Statistical Mechanics for Chemists starts out with a cursory discussion of thermodynamics and ensembles in the first two chapters. Some familiarity with the basic ideas is assumed, and the intent is clearly to avoid getting bogged down in the technical details. This may be problematic, however, both for less advanced students who may need more emphasis on the fundamentals and for more advanced students who would miss the benefits of a more systematic treatment. The next two chapters present the relatively standard topics of non-interacting particles and molecular partition functions. This section is considerably more thorough and contains an impressive level of detail. This is the core material. However a full two thirds of the text is reserved for the final four chapters. Chapter 5 deals with quantum statistics and provides a very thorough discussion of Fermi and Bose systems, including a detailed section on semiconductors. Chapter 6 addresses classical systems, beginning with Hamilton's equations, continuing to a classical treatment of molecular collisions, and wrapping up with a detailed derivation of dielectric response. Chapter 7 concerns the structure of liquids and includes sections on correlation functions and integral equations, highlighted by an excellent derivation of the Debye-Hückel equation. The final chapter discusses relaxation and includes sections on time correlation functions, linear response theory, and the Langevin equation.

While this is certainly an impressive list of subjects, it represents a particular choice of emphasis; and it is also important to point out some areas that are overlooked but which might be expected in a book at this level. For example, there is no mention at all of phase transitions or associated topics such as mean-field theory or order parameters. While some readers may consider that best left to physicists, others will find it sorely missed. There is also virtually no discussion of computer simulation, which is a rapidly expanding application of classical statistical mechanics in chemistry.

Like the choice of material, the overall style of the book is also to some extent a question of taste. The author makes use of lengthy derivations, which has the pedagogical advantage of leading the student along and introducing new ideas in the context of a particular problem. On the other hand, there are places where important subjects turn up in unlikely places, such as the only mention of Monte Carlo simulation in a section entitled "Properties of Correlation Functions", and the concept of a potential of mean force which appears only in the section on the Debye-Hückel equation. This also sometimes leads to an uneven level of rigor, giving an impression of trying to cheat a little in order to skip ahead to the good stuff. This is a necessary compromise given the intent of the book, which is clearly an extension of the author's lecture notes and not intended to be an encyclopedic reference.

Overall, there is more material here than would be needed for a single course, leaving ample room to pick and choose among the later topics. A little patchiness towards the end is amply made up for by a number of excellent sections which guide the reader to some interesting and useful results at a level appropriate for a graduate course. The large selection of problems, including many numerical examples, is also greatly appreciated. While not perfect, this book largely lives up to its billing, and I consider it a welcome addition to my collection. It will undoubtedly be getting a lot of mileage.