Like any good dictionary type of book, this little volume can be of great help to students and professionals alike. Like any other book by Atkins, be assured that the quality is very, very high. And, for a chemist, it's a definite plus that this friendly guide was made to withstand the rigors of the laboratory table; it will last you a lifetime.

I have not seriously looked at a chemistry textbook in years. I still recall with some unease my classes in inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, geochemistry, and physical chemistry. Despite our long hours together, chemistry and I were never close friends.

A while back I found myself browsing "General Chemistry", a widely used text authored by P. W. Atkins and J. A. Beran. Surprisingly, I transitioned from a cursory review mode to a dedicated reading of the entire text. I emerged six months later with an excitment for chemistry that I had never developed while attending university.

Like most first year college science textbooks, the latest edition of Atkins' text is thick (about 1,000 glossy pages), heavy, and incredibly expensive. I used an older second edition (1990) that is available for a substantially reduced price on Amazon.

I suspect that Atkins' text is more detailed than many first year chemistry books. I found the section on Redox Equations and Half Reactions to be troublesome. I had difficulty with chapters 14 and 15 on Acids and Bases (pgs. 531-620) and even set the book aside for several weeks. I am unsure whether the problem was with the text or with me, probably a little of both. The last 300 pages seemed easier going. The organic chemistry sections were well written.

I appreciated the way that the authors clearly explained the solution strategy for ALL example problems before detailing the solution itself. The problem is defined, a strategy for solving the problem is discussed, and the solution is clearly shown. This feature makes Atkins' textbook particularly sutiable for self-study and review.

I especially enjoyed the discussions on special topics like Processing Ores, Scanning Tunneling Microscope, Redox Reactions in Photography, Photoelectrochemistry, Swimming Pool Chemistry, Stalactite Growth, and Smog Formation.

I am puzzled why reader reviews for Atkins' various textbooks seem so inconsistent. Some readers rave about his textbooks; others hate them. I have read this book from cover to cover and I join those readers that recommend Atkins' textbooks.

Recently I came across a more current edition of Atkins' General Chemistry (now co-authoed with Loretta Jones) that has been substantially restructured. The new 3D drawings of molecules were especially impressive. If you can afford it, buy a newer edition, but avoid the high cost of the latest edition unless it is a class requirement.

Beautiful book! Reads easily, great diagrams, and pretty pictures. Since Atkins is an excellent physical chemist, his chapters on physical chemistry are the best in the book.

Ever since I can remember I despised everything that had to do with physics, chemistry, math, biology and other sciences.
When enrolling in college we began learning chemistry at a higher level, and I immidiately felt captivated. I bought this book and suddenly it was all much clearer, no it's not a commercial, it's solid fact, that this book changed my view of the world. I read in it on a daily basis and find it exhubering to read the two authors' descriptions of the wonders of molecyles, atoms, pH, ions and physical chemistry, it has opened a doorway to a whole new world. I really owe my recently acquired interest in chemistry to books like this one.
Buy it!

As an instructor I found this text VERY DISAPPOINTING. It has many errors that persist to the 2nd edition. In addition, there are several instances in which references are made to sections that are only found in Atkin's larger P-Chem text. I attribute this to simple lack of effort on the part of the author and publisher. The errors and inconsistencies have made this text difficult to use. In addition, for students with the background to understand straight forward calculus based descriptions, it was confusing to wade through algebraic description before encoutering the proper "justification" at the end.

While the descriptions in the book are helpful, I reccomend you pick another Atkins text. Both my class and my professor are unhappy with this selection. The book has many contradictions and innacuracies, and while the correct parts may be very good, a text book _must_ be reliable. It is important to know what is true from the errors. For this reason I used another Atkins text. "Physical Chemistry" 5th edition is accurate and helpful. (I've heard the 6th edition of "Physical Chemistry" also has errors.) "Physical Chemistry" is calculus based, so be aware that a math background is helpful (including Multivariable Calculus). The solutions manual to this book is _full_ of errors.

Like all the books that Atkins has written entirely on his own, the "Elements of Physical Chemistry" is a work of extremely high quality. With this, I mean that Atkins has succeeded entirely in achieving what he aimed for - writing a condensed booklet that collects in one place all the physical chemistry there is in General Chemistry, with very slight additional depth. The layout does not interfere, organization of material is perfect; but then, most General Chemistry texts would of course be very much easier to read and understand if all the flow-charts, dialogue boxes, summary boxes, review boxes, review question boxes, exercise boxes, problem boxes, concept question boxes, application boxes, margin notes and hundreds of flashy pictures were removed. As a child, a man that one day would become my professor, on one occasion said to me "you simply must know every WORD of this book, for it contains the elementa of the discipline". I followed this and other advice of his, and today I enjoy the effects of his wisdom. WelI-meaningly I now say to all people taking General Chemistry - get this book and learn every WORD. I urge you. With concentration, you will have learned everything well in one week-end. (You will be the best in your class with only this minimal investment of effort, if that is perhaps your concern.) The [elementa]of Physical Chemistry is really an inadequate title, as the foundations of Physical Chemistry come from many disciplines that must be studied separately; some catch-all volume is impossible. The "Postulates of General Chemistry" would be more descriptive, but extremely unlikely... Thus, do not be grightened by the title - this is GENERAL chemistry at its best. If you know what a definite integral is, you will be perfectly alright. The only weakness is the binding (as with the last edition of the Physical Chemistry proper and its accessory manuals) but that is no different from other books. Soon, the greed of publishing houses will have wiped out the last memory of that book binding really is an art. (Those who dream of obtaining a conscientous understanding of chemistry and physics, I also urge to read this book - since it will, as said, require only three days of work and will definitely save you many, many hours of inefficiency that a loose understanding of General Chemistry would steal from your restless struggle in your first Physical Chemistry or any other post-G-chem. course! Besides, conscience is always in constant movement and no one book, or even a thousand, good or bad, can anchor it securely for you! I take this opportunity of warning against trusting oneself too securely in the gentle arms of pedagogy: you should naturally listen to your masters carefully, admire their skill and persistence and remember all their words, but the only truth is that which you wholeheartedly believe in yourself. Now, as you try this out, you might find that believing is an infinitely beautiful and human thing, but one surprisingly hard to do (that is probably why so many have left church) - and then there is hope for you! The desire to come to rest, in belief, will force you to derive every relation that you come across and think about how all hangs together, day and night, in sickness and in health, in your sleep and while you have supper - until your conscience says "enough!...for now." This fascinating process will let you taste the "real" science, follow its gradual discovery, and build the tremendous skill that you will need carrying it forth. Last, but surely not least, you will be given a chance of discovering yourself in a way that no Navy drill ever could succeed with. MUCH ENJOYMENT I WISH TO YOU!)

This book is great in that it covers the many topics associated with physical chemistry. On the other hand, because the book is so poorly written and organized, it fails to do anything but give the student a brief introduction to p-chem. My school uses it simply becuase it contains both the therm/kinetics and the quantum/spectoscopy aspects of the course. The professors, however, go far beyond the book even in the introductory class. This is not a book that you can just pick up, read, and expect to know anything more about p-chem than you did when finishing general chem. So, read it. Talk about the topics with friends, to try to understand Atkins ramblings. Make sure your professor explains the topics in depth. And buy another book for reference.

This is simply one of the best text boks I've come across in my study of chemistry. I plan on going to graduate school in physical chemistry and this book has been extremely helpful. It's well set up, good at explaining concepts, and full of challangeing problems at the end of each chapter. As for the revies that disliked the book's lack of deriving every single equation, I think that anyone who has made it to a course in p-chem should have the math skills required to derive equations in order to master what is a highly mathematicaly driven subject. An excellent book, and one that will stay in my reference library.

I have read the other reviews and I believe that the students who rate this book poorly are mistaking their inability to grasp physical chemistry with a poor textbook. The textbook is excellent and any good professor can teach physical chemistry from it. It is well organized, starting with some basic thermodynamics background and moving to more complicated thermo. The next section is kinetics, which is also presented not nearly as well as the thermo, but Atkins does a good job nonetheless. Spectroscopy and statistical mechanics come next and although they are not simple to understand, Atkins is concise in his presentation. The remainder of the book is additional material which may or may not be covered in a physical chemistry course. What should also be noted are the appendices at the end. Atkins includes very helpful supplemental material in mathematics which is needed for the thermodynamics discussion. The tables are somewhat lacking, but any good reference book can supplement this information. Overall, I would say the book is well worth the money and I have yet to see another physical chemistry text which contains as much information as well presented as it is.