Organic Chemistry: An Acid-Base Approach, Third Edition

Based on the premise that many, if not most, reactions in organic chemistry can be explained by variations of fundamental acid–base concepts, Organic Chemistry: An Acid–Base Approach provides a framework for understanding the subject that goes beyond mere memorization. Using several techniques to develop a relational understanding, it helps students fully grasp the essential concepts at the root of organic chemistry.This new edition was rewritten largely with the feedback of students in mind and is also based on the author’s classroom experiences using the previous editions.Highlights of the Third Edition Include: Extensively revised chapters that improve the presentation of material. Features the contributions of more than 65 scientists, highlighting the diversity in organic chemistry. Features the current work of over 30 organic chemists, highlighting the diversity in organic chemistry. Many new reactions are featured that are important in modern organic chemistry. Video lectures are provided in a .mov format, accessible online as a ‘built-in’ ancillary for the book. Instructor and Student Resources —includes scientist images and solutions manual for instructors. The third edition of Organic Chemistry: An Acid–Base Approach constitutes a significant improvement upon a unique introductory technique to organic chemistry. The reactions and mechanisms it covers are the most fundamental concepts in organic chemistry that are applied to industry, biological chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology, and pharmacy. Using an illustrated conceptual approach rather than presenting sets of principles and theories to memorize, it gives students a more concrete understanding of the material.

About the Author

Professor Michael B. Smith was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1946 and moved to Madison Heights, Virginia in 1957, where he attended high school at Amherst County High School. He received an A.A. from Ferrum College in 1967 and a B.S. in chemistry from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1969. After working for three years at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. in Newport News VA as an analytical chemist, he entered graduate school at Purdue University. He received a Ph.D. in Organic chemistry in 1977, under the auspices of Professor Joe Wolinsky. Professor Smith spent one year as a faculty research associate at the Arizona State University with Professor G. Robert Pettit, working on the isolation of cytotoxic principles from plants and sponges. He spent a second year of postdoctoral work with Professor Sidney M. Hecht at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, working on the synthesis of bleomycin A2.

Professor Smith began his academic career at the University of Connecticut in 1979, where he achieved the rank of professor of chemistry. In 1986 he spent a sabbatical leave in the laboratories of Professor Leon Ghosez, at the Université Catholique de Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, as a visiting professor. He retired as a full professor from the University of Connecticut on January 1, 2017, and is currently pursuing his interests as an author.