Organic Chemistry as a Second Language: Second Semester Topics

This is a must-have supplemental book for Orgo 2. I relied heavily on the First Semester edition of this book for Orgo 1, and this book helped me just the same. It doesn't quite fully replace your textbooks, but it is infinitely easier to understand. Orgo textbooks are notorious for being filled with extraneous information and not having concepts explained in the clearest manner. This book is written very concisely (as evinced by how thin it is!) and pulls no punches. Be sure, reader, that the author speaks your language and writes a lot less formally than a textbook. There are numerous practice problems in this book after every single topic. You read a section, do the practice problems, go on to the next section, do more practice problems, and then the chapter eventually finishes. This stepwise approach REALLY drills the material into you. This book does not cover every possible mechanism or topic in Orgo 2 - I would say it covered over 95% of the material from my class. Since your professor most likely teaches from a certain textbook, it's important to reference the textbook for the few excluded topics and, of course, for extra practice problems. Bottom line: this book is indispensable for any student of organic chemistry. It truly demystifies what can be a dense, intimidating class, better than any other supplemental text I've ever seen for the topic.

This book makes an exceptional companion for organic chemistry students in two ways: First, it compliments lecture notes fantastically. Going over reactions in lecture and taking your own notes, then reading what Mr. Klein has to say makes learning and remembering the reactions a lot easier. It is easy to highlight and read each unit, so I found myself referencing this as a cleaner version of my own hand-written notes. Secondly, the practice questions are priceless. Having a good amount of practice problems makes it easier to make the reactions and mechanisms stick in your mind. Sometimes, I found a question or two to be helpful for exam preparation. But my professor usually asked questions that were MUCH more difficult and took a deeper understanding of the material to figure out than the relatively simple examples given in this book.

This book (as well as the 1st semester book) was a lifesaver. Not enough time to read an entire book chapter before class? Read this book. Having trouble with a specific concept and want more specific details to help you understand? Read this book. Want extra practice problems? Read this book. If you thought first semester was easy, that's because it is. The second semester takes so much more hard work than the first. This book gives you very detailed rules and methods of doing mechanisms and beyond. And trust me, there will be MANY mechanisms. SO MANY. This book will be crucial in your success, especially if you're not naturally good with chemistry. This book just has everything you need to succeed in the class, just add diligence. I didn't start using it right away, but I wish I did! I was missing out, for sure. If your textbook isn't helpful, turn to this. I'm not sure I can express any further how helpful and useful this book is for an organic chemistry student. When I go to tutor orgo I will definitely have this book on hand as a reference.

I absolutely love this book-- it's helpful, clear, and a wonderful support for my textbook and other study guides. Whenever I encounter a new topic in class I like to check this book for suggestions. The first book made arrows and mechanisms so clear to me that I use them on my own to learn everything else. The reason, and I mean the only reason, that I'm giving this four stars is that there is absolutely nothing about radical reaction mechanisms in this book. It was a grave disappointment, as the topic is particularly complex and could certainly use as much support as possible.

This book is EVERYTHING. It helped me so much when taking organic chemistry. My professor recommended it to the class as an optional guide, but honestly she should have made it required reading and quizzed off of it because it was THAT helpful. And it's a tiny book. It's no replacement for the course text but it is INDESPENSIBLE

I am an older non-traditional student launching myself through a second degree - Cell Biology and Biotechnology. I have heard so much negative press about Organic Chemistry that I was petrified. Turns out I love Organic Chemistry! I found Dr. Klein's "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, First Semester Topics", 3rd edition, before I started orgo in the Fall. It has been a life saver - 94 on my mid-term - and I only ran into trouble when I discovered that the first semester topics we were covering were not all in that book! I went ahead and pre-ordered the "Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, Second Semester Topics"! Glad I sat down and looked at it! All the topics I was missing in the first book are actually in this one. So, my school simply has topics arranged differently than these books do! (We're jumping around in a textbook.) May be the case for you as well! It is well worth the cost to buy both of them BEFORE you start orgo. I was through many chapters before class even started and I found that it was a great help to know where we were going and to have a background in the material before class even started! Dr. Klein's explanations are simple and progress logically, as do the problems. Fortunately, I ordered the second semester topics before the final exam for first semster. I will be able to take some holiday time and review all my first semester topics, (including the ones I thought were missing)in Dr. Klein's books. Do yourself a huge favor! Get a head start by letting Dr. Klein help you by using these two small books! I would love it if these were the text books for our class! Thank you, Dr. Klein!!!

GREAT if you have a textbook for a second resource. I would not recommend trying to go solely off this book alone. My teacher used Klein's textbook and this was great if you didn't want to carry around the almost 2000 page book with you. Klein talks to you, not like you are stupid, but like you are human and need another understanding. Even when I used his textbook and was confused, it's not like this book just spit the same stuff back at me. I have decided to keep mine for future use because they are very helpful. He goes step-by-step in problem solving. I feel like if you are taking both semesters of organic chemistry, just buy these two books right away since some teachers split the semester differently! I got a B in both semesters of ochem and I can say that these books helped me more around finals than the textbook did alone. Of course, I was more of a lab rat in organic chemistry! Best of luck to you!

I struggled a lot during the first semester of Organic Chemistry and was terrified about the second semester. I have been reading through this book to help me understand the topics we are going over in lecture beforehand. I have been able to keep up with the professor and understand what he is lecturing about. I am to a point where I know enough to ask questions which is an improvement from first semester. If you are struggling in Organic Chemistry I would recommend this book. You will still have to study your textbook but this book breaks down the topics in the text and makes them easy to understand. I would be lost without it.

This book is invaluable for anybody taking organic chemistry. It breaks down most concepts into manageable steps of instruction and provides helpful exercises to really get a firm understanding.

Great book, easy to read, and tons of exercise.

If you want an A in organic chemistry, then buy this book, you can use it in addition to your textbook, it makes organic chemistry look simple.

Best book out there for its purpose.

This book is no different than what textbooks in terms of content or style. It's nothing more than a vaporized, cooled and condensed version of organic chemistry "facts" and "recipes." Only the colorful pictures, useless "useful applications/bio-related s***" boxes, history, and the occasional odd mechanisms are missing. I did like the chapters on IR, and Aromatic chemistry though, hence the two stars. The rest is total crap. If there's too much fuss going on over a textbook, chances are it's a bunch of idiots who might have got the idea that they can finally "understand" the subject matter simply because the author addressed them directly or uses crappy jokes to lighten their mood.