Let’s face it, organic chemistry can seem difficult to learn. Especially from a beginner’s point of view. For exactly that reason we have put together the definitive guide for choosing the best organic chemistry textbook for your situation.
But out of ALL of them, how do you choose the best one? The amount of material out there is overwhelming. But don’t worry!
No matter if you are a student, a chemistry or research professional, a university professor, a parent, or a high school teacher, there is always a good organic chemistry book for you.
In this exhaustive review we will help you buy the textbook you need!
Which is The Best Organic Chemistry Book?
If you don’t want to look further and go straight for the top 1 pick for most situations, “Organic Chemistry” by Clayden, Greeves and Warren is definitely the best textbook for most needs.
Top-notch learning approach, easy to follow, with plenty of “real-life” examples, enough practice problems, and beautiful graphics. If I only had to choose one, this would be the best organic chemistry textbook there is: Clayden’s Organic Chemistry
Clayden’s Organic Chemistry is never going to fail you as a chemistry textbook. If you want an organic chemisty textbook for self study, this will also be great. However, you might be looking for something different. Or for a different teaching approach. Or maybe you are looking for something more advanced that will be worth consulting from years to come. I have many of the books on this list sitting in my office these days, and my undergraduate days are long gone.
Keep reading and you will find your most appropriate recommendation!
Summary Table: Top 13 Textbooks
In the table that follows, you can see a quick description of each book. This way you can know if it fits your needs at first glance.
Not decided yet? Don’t worry! The most complete and exhaustive review on the internet of the best organic textbooks follows.
Furthermore, if you are looking for the best complement for learning organic chemistry, check out our review of the best organic chemistry model kits.
Complete Review of All Books
1. Clayden Organic Chemistry
As we have already clearly said, Clayden’s is going to be the best book for organic chemistry in most situations. This book is authored by Jonathan Clayden, Nick Greeves and Stuart Warren. It’s basic enough that if you are just getting started studying organic chemistry you will be able to catch up. But also covers topics from most advanced organic chemistry courses.
If you are professor, it is also going to be a solid bet for planning lectures. And besides, it is a great organic chemistry reference textbook for any chemist. This book sits on my shelf since I started studying undergraduate chemistry, and it always have a place there. Also it is one of the few affordable stand-alone chemistry textbooks out there.
Many consider Clayden as the best book for organic chemistry. Clayden emphasizes on concepts, and binding those concepts together, building up in top of each other. The first edition was published in 2001, but the last one (2012) covers greatly the most relevant topics in organic chemistry of the last years, such as the palladium catalyzed Suzuki or Heck reactions, or the Grubbs metathesis reaction (all of them awarded the Nobel prize).
A progressive way for fundamental understanding
If you want to really understand the fundamentals behind organic chemistry, Clayden’s is the clear superior choice. Most of other textbooks are structured about functional groups, and the sets of reactions that you can run to make it or to get to them.
On the other hand, Clayden starts off by introducing a very simple and common reaction: addition reactions to carbonyl compounds. Then goes over different carbonyl reactions, such as substitution or condensations (reactions with the loss of water). This smooth progressive mechanistic approach makes Clayden’s stand our among all organic chemistry texts, which are generally more “plain” and rely on individual chapters for individual types of molecules.
Clayden: Rich contents, visually appealing and entertaining:
This brilliant textbook is one of the few that make good use of colors as a visual learning tool. This, in my opinion, should be mandatory for any good organic chemistry textbook published after 2010.
The style of the book is quite unique. It is written in an informal and honest way that makes it extremely pleasant to follow. Furthermore, many examples based on interesting/famous molecules or chemical problems are presented throughout the book. The only drawbacks that I can think of is that some of the final chapters, such as the ones for organometallic chemistry, would be better off if they were a bit more expanded. Also, there are no in-chapter problems. Finally, as you can see, the last edition is from 2012; if getting a very up-to-date textbook is in your top priorities, maybe you should look into other texts.
Otherwise, Clayden is clearly the superior tool for learning organic chemistry. Remarkably, they use the molecular orbitals theory as a model to rationalize explanations for the very beginning, which is great for learning purposes.
Overall, Clayden organic chemistry textbook is a perfect blend between good contents, great formatting and both educational and entertaining style.
2. Klein Organic Chemistry
Coming up second right after Clayden, its Organic Chemistry by David R. Klein. From a purely introductory organic chemistry textbook point of view, Klein Organic Chemistry might come up slightly above Clayden Organic Chemistry.
Clayden’s is our top 1 option because it is versatile to cover different needs or situations. But if you are interested on the best organic chemistry textbook to follow and understand introductory organic chemistry concepts, Klein is the way to go. It is also on the affordable range of textbooks.
Klein Organic Chemistry Standalone Book uses a skills-based approach. They introduce and build on top of all the typical concepts that you can find in any organic chemistry textbook. But they emphasize on the developments of skill to understand and support these concepts. Many professors I know believe that this book follows the best approach to teaching organic chemistry.
Klein: An excellent tool for students looking for the best introduction to organic chemistry
The book includes many problems, not only at the end of each chapter (the traditional manner), but also wherever they might be relevant for the reader to understand the content. If you are really intro problems, you might also want to grab a copy of the student study guide and solutions manual.
This organic chemistry textbook includes many colored diagrams, which especially useful to identify different kinds of bonds, or to illustrate distribution of charges.
Overall, Klein Organic Chemistry is the best organic chemistry textbook for getting the foundations of organic chemistry right.
3. Organic Chemistry as Second Language
David R. Klein is not only author of the standalone book that we ranked as the best organic chemistry textbook, but also has published Organic Chemistry as Second Language. I found that many people confuse both of them, but they are two completely different books. Klein Organic Chemistry Standalone s a classical 1300-pages-long textbook which covers beautifully all organic chemistry concepts that you will need.
So what is the big deal with this other book?
Well, on the other hand, Organic Chemistry as Second Language is like a 400-page condensed version of the longer book. This version mainly omits backstories, unnecessary examples and case studies. It boils it down to what really is important tot understand organic chemistry: concepts, concise introductions, clear explanations, examples and problems.
Organic chemistry is not an easy subject. If you are a student who is going to start taking organic chemistry courses, you need to be prepared. We would say that Organic Chemistry as Second Language is the best organic chemistry book for getting ready to this subject.
If you are just interested in acing organic chemistry, this book is definitely your best weapon. But this does not mean that that this book is just for that. No, it definitely covers everything most other textbooks do, but just in a much more concise and practical way. Furthermore, this book includes all the problem solutions by itself, so there is no need to purchase a separate solutions book.
Should I go for this shorter option?
But it is a rather unusual chemistry textbook, as it is not the typical full book with over 1000 pages. Considering that, we will try to help you decide if Organic Chemistry as Second Language is right for you.
You should buy Organic Chemistry as Second Language if:
- You are looking for a book that you can actually read entirely the month before starting your organic chemistry course, and go from the very bottom right to the top in terms of preparation.
- You are a bit desperate and think that organic chemistry is too difficult for you. This book will get you out of this.
- You want to ace organic chemistry courses/exams (which is absolutely not mutually exclusive with it being an awesome tool for learning!).
- You want the perfect complement to other regular organic chemistry textbook, or to a course in which they give you decent sets of materials.
- You are a professor who wants to put together an efficient, effective and complete organic chemistry course.
You should not choose Organic Chemistry as Second Language if:
- You are already familiar and understand properly most introductory organic chemistry concepts.
- You want to buy a book to go deep into more advanced concepts.
- You want a good organic chemistry reference textbook.
Overall, this book is great for grasping the basics of organic chemistry. It gets you in the best possible shape to learn and ace organic chemistry.
4. Advanced Organic Chemistry
Ladies and gentlemen I present you the best organic chemistry textbook for advanced users. Carey and Sundberg Advanced Organic Chemistry is actually a pair of two textbooks (Part A and Part B), which complement each other very well, but they are completely independent in terms of contents.
This two-part book is my absolutely favorite in the chemistry section of my shelf. I own both the third and fifth edition of the series, and it has been updated significantly to account for the most recent advances in research.
Advanced Organic Chemistry is simply the most brilliant and detailed account in the field of organic chemistry. Throughout the two volumes, all concepts are thoroughly explained, with many examples organized in schemes that resemble a real scientific review article. This pair of books is probably not the way for absolute beginners taking their first organic chemistry course (it would still work, but a lot of information will be over your head). However, if you are an intermediate undergraduate to a graduate student, this textbook is must have! Check out each one of the volumes below:
Advanced Organic Chemistry Part A: Structure and Mechanisms
The first part deeply covers the fundamentals of organic chemistry, and basic types of mechanisms. This is a stand-alone top-tier book on these topics, but it is very well complemented by the second volume, which deals with reactivity and synthesis.
Advanced Organic Chemistry Part B: Reaction and Synthesis
Part B of the absolutely best advanced organic chemistry textbook focuses on types of reactions and their applications in organic synthesis. The two books together give the most comprehensive foundation on the study of organic chemistry that you can find.
I still have to meet an organic chemistry professional that doesn’t own or hasn’t heard of Advanced Organic Chemistry as the best organic chemistry textbook.
5. An Introduction to General, Organic and Biological Chemistry
We are jumping now from the most advanced organic chemistry textbook to the most general one. Timberlake’s Chemistry is closer to a general chemistry textbook which then moves further into both organic chemistry and biological chemistry.
Are you getting started on your journey to learn chemistry and you are interested in a more organic-focused book? This is definitely your answer!
You don’t really need the typical general chemistry book before you dive into Timberlake. You can start from literally zero chemistry knowledge. The book starts with the mandatory math behind chemistry, and glues everything together amazingly.
It holds A LOT of content on it, but it doesn’t make it difficult to read. There are great examples, study checks and practice problems throughout all levels of “chemical specialization”.
This book can get you through any general chemistry course, and any introductory organic chemistry or even biological chemistry courses. Besides, if you are interested in learning chemistry by yourself, from general concepts into organic chemistry, this is most likely the best way up.
6. Bruice Organic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry by Paula Y. Bruice is one of the most recently updated textbooks out there. If you want to put your hands into an organic chemistry textbook that is extremely well written and easy to follow, Bruice should be on your top list.
This book focuses on answering “why” questions continuously, so it is constantly solidifying and re-solidifying the concepts after they were already introduced. There is a lot of practice questions that you can dig into.
One of the strongest point is the way the book redirects you all the time to where the concepts were first discussed. In this, way, if something is not really clear, you can instantly find what you need to read to understand it. This way of focusing on concepts, and further building in top of them, brigs up Bruice right behind the 5 best books for organic chemistry.
7. Vollhardt Organic Chemistry: Structure and Function
This is one of the most famous textbooks for organic chemistry, Peter C. Vollhardt is a great educator. It presents all the concepts and the subject comprehensively. Vollhardt will not only give you the basics, butt it will dive deeper into concepts, reaction mechanisms, and explaining what exactly is happening in all types of organic reactions. This a very complete book that will never be out of fashion.
Probably the most significant downside of this organic chemistry text is that it is usually expensive. But if you can afford it, by all means, go for it!
I would highlight how systematic the book is, and this is really good for beginners. They stick to the IUPAC nomenclature in all cases. For example, they use “propanone” instead of the common name “acetone”, or “oxacyclopropane” instead of the common “ethylene oxide”. Sometimes common names that go out of systematic notations can confuse students. You won’t have this problem with Vollhardt’s book.
Apart from that, this book is one of the ones that have the most amount of material, you might find it dense sometimes, but it makes a perfect reference organic chemistry textbook.
8. McMurry Organic Chemistry
John McMurry is another great organic chemistry textbook, recommended by many professors. I have an old first version of this book, and as it progressed forward through the years it has become significantly thicker, therefore covering a wider range of topics. However, some people claim that it actually got worse on the re-editing process. I haven’t compared different editions myself, but it is something to account for.
If we were to compare it to its direct competitor, Vollhardt, I would say that Vollhardt excels in amount and variety of content. On the other hand, McMurry is much more concise, resulting in clearer explanations. McMurry is very easy to read, and will make you fall in love with organic chemistry! It is also a more affordable option.
The main downsides that I find in this book are the lack of enough practice exercises of increasing difficulty, and tips for further tackle more difficult problems. Apart from that, McMurry’s is a perfectly fine organic chemistry textbook.
9. Wade Organic Chemistry
The 9th edition of this book has been published recently (2016) and it was authored by Leroy G. Wade and Jan W. Simek. It is a brilliant piece of educational material, and definitely stands within the top organic chemistry textbooks.
The book focuses greatly on homework problems, and update them with every new edition. In terms of contents, it is great, and it is updated fairly often.
The downside with Wade is that, for a 2016-last-published book, lacks a lot in the graphical design and formatting. The schemes and drawings are not very appealing and sometimes can be difficult to visualize, which is harmful while learning organic chemistry.
But on the other hand, explanations and practice problems are just great. Besides, Clayden’s, Wade’s was the organic chemistry textbook that I used myself during my undergraduate days. But I think by know you already know which one I prefer.
10. Solomons Organic Chemistry
Another classical organic chemistry textbook that definitely makes it into the top 10. Ranking it last doesn’t mean that is not good. It’s a nice text. It explains all the concepts fairly well, and it feeds the importance of understanding and not just memorizing. It is pushes you through the logic of organic chemistry, and makes good uses of analogies. You can check out Solomons Organic Chemistry here:
The order in which the contents are presented is kind of weird. Sometimes it feels like you have to read though the latest chapters to understand the first ones. That is not the biggest problem ever when it comes to a college textbook, but problems such as this prevent it from being the best organic chemistry textbook.
Complementary and Miscellaneous Materials
After an exhaustive review of the “classical” best books for organic chemistry, we wanted to mention three more books that may be interesting to you. If you are looking for complements to your organic chemistry textbook for self study, you might want to look at some of those.
You have decided which textbook to purchase, but you are hungry for more, to get really well prepared, or maybe a book for self study!
These are not the typical “standalone” college textbooks. However, the highly practical and instructive approach of these books may be appealing for you. They definitely will help you establish the bases of your learning. Then you can build on top of that.
11. The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual: A Student’s Guide to Techniques
This is the best organic chemistry book for the laboratory. The chemistry lab books could fill an entire post with reviews by itself. But I wanted to make sure to add here the best one, as a complement of any actual textbook that you might have chosen.
This survival guide is the best companion for the typical university-level (sophomore-junior) organic chemistry lab courses. If you are either teaching or taking any of those courses, get a copy of this book and jump into the next level!
I have to admit that I didn’t know this book until quite recently, but when I read it I thought I would have made my life through school incredibly easier! It covers lab safety, how to properly keep a lab notebook, basic equipment, organic chemistry lab techniques (such as recrystallization, extraction, distillation..) lab tricks, basic experiments, chromatographic techniques such as TLC or flash column, and finally spectroscopic and other characterization techniques. Basically everything you need to survive though any organic chemistry lab that you can find out there. The book is very useful and extremely engaging, with a playful/informal writing style, you can even find some jokes on it. You wont regret this purchase!
12. Arrow-Pushing in Organic Chemistry: An Easy Approach to Understanding Reaction Mechanisms
I think this is one of the best complementary books for organic chemistry. This book by Daniel E. Levy fills a significant gap in chemistry undergraduate education, organic chemistry is all about arrow pushing. I believe that most professors and students would benefit significantly of reading through Arrow-Pushing in Organic Chemistry. The book draws a nice picture of how you should approach learning arrow pushing mechanisms, which is basically the language of organic chemistry.
It is a great workbook or complement indeed. However, this is not a textbook or a purely instructional book. It doesn’t start off from the beginner concepts, it doesn’t explain the basics of organic chemistry in the first chapters. It literally dives into arrow-pushing mechanisms, so it is a highly practical resource. It does start explaining concepts after several chapters, and goes back to explaining things that were already approached at the beginning in a practical manner. It follows a weird order, but it might work for you if you just want to “see stuff working” from the start of your read.
13. Organic Chemistry I for Dummies
This member of the “for dummies” series is an interesting quick overview of an introductory organic chemistry course. This is not a textbook, and should not be treated like so. With Organic Chemistry I for Dummies you can scratch the surface of organic chemistry in a very practical manner. I’m not a particular fan of this text book. Not because is not good for learning: it is great for learning the very basics, but after you will run out of resources.
It covers concepts such as nomenclature, stereochemistry, functional groups, very basic organic chemistry reactions (eliminations, substitutions), and has some nice problems. Everything in a very informal and straight-to-the-point fashion. If you are taking an introductory organic chemistry course, this might be the perfect complement. It is very visual, which exactly what organic chemistry asks for. Since it is not a complete textbook, just an introductory practical summary, it is a very affordable resource.
After soon you will be hungry for more, so that is why I put this book on this last complementary section.
Wrapping Up: Quick Summary of Our Top 3 Picks
So I will close with a quick reference: The three top organic chemistry books. One of these will work for you in most situations, they are safe bets. Depending on your specific needs, you can choose one or another:
Perhaps you are not quite into organich chemistry yet. If you are preparing your AP chemistry exam, you should take a look to this review of our top recommendations to crack the AP chemistry exam! Also, here’s for the SAT chemistry exams.
We have also reviewed some chemistry sets for young students (or even for adults!).
Furthermore, by popular demand after getting several emails, we have also arranged some other review guides:
- If you are just getting started in chemistry, check out the best general chemistry textbooks out there!
- A review guide for helping you choose the best inorganic chemistry textbook!
- Or check out our general guide for learning chemistry. Plenty of resources and recommendations over there.
If you miss any organic chemistry books that you are interested in, let us know in the comments and we will definitely get our hands in one copy and add it to the review. Enjoy learning organic chemistry and good luck!
Spot on. I used Wade’s when I studied, and it was fine.
Now I teach undergrad and I base my courses on Clayden’s. To be fair I didn’t know about the ochem lab survival manual, I’ll make sure to check out a copy. Thanks for the reviews.
I’m glad I helped you finding a new teaching resource that could help you and your students!
If you want some more inspiration for undergrad experiments (not only organic), check this out.
What about March advance organic chemistry ? How does it compare to carey and sundberg ?
March’s Advanced Organic Chemistry (edited and updated by Michael Smith right now) is a nice and comprehensive text indeed. However, it is difficult to find a practical scenario in which it works best. This is a huge textbook and goes beyond the scope of most university courses. On the other hand, it could be used as a reference text, but on this ground, in my opinion Carey and Sundberg’s outperforms it by far.
So you could say March’s is a middle point between a text for advanced organic chemistry courses and a reference book. This kind of compromise might work for some people, so you could somehow consider using it. But there are better options for learning and better options for reference.
Which of the two books have more content ? I want to use them as a reference books. Main focus is on mechanism and reagent. What is your pick ?
For reference, I would go for Carey and Sundberg’s every time.
I’m looking to teach a one-semester organic chemistry survey course in the spring. Do you think that Klein’s Organic as Second Language would work for that?
I think that a 6 months introduction to organic chemistry is exactly the type of scenario in which Klein’s Second Language shines most. I would go for it!
Did you evaluate the Karty text?
Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to check out that book, that’s why it’s not not the list. Would you recommend it? I’ll try to get my hands into a copy for next update of the guide.
Why don’t you mention I.L Finer.?
I used that one, that’s why its not included. From what I read online, it’s okish, but not a great book for a beginner, since it doesn’t go very deep on the foundations.
If you have read it and have an opinion, please do share it!
Hi
I just wanted to know which book has most information. Could you arrange them in increasing order their content .
thanks a lot for ur information.
Carey/Sundbrg definitely has the most amount of information, but it is significantly advanced. If you are starting, the best bet for balance between learning the basics and containing the most of information is Clayden’s book.
hey could u tell what fraction of information does clayden have of organic chemistry compared to carey and sundberg.
hey are u from britain
I am not!
Hi
I just wanted know that clayden first edition has 53 chapters where as second edition has 43 chapters and only 4 chapters are given in website which are not present in 2nd edition.
Should i purchase first edition for othe r 6 chapters or are they condensed to other chapters in 2nd editon
Some of the new materials that you can find in the newest edition are an extension of previous topics, but most of the new chapters cover different, newer topics. The idea by the authors was to update the book with organic chemistry topics which grew on relevance within the years. So the newest edition is definitely worth it if you can afford it.
which book is best for problems and I want the textbook with most difficult questions in it
Thank you for compiling this list.
I just want to know whether there are topics which are not included in Clayden but are included in other books that I might need to check out? In other words, is Clayden the only book I would need or I would have to consult other books in this list for specific topics?
As always, it depends on what is your purpose for the book. If it’s for undergraduate organic chemistry studies, very little will fall out of the coverage of Clayden.
Hi! I was wondering what your thoughts on Loudon was? I thought it was particularly helpful for understanding the molecular orbitals and *why* reactions and mechanisms happen the way they do, as opposed to just learning trends.
Hey Gabriele. I heard good things about it, but never had a chance to review a copy myself, so I cannot say in this case!
Any opinions on Robert B Grossman’s The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms (as a complementary text)?
Hard yes! I never got around to including this text on my review, but I have used it in the past, and it is a great tool! The explanations on the mechanisms are quite clear and concise, and the large problem sets are great for learning. But as you say, it is definitely a complementary text, not a book to learn organic chem from scratch.
This is one of the best books General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry: Structures of Life 6th Edition
by Karen Timberlake
General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry: Structures of Life engages students by helping them see the connections between chemistry, the world around them, and future health-related careers.
Known for its friendly writing style, student focus, robust problem-solving pedagogy, and engaging health-related applications, the text prepares students for their careers.
Their goal is to help students become critical thinkers by understanding scientific concepts that will form a basis for making important decisions about issues concerning health and the environment and their intended careers.
ISBN-13 978-0134762982
Can you comment on the best OER texts available?
How about for an organic lab manual?