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02/26/2004 -
Organotransition Metal Chemistry (2002)
by Anthony F. Hill
ISBN 0-471-28163-8. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey. 2002. Softcover. 185 pages. $19.95.
| REVIEWED BY: | Gary S. Vardon, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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In his book, Anthony F. Hill narrowed his subject ably to write a good, concise 185 pages. This is an accomplishment considering the potential scope of the subject. Because it is concise, one is tempted to read the book from cover to cover rather than using the book solely as a reference work and reading only the selected parts that one especially finds valuable. This book has many figures that succinctly summarize a high volume of chemical research on organotransition metal reactions, structures, and physical properties. In fact, the figures make the book. The text goes hand in hand with the figures, but on occasion Hill’s reasoning is a bit hard to follow. This is not entirely surprising for an advanced chemistry text, but the author could have toned down his use of advanced chemical jargon. His chemical reasoning, while probably correct, needs clarification. Here is a typical sentence: “The reverse of migratory insertion, alpha-organyl elimination, is also fundamental to the reactivity of acyls.” The book needs a glossary. Definitely. A few of the many words that need explanation include fluxional processes, acyl metallates, migratory insertion routes, tautomeric equilibrium, and agostic alkyls. Chapter summaries were sadly absent, as was an author biography, pictures, whole spectra, and references. Anthony draws some provocative structures and an inquisitive soul might care to investigate them further. Literature citations, though needed, were not provided.
Interesting web sites should have been mentioned because many of us are web crawlers. Only one web site was offered and that was the Wiley site, which was little more than a plug for the publisher’s books. It describes A.F.H.’s book as well as other Wiley books. But this is not to say that these other books aren’t very well done and reasonably priced to boot. The reason that the reviewed book is reasonably priced, especially compared to other science books, may have something to do with the fact that it is a paperback. Its binding is sturdy, however, and the book is attractive and modern looking. Another quibble of mine follows. Where are the descriptions of the slick relevant computer programs that abound these days? Another omission. Hill does mention a few of the other books in the field but only a few sentences are devoted to a few books.
This was not a book on structural determination, nor a symposium proceedings. This is good because the book is more unified than coverage of a proceedings would be. The author does not discuss the analysis of organotransition metals, a good topic for a future work. But Hill has a masterful knowledge of his field. Our very modest professor calls an advanced exposition an introductory text. The text is geared to the advanced undergraduate or beginning graduate student interested in the field of organotransition metal chemistry. Anyone with at least a moderate chemistry background can learn much from Hill’s textbook but may not grasp all the fine points. But there are only a few such diagrams. Hill summarizes much information in brilliantly done figures. Hill’s book emphasizes the chemical reactions of metal complexes. This is an apt. Most chemists think that understanding chemistry implies understanding reactions.
The ligands involved in organotransition metal chemistry are many and varied. Carbon monoxide is prominent among these, rating a whole chapter in a small book. The three-dimensional chemical structures in the book are truly marvelous and appear in many places. Important historical work in transition metal chemistry is well discussed. The concept of coordination saturation is aptly described. Hill reveals how clever and creative chemists can be in synthesizing novel structures.
Even the introduction is good. The book is worth reading for the first chapter alone, where the rule of eighteen is illustrated among other key concepts. All told, Dr. Hill whetted my appetite for more work by him and more knowledge of the field. This book deserves to be widely read. |
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