Book Review Editor's NoteAs a chemistry instructor, you may not consider the conflict between science and religion when you are preparing for class, but you might be surprised at your students' views on the matter. For some insight, consider reading Secularism and Science in the 21st Century, edited by Ariela Keysar and Barry A. Kosmin. This month the eighth edition of a popular general chemistry textbook, Chemistry, by Stephen S. Zumdahl and Susan A. Zumdahl, is reviewed. Do you teach a chemistry course for allied health majors? Reviews of new editions of two general–organic–bio books are included: The ninth edition of Introduction to General, Organic, and Biochemistry by Frederick A. Bettelheim, William H. Brown, Mary K. Campbell, and Shawn O. Farrell, and the fifth edition of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry by H. Stephen Stoker.
 Stephen Zumdahl has produced many editions of Chemistry, yet to my knowledge none of his books have been reviewed in this Journal. Of course, I could examine the many reviews provided by students at book-buying sites on the Internet, but I don’t think these reviews would necessarily have the same credence with readers of this publication. However, having several editions of Zumdahl on my bookshelf and having taught from two editions for a total of five years, I believe I can write a review that describes changes from the earlier editions and that provides a picture for those who have never used this text. Zumdahl himself says, “The first question that comes to mind when looking at a new general chemistry textbook is: ‘how is this book different from all of those others on the shelf?’ Although this book is not revolutionary in content or style, it does have important differences from the others” (1).The 22 chapters in the eighth edition of Chemistry are typical fare in any general chemistry textbook and are found in the typical order. The chapter on Applications of Aqueous Equilibria (Chapter 15 in the 7th ed.) was split into the two usual chapters found in other textbooks: Acid–Base Equilibria (Chapter 15) and Solubility–Complex Ion Equilbria (Chapter 16). The two chapters on the main-group elements were combined into Chapter 20. This is a good textbook that makes an effort to connect to today’s students. I enjoyed the biographies and the chemical connections spread throughout the text, even though the same biographies of Arrhenius and Berzelius are also found in the first edition. Chapter 22, Organic and Biological Molecules, comes complete with a photograph of a farmer filling up his truck with E85 fuel. The excellent problem sets now have some biochemistry problems in each chapter. Still, more biochemistry topics could have been incorporated in each chapter. There are multiple examples of many types of problems in each chapter. Among the many ancillaries that accompany the text is an inquiry-based learning guide that pairs well with the active learning questions found at the end of each chapter. On its face, this guide should be much more useful than the traditional study guide that is available with each text. The student Web site, however, cannot be judged this early: only flashcards, key terms, and a periodic table were found on the course Web site available to the public (2). (However the student resources for the 7th edition were well developed and useful and included videos for many concepts.) Now, students must purchase a passkey for much of the material. A Cengage representative was very helpful when I inquired about the materials. There are a few mistakes and some organizational issues in this edition. One portion of the layout—text emphasized in blue shading—left me confused as to its purpose. Chapter 4, Types of Chemical Reactions and Solution Stoichiometry, contains an approach to balancing redox reactions that makes splendid use of oxidation-state changes and stoichiometry to determine the overall number of electrons transferred. This approach to balancing redox reactions was found in the 1st edition (1), deleted from the 5th edition (3), and returned for this edition. However, in Chapter 10, a side note states that half reactions were covered in Chapter 4, which is not the case in the 8th edition. Gases are covered in Chapter 5, separating their discussion from those of liquids and solids (Chapter 10). Many instructors, including me, prefer to group the three states of matter together. A three-page discourse on real gases seems to be about two pages too many, although many books do the same. Many students do not have the mathematical skills necessary to perform the van der Waals calculations that are included in Chapter 5. A quantitative discussion of the kinetic–molecular model of gases (included since the 1st edition), while exciting to me, is better left to a calculus-based general physics or a physical chemistry text. The nuclear chemistry chapter is a bellwether chapter for me in any textbook. While the standard topics of kinetics, nuclear stability, fission–fusion, and biological effects of radiation are discussed in great detail, I would have preferred some discussion about more recent accidents at nuclear power plants. I will not put this textbook on the mountain’s apex. However as I reflect back over my classroom career, my students did better with this textbook than any text my college has used over the past 15 or so years. After 23 years, this book has held up remarkably well, which is something that cannot be said about all textbooks. I recommend it very highly. The panoramic view provided by this text will be stunning. Literature Cited- Zumdahl, S. S. Chemistry, 1st ed.; D. C. Heath and Co.: Lexington, MA, 1986.
- The student Web site (accessed Sep 2009).
- Zumdahl, S. S. Chemistry, 5th ed.; Houghton Mifflin: Boston, MA, 2000.
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