The first edition of this text by two chemistry professors at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, appeared in 1991 but was not reviewed in this Journal. As in the earlier edition, the authors emphasize molecular orbitals and symmetry to explain many aspects of the bonding, structure, and reactivity of inorganic compounds. The new edition is one-third longer than the first (480 pp). In contrast to more traditional "encyclopedic" texts (e.g., Cotton and Wilkinson's Advanced Inorganic Chemistry or Greenwood and Earnshaw's Chemistry of the Elements), which present the descriptive chemistry of the elements according to periodic table groups, it is a balanced blend of theory and facts, organized on a topical basis. However, considerable descriptive chemistry is integrated into the book's chapters, many of which begin with historical background material.

In addition to selecting what they consider the most appropriate and interesting topics for an upper-level undergraduate inorganic course, Miessler and Tarr have once again succeeded in making their text accessible to students by increasing the number of examples and exercises within the chapters. Answers to the examples are included in the chapters themselves, while answers to the 90 exercises are relegated to one of the 9 appendices (the other appendices present valuable data - ionic radii; ionization energy; electron affinity; Pauling electronegativities; absolute hardness parameters; CA, EA, CB, and EB values; character tables; and electron-dot diagrams and formal charge).

Numerous problems (338 in all) conclude all chapters except the first; answers are not provided, so they may be assigned as homework. To encourage use of the literature by both students and instructors the authors have retained the extensive references in the first edition, many to historical or classic papers or books, and they have increased the number of problems taken from recent articles. References cited in the text (some as recent as 1998) appear at the bottom of the pages, while general references are given in single paragraphs just before the problems. Numerous equations and reaction schemes, 361 figures, and 132 tables are provided. An extremely detailed index (7 quadruple-column pages in small type) facilitates location of material.

The scope of the text can be seen from the titles of its 16 chapters: Introduction to Inorganic Chemistry, Atomic Structure, Simple Bonding Theory, Symmetry and Group Theory, Molecular Orbitals, Acid-Base and Donor-Acceptor Chemistry, The Crystalline Solid State (new to this edition), Chemistry of the Main Group Elements, Coordination Chemistry (four chapters on Structures and Isomers, Bonding, Electronic Spectra, and Reactions and Mechanisms), Organometallic Chemistry, Organometallic Reactions and Catalysis, Parallels Between Main Group and Organometallic Chemistry, and Bioinorganic and Environmental Chemistry.

I am pleased to recommend heartily this thoroughly updated and revised edition of a relatively brief and user-friendly survey of inorganic chemistry, with its strong coverage of molecular symmetry and group theory as well as inclusion of important and chemically and socially relevant topics.