New Titles on New Book Shelf

First published over 40 years ago, this was the first text on the identification of organic compounds using spectroscopy. This text presents a unified approach to the structure determination of organic compounds based largely on mass spectrometry, infrared (IR) spectroscopy, as well as multinuclear and multidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The key strength of this text is the extensive set of practice and real-data problems (in Chapters 7 and 8). Even professional chemists use these spectra as reference data. Spectrometric Identification of Organic Compounds is written by and for organic chemists, and emphasizes the synergistic effect resulting from the interplay of spectra. This text is characterized by its problem-solving approach with numerous practice problems and extensive reference charts and tables.

A leading book for 80 years, Silbey & Alberty's Physical Chemistry features exceptionally clear explanations of the concepts and methods of physical chemistry for students who have had a year of calculus and a year of physics. The basic theory of chemistry is presented from the viewpoint of academic physical chemists, but the many practical applications of physical chemistry are integrated throughout the text.  The problems in the text also reflect a skillful blend of theory and practical applications. This text is ideally suited for a standard undergraduate physical chemistry course taken by chemistry, chemical engineering, and biochemistry majors in their junior or senior year. 

Introduction to Computational Chemistry 3rd Edition provides a comprehensive account of the fundamental principles underlying different computational methods. Fully revised and updated throughout to reflect important method developments and improvements since publication of the previous edition, this timely update includes the following significant revisions and new topics: Polarizable force fields Tight-binding DFT More extensive DFT functionals, excited states and time dependent molecular properties Accelerated Molecular Dynamics methods Tensor decomposition methods Cluster analysis Reduced scaling and reduced prefactor methods Additional information is available at: www.wiley.com/go/jensen/computationalchemistry3

In anticipation of solar eclipses visible in 2017 and 2024, an exploration of the scientific and cultural significance of this mesmerizing cosmic display Since the first humans looked up and saw the sun swallowed by darkness, our species has been captivated by solar eclipses. Astronomer and anthropologist Anthony Aveni explains the history and culture surrounding solar eclipses, from prehistoric Stonehenge to Babylonian creation myths, to a confirmation of Einstein's theory of general relativity, to a spectacle that left New Yorkers in the moon's shadow, to future eclipses that will capture human imaginations.   In one accessible and engaging read, Aveni explains the science behind the phenomenon, tracks eclipses across the ancient world, and examines the roles of solar eclipses in modern times to reveal the profound effects these cosmic events have had on human history. Colored by his own experiences--Aveni has witnessed eight total solar eclipses in his lifetime--his account of astronomy's most storied phenomenon will enthrall anyone who has looked up at the sky with wonder.

Founded as a port at the confluence of two great rivers, Kansas City has the waters of the Missouri running through its bloodstream--threading expressways, delivering drinking water, carrying traffic and sewage, and emerging most visibly in the city's celebrated fountains. Despite, or perhaps because of, the river's ubiquity, the complex and critical nature of its presence can be hard to understand, which is precisely why Amahia Mallea's enlightening book is so essential. Moving from the city's center to the outer limits of the metropolitan area, A River in the City of Fountains offers a clear view of the reach and intricacies of the Missouri River's connection to life in Kansas City. The history of this connection is one of science and industry working, sometimes at cross-purposes, to bend the river to the needs of commerce and public health. It is a story populated with heroes and villains, visionaries and robber barons, scientists and civil engineers, politicians and activists--all with schemes and plans and far-reaching ideas about what, and whose, demands the power of the Missouri should serve. And so, inevitably, it is a story of disparities: a story of, from one flood to the next, the haves staking out higher ground, leaving the have-nots to the perils of low-lying land. But what the book also shows us is a slow awakening to the ways in which all those vying for the river's favor are inextricably connected by its course; here we see, finally, a growing awareness of the river's essential role in the health and welfare of the whole urban environment. In the end, all citizens of Kansas City are both upstream and downstream; all are equally dependent on the health of the river. What this book helps us see is, at last, as much the city in the river as the river in the city.