Chemistry for Dummies

5 Responses to “Chemistry for Dummies”

1. Tony Dent says:

   April 26, 2010 at 2:15 am

   Sorry, but I couldn’t get pass the cover of this supposedly helpful book. Unlike the “Physics for Dummies” or the “Biology for Dummies” books, J Wiley chose to use the picture of a Black kid to illustrate their chemistry text. There is an evident biased thought in that choice. I suggest you try another publisher if you need help in your chemistry class.
   Rating: 1 / 5
2. Anonymous says:

   April 26, 2010 at 4:02 am

   I bought this book to give myself, a self-proclaimed chemistry idiot, a head start and less of a handicap for when school starts in January (I’ll be pre-med). BIG mistake.

   The author makes a few excellent points, for example, in explaining the differences between various branches of chemistry, but seeing as how I’m not plotting a career in chemistry per se, it was nice to know, but I really don’t care. I just want a basic understanding to build off of and some exercises to do before my classes start so I’ll know what the h*ll I’m doing. Is that asking too much?

   Dr. Moore writes this book from the POV of a science nerd recruiting other potential science nerds for the chemical career field, and assumes that the reader has more understanding than I seem to possess. I sought after Chemistry for Dummies. I got Chemistry for 10th Grade Science Nerds.

   So, what, do I need Chemistry for Toddlers? Or am I doomed to just fail and not get into med school? Thanks for nothing, Dr. Moore. I appreciate the effort nonetheless.
   Rating: 2 / 5
3. Humberto A. Pozo says:

   April 26, 2010 at 6:43 am

   Best book for learning basic chemistry.
   
   Instructions are simple to follow.
   Rating: 5 / 5
4. IAF_67 says:

   April 26, 2010 at 7:39 am

   I bought this book because I was having a tough time in Chemistry last year (high school chem no less). On the rare occasion when I really understood what was going on enough to try and learn more about it; I would turn to this for just that purpose. But, the answers I received were never what I was looking for; as the differences between my Chemistry book and this thing were so different that this book was rendered absolutely useless. For example, this book was obsessed with the unit called “torrs”. Well, we never, EVER, used that unit in my Chem class. There was also no conversion formula mentioned anywhere in here either, and even if there was, do I really have the time to be able to convert EVERY small thing that I do into another unit?

   Also, as with any other “dummies” book, this book tries to be amusing. Frankly, after I’ve just spent the last two hours trying to figure out just what the heck I’m doing, the last thing I want to see is humor. If they spent as much time getting excellent in rank in this book as they did making it “cute”….

   This book also likes to get into just so what being a chemist entails; or, if not that, they like to get into how Chemistry is “applied”. We all know that, if you’re just taking a Chem class because you have to, and you have no interest in pursuing a career in that field, then you’re never going to have to deal with it again. Therefore, why would you CARE about how the properties of Viagra (to pick one useless theme) were exposed? Don’t they realize no High School OR college student is going to care about that? Why doesn’t the author, instead, spend more time on subjects that you’re really going to NEED to learn?

   Overall, the only “Dummy” here is the author of this book, John T. Moore. He does a very poor job of explaining even the most basic concepts; concepts that you will need if you wish to be successful in this area of study. If you want a helpful guide for Chemistry, look elsewhere.
   Rating: 1 / 5
5. DaveAZ says:

   April 26, 2010 at 9:21 am

   The book is very well written and quite humorous. It is excellent for a beginner or people who want to review.
   Rating: 5 / 5