcomer fits well into our landscape. Professor Greenwood was distinguished in 1983 with one of the major awards of the German Chemical Society. He would have deserved it for this textbook alone, even if many of the modern results about boron compounds were not based on his scientific work. In the circumstances no- one would begrudge the fact that the chapter on boron hydride compounds has turned out too long. New scientist, 27 September 1984 New champions of chemistry, John Emsley . . So what do we find in the 1983/84 crop of new books and editions? First the god news; a new inorganic textbook written by British academics ? N.N. Greenwood and A. Earnshaw's Chemistry of the Elements (Pergamon). Details of this and other books in this review are given in the Table. Two-thirds of the book is devoted to the main group elements with a third on the transition metals, which is more a reflection of the authors? interests than the way in which the subject has developed in the past 25 years. Set against this imbalance, however, is the refreshing emphasis given to industrial application and the return to a more descriptive approach. The authors have tried to meet common criticisms of inorganic teaching ? to little relevance and too much theory ? perhaps a little too well in the case of theory. I was disappointed that the authors strictly adhere to the periodic table classification in organising the book; certain areas such as bio-inorganics and clusters deserve separate treatment. Despite these minor drawbacks this is still the best inorganic textbook to appear for many years. It almost achieves the impossible ? it makes basic inorganic chemistry interesting!