Organic Chemistry Principles in Context: A Story Telling Historical Approach

  • Mark M. Green
SCIENCEFROMAWAY: 2012. 476 pp. $25.00.

What if everything you think you know about chemistry textbooks is wrong? In his book What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain states several times that expert instructors grab the attention of their class and stimulate motivation in part by leading with an intriguing question or stimulating case study. Students need to buy into something important, beautiful, practical or artistic before meaningful learning can take place. In embracing this idea, Mark Green of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University turns the traditional undergraduate organic chemistry textbook upside-down in his shockingly affordable new textbook Organic Chemistry Principles in Context. In fact, the most noticeable aspect of this textbook is its deviation from what many academics would consider 'mainstream' or 'accepted'.

Gone are the glossy, colourful, three-dimensional representations. Missing are the 100 end-of-chapter practice problems. Nowhere to be found are the generalized representations of reactions or mechanisms with 'prototypical' examples. Chapters are no longer organized by functional group where each section brings a brand new reaction for the student to tackle. And most surprisingly, a few chapters quote at length from Wikipedia. This is not the organic chemistry textbook you remember from your schooling, and I suspect many professors engaged in textbook review will stop right here and summarily dismiss this book without further consideration.

But instructors who scoff at Green's textbook based only on thumbing through the pages will miss what he is attempting to accomplish. The philosophy of this textbook is one of immersion. Each chapter is themed based on an intriguing question or stimulating case study. Terms, nomenclature, or reaction mechanisms are only introduced if they are relevant to unlocking the mystery presented in the chapter's theme. The textbook is similar to a 'Rosetta Stone' approach to organic chemistry. Terms are used immediately and in context with few formal definitions, and students learn concepts through as-needed examples and principles.

In many ways, the textbook reads like a script for a documentary about organic chemistry.

The impressive use of constant historical narrative is the most unique facet of this textbook. Every section of every chapter includes many historical vignettes to expose students to the history, controversies and major players in the development of these concepts. The most common illustration in this textbook is a portrait of a chemist whose contributions led to the essential concept being taught. The chemistry of the present day is understood by visiting the chemists of the past, sometimes by reading their own words from seminal publications. In many ways, the textbook reads like a script for a documentary about organic chemistry. The historical context draws students into the thematic stories and entices them to invest in education for education's sake.

I asked a few current and former students to read a chapter from the textbook and provide feedback. I gave them no overview or introduction to the textbook, and their responses were very interesting. It seems students were expecting another reference manual, and many criticized the differences. Most noted they consult textbooks during post-class review or when revising for exams, and the narrative format made finding key points challenging. Ever grade conscious, some questioned whether the historical information would be on the exam!

Students lamented the lack of illustrations from a visual-learning angle. In describing the text, students used descriptors such as “dense”, “wordiest organic chemistry textbook I have ever read”, and at the same time “easy to read”, “exceptionally interesting” and “more engaging than a normal cut and dry organic book”. Most students found themselves appreciating the history, in spite of their disappointment that this is not another reference-manual-style textbook. One student even caught on to the “intriguing question” format of the chapter and appreciated that it turned chemistry “into an investigation discovery”.

The deciding factor in adopting this textbook will be an instructor's course goals and learning objectives, and the willingness to undergo a paradigm shift in educational philosophy. Many instructors bemoan trying to fit in one more reaction and 'sacrificing depth for breadth'. This textbook trades breadth and depth for historical context and significance. Instructors will not find every 'classical' organic chemistry reaction from 'classical'-style textbooks, but I don't find that to be a problem. On entering their careers, many of our students, especially non-majors, will never be asked to draw the mechanism for the Markovnikov addition of hydrogen bromide to an alkene. Maybe wedging one more reaction into one more chapter is not always appropriate.

This book is a good overview of the field, rich with historical context, but lacks the flashiness of more traditional textbooks. Both students and instructors will have to buy into the philosophy of the text, and students may need constant reminders about the new philosophical approach. Although Green uses this textbook for his majors-level class (with students who specialize in chemistry), I see this book fitting better for a non-majors organic chemistry class. For the segment of students where neither excess breadth nor depth in dozens of functional group transformations is the most important course goal, this textbook is a refreshing deviation from the norm.

Is everything we know about textbooks wrong? Probably not. Green explains in the introduction that “we don't learn the alphabet before we hear people speaking... The wonders of sound and shape and color intrigue us and stimulate our desire to figure out what is going on and what it all means.” This textbook offers a fascinating and dramatic change to the landscape of textbook choice.