The Committee on Professional Training (CPT) of the American Chemical Society has recommended that the equivalent of a one-semester initial course in introductory chemistry include descriptive inorganic chemistry dealing in a systematic way with the elements and the structures, properties, and reactions of their compounds. This book fills this need and as stated in the preface, the author intends to facilitate the integration of descriptive inorganic chemistry by introducing only those principles that are needed to explain the chemical behavior of the properties and reactions of the elements and the compounds they form.

To achieve this goal the author has written a nonencyclopedic text consisting of eight introductory chapters on basic concepts such as atomic and molecular structure, including covalent, metallic and ionic bonding, inorganic thermodynamics, acid-base theories, and reduction potentials. The remaining 13 chapters cover the descriptive chemistry of hydrogen, groups 1, 2, 13 to 18, the transition elements (groups 4 to 12) and the rare earths and actinoid elements. A chapter preceding the transition elements presents transition metal chemistry, including their nomenclature, isomerism, crystal, and ligand field theories and coordination equilibria.

On the introductory page of each chapter is presented a list of the subtopics and one or more italicized subtopics that are presented in black-edged boxes within the chapter. These subtopics describe some current interest in the elements being discussed. For example, Chapter 13²the group 14 elements displays a historical box on the discovery of Buckminsterfullerene and a 1986 newspaper report on carbon dioxide, the killer gas. I have read all of these boxes, and I found that each of them add a human quality not usually found in most chemistry textbooks.

Each descriptive chapter ends with a section on biological aspects that correlate with the described chemistry within the chapter. The chapter closes with a good selection of exercises based on the key concepts, terms, and equations introduced in the chapter. The author has written exercises that are not so difficult as to distract you from the subject matter introduced in each chapter but are designed to involve you to think actively about the material and which should further consolidate your knowledge of the subject matter.

This text does not use color for photographs and figures within each chapter except for six pages of color photographs between Chapters 14 and 15. Because this book would probably be adopted for a course or incorporation into an existing course early in the chemistry major program, color diagrams and photographs can be highly instructive and do much to enhance the learning process. The other reservation that I have about the text are the figures of the periodic tables shown on p 466. The periodic table for 1943 and the design proposed by Seaborg in 1994 both show the symbols for argon as Ar and not A and niobium as Nb and not Cb. Hydrogen is located in the center of these charts and not at the top of groups 1 and 17 and the symbols for elements number 43 (Te), 61 (Pr), 85 (At), and 87 (Fr) should have been omitted. (See Seaborg, G. T. Chem. Eng. News Dec. 10, 1945, 23, 2190-2193). A copy of the periodic table should have been included on the inside of the front cover along with a table of atomic masses.

The combination of principles and the descriptive material in this text provides a solid foundation for next core inorganic chemistry course. The text by itself would probably satisfy the required two semesters of inorganic chemistry for the chemistry major. It will, however, more than fill the need for a text that will satisfy those instructors seeking a book that makes the learning of descriptive inorganic chemistry a good experience. Anything that can deepen the students understanding of inorganic chemistry is, indeed, a worthwhile effort. Now each individual chemistry major program must decide on how to incorporate into their chemistry major curriculum classical inorganic chemistry with a descriptive emphasis along with recent developments in inorganic chemistry. Some departments have a separate course in basic inorganic chemistry in their initial studies, other departments have woven the descriptive chemistry material into their first- and second- year courses.

It also is encouraging to know that inorganic chemistry texts for upper-level undergraduate core courses now incorporate several chapters on descriptive chemistry. As befitted the title, this book conveys the enthusiasm of the author for descriptive inorganic chemistry. This book will be of interest to those instructors seeking to satisfy their students knowledge of the periodic table and at the same time comply with the ACS requirement of a basic inorganic chemistry course.