Pharmawiki Book review for Morrison and Boyd – Textbook of Organic Chemistry

No doubt anyone who has ever graduated with Chemistry has not heard of this book. Morrison and Boyd is still the GOLD standard reference text book for learning concepts of Organic chemistry. As with reference to pharmacy students especially B.Pharm students, this book covers a lot about Hydrocarbons, (Alkanes, alkenes and alkynes). A considerable good understanding about aromatic hydrocarbons is also provided (the question why Benzene is aromatic/stable/exhibits resonance could be one of your final exam questions!!!). Another important topic is STEREOCHEMISTRY! No one else twists the molecules better than Morrison and Boyd – this book has one of the most excellent descriptions for isomerism.

All in all this is a wonderful, but it has a few limitations. The language is a bit on higher side of English, so people from non-english background (Hindi/Telugu) can face difficulties trying to read this book. (I had to use a dictionary often !) Further owing to the bulkiness of the book, this book is not recommended for last minute exam preparation (You need atleast a week to read this book so not for if exam is tomorrow).

I suggest that every Pharmacy student should read this book atleast once.

In case this book intimidates you, there is an another option by Mehta and mehta