Royal Society of Chemistry: Cambridge, UK, 2001.
viii + 176 pp. ISBN 0-85404-637-2. $9.95.

After reading d- and f-Block Chemistry, I feel as if I have been taken on a journey through the universe of transition metal chemistry at warp speed. In a mere 176 pages, the author takes the reader from atomic structure to binary compounds to coordination compounds of transition and inner-transition metals. The pace of the text is set in the introductory chapter when the author surveys pertinent definitions, the origins and discovery of the transition elements, the historical development of transition metal chemistry, and applications of transition metals. The chapter on atomic structure is loaded with well-constructed graphs and easy-to-read tables on such properties as ionization energies, atomic radii, ionic radii, and electronegativities. The tables are tied together with discussions of shielding, effective nuclear charge, and exchange energy. The chapter on binary compounds includes discussions on metal oxidation states, the Born-Haber cycle and the contributions of covalency to bonding, and contains tables of the simple binary oxides, fluorides, and chlorides of all the transition and inner-transition metals.

The real gems of the text are the four chapters on coordination compounds. These chapters cover introductory concepts (e.g. ligands, coordination numbers, coordination geometries, and isomers), thermodynamics of complex formation, bonding in coordination compounds, spectroscopy, and magnetism of coordination complexes. The thermodynamics chapter includes sections on equilibrium constants, HSAB, and redox potentials. The bonding chapter has excellent discussions of the crystal field and molecular orbital theories of transition metal complexes. I was particularly impressed with the quality and quantity of figures in this chapter. I believe the figures will be of great assistance to the student-reader in understanding the material in this section. The final chapter covers electronic spectra, Russell-Saunders coupling, correlation diagrams, and magnetic behavior.

This is not a comprehensive text and is not intended to be, as the author states in the preface. It assumes the reader has some basic knowledge of atomic structure, quantum theory, electrochemistry, and thermodynamics. The material is presented clearly and concisely with strategically placed examples to assist the student-reader in understanding the concepts. A summary of key points and several problems are given at the end of each chapter. The detailed solutions to the problems are provided in an appendix. A list of texts having more comprehensive treatments of the topics presented in the reviewed text is also provided in an appendix. I highly recommend this text for anyone needing a brief introduction to the chemistry of the d- and f-block elements.