Organic Chemistry

by Jonathan Clayden, Nick Greeves, Stuart Warren

5.0/5.0 (1)

Clayden's Organic Chemistry (2nd edition, but 1st edition is also good) provides a thorough, mechanism-based approach to organic chemistry. It introduces all new concepts from scratch and includes a robust MO (molecular orbital) theory treatment of reactions that allow the reader to make more sense of what's going on. Clayden's book covers most of the organic reactions you may see in chemistry olympiads at the camp and IChO level, depending on difficulty. It definitely covers any organic chemistry you'll see on the USNCO Local or National Exam. This book also has quite a solid introduction to advanced topics, including NMR analysis and theory, heterocylic chemistry, retrosynthesis, stereoselectivity, rearrangements and fragmentation, pericyclic reactions, organometallic chemistry, carbene chemistry, physical organic chemistry, and biochemistry. There are additional chapters on polymer chemistry that are present in only the 1st edition, but they may be found for free on the book's website. Clayden's Organic Chemistry also has quite nice and clean figures that are necessary to make sense of any organic reaction mechanism. The book has an accompanying set of end-of-chapter problems that should be available on the book's website.

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Reviews

AnonymousUser

5/5

Clayden's book is quite amazing at introducing organic chemistry. The treatment of reactions using MO theory is a great approach that provides a foundation for reasoning and understanding. Clayden's book is definitely overkill for the USNCO National Exam, and even Klein's book would suffice, but if you have any interest in learning more organic chemistry or performing decently on USNCO camp/IChO exams, it would be a great idea to read Clayden. I genuinely think Klein is an unnecessary read, as Clayden introduces everything from the basics anyway. If you have a strong foundation in general chemistry, reading Clayden should be no problem.