Others say...

"Truly excellent"
This book is an excellent way to begin to learn Organic Chemistry. The book covers most of what you will learn in Organic Chemistry I, and ends by covering the first few topics in Organic Chemistry II.

It expounds the material in such a way that almost any body can understand it. I personally struggle quite a bit with science, and often find textbooks (and even review books) convoluted and confusing. This book however, really lays some good foundations to begin to learn Organic Chemistry. It explains the basics in a clear, concise manner. The writing style is easy and conversational, so it is possible to read the chapters fairly quickly. I find that reading this book really saves me time in the long run. I read this book first, then I read through my textbook and attend lecture. Since I have already begun to understand the basic concepts, I can focus more on details. This really cuts down the amount of time I have to spend reading and re-reading my textbook. I develop an understanding for the material more quickly and more thoroughly than by just reading the textbook and going to lecture. It also includes lots of little tips on how to solve organic chemistry problems that also save you time in the long run.

However, make no mistake, this book is NOT intended to teach you everything you need to know in Organic Chemistry. I believe it is best used as an introduction or supplement to lay the foundations for more detailed material covered in textbooks and in lectures. In other words, this book could be the skeleton, and your textbook and lecture would be the muscles, ligaments, etc. that flesh out the skeleton. That said, I have found this book to be extremely helpful. I wish that they have an Organic Chemistry II for Dummies!

"Dummy Chem"
I found the book extremely helpful. I used it as a supplemental review to help me study for my Organic Chemistry Final and for the Medical College Admission Test. The book covers the foundational concepts thoroughly and in an easy to read, easy to understand, format. It is no susbstitute for a real Organic Chemistry class, but it is a close second and if you read it alongside of your textbook you'll be amazed at how much easier the class becomes. After reading it, I found that I was actually able to predict the direction of many reactions, even though I had never seen that particular reaction before. I was using the authors website, [...] All in All a great buy.

"Pretty good."
The book is helpful, but like most in the "for dummies" series, it just doesn't present ENOUGH. I'd been out of school for a few years, and was really looking for something supplemental outside of class. This book, what there is of it, does help, but there isn't nearly enough of it. In their effort to shorten it to make it seem less of a textbook, it left me feeling rushed, and lacking something; especially at test time. More examples, problems and solutions, and descriptions would have been great.

"Opinion"
Very good explanation of the BASICS in Orgo I. It will not go into detail and you will need the book and not all will be there. A better book for more information would be Organic Chemistry as a Second Language. It has the second semester in another book if you need a continuation. These are expensive, but worth it. This book has better explanations though, in what it does have.

"simply awful"
The author's numerous attempts to be 'witty', 'funny', and 'entertaining' range between mildly distracting and vomit inducing. The worst example, which caused me to stop reading, is on pg 139. "The selectivity of chlorination and bromination".

"What do I mean by selectivity? Consider the politcally incorrect analogy of the selectivity of a mass murderer versus the selectivity of a wife who just found out her husband had been cheating on her. A mass murderer has little selectivity, - - he kills virtually everyone he meets. The angry wife, however is much more selective. She may bump into many people but she only bumps off her husband"

Leave the comedy to comedians. Please. For the love of god. The author appears to be about 10 years old, emotionally. The book is full of idiotic 'analogies' like this. I can see it now, though, a gaggle of science types screaming about how oppressed they are by the 'politically correct'. No, you aren't being oppresed by the politically correct, you are being asked to grow the @#$@#$ up and act like an adult and try to relate to other people.

It also has a nice mention of the poor oppressed german scientists Alder and Diels, who labored in poor, oppressed germany in WWII, where "synthetic chemistry took a hit". (Don't say Nazi! No! No just keept it at 'German' please!) Gosh, I wonder why? Of course Alder worked at IG Farben (Zylkon B! better fascism through chemistry) on synthetic rubber... I guess its just a coincidence that Auschwitz manufactured synthetic rubber in slave labor camps. Why discuss that? Thats 'politically incorrect' too I guess - I wouldn't want to distract these big important scientists with the petty concerns of 'normal people' who are concerned about 'politics' and other worthless artefacts of history. But I wonder how Einstein would feel about that? (if you have to ask... go read a book about him)

Another example is the Thalidomide box. He paints it as a failure of 'not enough animal testing'. Forget about corporate greed, rushing products to market, hubris, arrogance, etc. For him it's just a need for more animal testing.

This attitude is why science is so divorced from mainstream culture and this book is a perfect example of the problem endemic to science, that it is somehow 'above' considerations of humanity, ethics, history, and the relevance thereof.