SCIENCES

What Is Chemistry?

by Peter Atkins
What Is Chemistry? Oxford Univ. Nov. 2013. 122p. index. ISBN 9780199683987. $19.95. SCI
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How can you explain the significance and importance of chemistry to a general audience in just over 110 pages? Prolific textbook author Atkins (chemistry, Univ. of Oxford; The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction) uses a different approach than some similar guides. He presents the world of chemistry through a chemist's eyes rather than re-creating it for the layperson. This scheme presents a logical progression from the simplest elements to energy, reactions, techniques of chemistry, achievements, and applications. Other introductory guides base their discussion on specific topics, e.g., Philip Ball's The Ingredients: A Guided Tour of the Elements, Eric Scerri's The Periodic Table: A Very Short Introduction, and Atkins's own Reactions: The Private Life of Atoms. The author's skill as a textbook writer allows the material to flow smoothly from one topic to the next and succeeds in making the breadth and depth of chemistry approachable to a nonscientist.
VERDICT This text would be an excellent supplement in an undergraduate general chemistry or introductory science course and is a good selection for motivated readers interested in chemistry.
Reviewed by Elizabeth A. Brown, Binghamton Univ. Libs., NY , Nov 15, 2013
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