The other chapters, except the final one, are also well done. There are discussions of mass spectrometry, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance, principally proton spectra. In all the spectroscopy chapters, the principles are clearly explained followed by the important applications that are then illustrated by worked examples. The appropriate quantum mechanical results are used, but not derived. The terms Schrödinger equation and wavefunction do not appear in the index. Selection rules are introduced when necessary, but not explained. The book concludes with a brief exposition of X-ray diffraction, which is the least successful chapter because it attempts to cover too much of a complicated subject in just a dozen pages.

This is an ideal introduction to spectroscopy for students such as those in my first-year honors course who need to know something about the various techniques but have not had physical chemistry. The prose is clean and crisp and both the fundamentals and major applications are covered in less than one hundred pages. Because of the breadth of coverage, it would be a nice supplement for the first two years of an undergraduate curriculum and a book that students could refer to as their education progresses.