(Part 2) Top products from r/chemistry

I like this book for C++ if you want to learn C++. Python is easier though and most people start with Python. I like the book Learn Python the Hard Way (it's actually a pretty easy book lol) but there are quite a lot of books that are good for Python. (and I'm like 99% certain there are free versions of these books available on the web)

That's probably a good way to see if you like coding. Personally I love it 'cause it's a lot of problem solving, and then forcing a computer to do your evil bidding work.

Then for the chemistry part. I think everybody on the planet and their brother loves this book (it's also free on google). That will help you learn about the theory behind the software.

I also think you should talk to a professor who does computational work to let you toy around with it. I've had two advisors now in comp chem, and I get the feeling if a student came to either of them and said they wanted to play around with the software and see what comp chem is like, both of those professors would probably have been happy to set them up with an account to a supercomputer and show them a few tricks to setting up jobs, running simulations/calculations, viewing data, etc.

Personally I make a distinction between scripting and programming that doesn't really exist but highlights the differences I guess. I consider myself to be scripting if I am connecting programs together by manipulating input and output data. There is lots of regular expression pain and trial-and-error involved in this and I have hated it since my first day of research when I had to write a perl script to extract the energies from thousands of gaussian runs. I appreciate it, but I despise it in equal measure. Programming I love, and I consider this to be implementing a solution to a physical problem in a stricter language and trying to optimise the solution. I've done a lot of this in fortran and java (I much prefer java after a steep learning curve from procedural to OOP). I love the initial math and understanding, the planning, the implementing and seeing the results. Debugging is as much of a pain as scripting, but I've found the more code I write the less stupid mistakes I make and I know what to look for given certain error messages. If I could just do scientific programming I would, but sadly that's not realistic. When you get to do it it's great though.

The maths for comp chem is very similar to the maths used by all the physical sciences and engineering. My go to reference is Arfken but there are others out there. The table of contents at least will give you a good idea of appropriate topics. Your university library will definitely have a selection of lower-level books with more detail that you can build from. I find for learning maths it's best to get every book available and decide which one suits you best. It can be very personal and when you find a book by someone who thinks about the concepts similarly to you it is so much easier.
For learning programming, there are usually tutorials online that will suffice. I have used O'Reilly books with good results. I'd recommend that you follow the tutorials as if you need all of the functionality, even when you know you won't. Otherwise you get holes in your knowledge that can be hard to close later on. It is good supplementary exercise to find a method in a comp chem book, then try to implement it (using google when you get stuck). My favourite algorithms book is Numerical Recipes - there are older fortran versions out there too. It contains a huge amount of detailed practical information and is geared directly at computational science. It has good explanations of math concepts too.

For the actual chemistry, I learned a lot from Jensen's book and Leach's book. I have heard good things about this one too, but I think it's more advanced. For Quantum, there is always Szabo & Ostlund which has code you can refer to, as well as Levine. I am slightly divorced from the QM side of things so I don't have many other recommendations in that area. For statistical mechanics it starts and ends with McQuarrie for me. I have not had to understand much of it in my career so far though. I can also recommend the Oxford Primers series. They're cheap and make solid introductions/refreshers. I saw in another comment you are interested potentially in enzymology. If so, you could try Warshel's book which has more code and implementation exercises but is as difficult as the man himself.

Jensen comes closest to a detailed, general introduction from the books I've spent time with. Maybe focus on that first. I could go on for pages and pages about how I'd approach learning if I was back at undergrad so feel free to ask if you have any more questions.



Out of curiosity, is it DLPOLY that's irritating you so much?

Atkins' Molecules and Why Chemical Reactions Happen? are great reads, The latter requires A2 knowledge at least, but it's an interesting read, it introduces a few first year topics but you should be fine anyway. Atkins' Molecules is a much easier read and written so well, there's some pretty interesting molecules you'll encounter in the book as well.

There's also this textbook called A-level Chemistry by E.N. Ramsden, this textbook is pretty old most school libraries have it (my secondary school and 6th form both had it). I used it during A2 as a reference book and it has some really good questions if you want a proper challenge, only problem is that it doesn't have all the answers to the questions so you will have to go to your teacher (this is good anyway, you'll get a better UCAS ref) for the answers.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1439860971

I'd recommend buying and reading this book as it covers most of the basic as well as slightly niche techniques you will need during your time in a synthetic lab. This is particularly useful for learning how to set up efficient columns (how polar a solvent system to use, and how much silica to use for a given mass of crude material).

Specifically regarding yields, TLC is a great tool, both to check if a reaction has gone to completion (limiting reagent starting material present will inhibit yields) but also when using a separating funnel (say you are extracting into an organic solvent, you can TLC the organic layer after 4 extractions and if there is no product observed, then you know you won't have any material left in your aqueous layer).

It's always best to do reactions under nitrogen, and always make sure to use dry solvents (from a still or solvent purification system) when using moisture sensitive reagents e.g. NaH.

There are many other tips but they are reaction specific, but I will say the more time you spend in the lab, your yields will naturally increase as your skills improve (as long as the reaction allows it). Good luck!

Well I posted this in another thread, but here you go.

Greenwood and Earnshaw Chemistry of the elements - This is pretty much prefect for main group chemistry.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chemistry-Elements-N-N-Greenwood/dp/0750633654/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345966730&sr=8-1

Atkins Physical - This is okay and pretty useful as it is full of questions. There's a smaller version called 'Elements of Physical Chemistry'
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Atkins-Physical-Chemistry-Peter/dp/0199543372/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345966803&sr=1-1

Clayden Organic Chemistry - A very good guide to organic chemistry, however the lack of questions in the new edition is a bit annoying.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Organic-Chemistry-Jonathan-Clayden/dp/0199270295/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345967204&sr=1-2

Hartwig Organotransitional Metal Chemistry - Very good but goes a little beyond most chemistry degrees if not focussing on organometallic chemistry.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Organotransition-Metal-Chemistry-Bonding-Catalysis/dp/189138953X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345967182&sr=1-1

For cheap and detailed books on a very specific subject the Oxford Chemistry Primers are extremely useful.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=oxford+chemistry+primers&x=0&y=0

Basically, all sorts of things happen because the atoms, molecules, or whatever, want to be stable, i.e to achieve lowest energy. Forming ions, i.e. removing or adding electrons to the atom, is a way for atoms to achieve lowest energy (stable).

The spdf orbitals do come into play. An atom's electronic configuration can be described with its shells, orbitals, and the number of electrons in the orbitals. For example, iron's configuration is 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 3d^6 4s^2 . The electrons has another property, its spin. Spin is an intrinsic form of angular momentum, thus carries energy. Electron can spin two way (that is the up and down arrow you see in orbitals). Pauli exclusion principle says that there cannot be two electrons in a single orbital that have the same spin (since the momemtum is the same direction, it will add up and increase energy). For the similar reason, the pairings of all electrons in a degenerate orbital (i.e. 2p, 3p, 3d, etc. orbitals with the same energy) decreases the energy (cancelled out spins in a way). However, the pairing of electron also increases energy because it decreases the distance between electrons. So, the degenerate orbitals is more stable when it is half filled or fully filled (the latter is more stable). The orbital can be more stable: just don't have the orbital. The energy of an atom is lowered when a specific set of degenerate atomic orbitals is empty, fully filled, or half filled.

Now consider the iron atom again. When it ionizes, it will want to be mroe stable. An obvious option is to take off 4s orbital entirely, losing 2 electrons, thus creating Fe^2+ . Now the ion's configuration is 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 3d^6 . To become more stable, we can make 3d orbitals (take ten electrons at most) half-filled to 1s^2 2s^2 2p^6 3s^2 3p^6 3d^5 . Compared to the neutral atom, the ion loses three electrons, making it Fe^3+ . But the energy difference between Fe^2+ and Fe^3+ is not that big. External energy and chemical environment can convert them to each other. For example, oxidizing agents, a category of chemicals that love to rob electrons from others, can make Fe^2+ become Fe^3+ by accepting an electron from Fe^2+ .

Are they structurally different? Yes, other than the configuration difference (I think it can count as structure), the atomic radius is different. Fe^3+ is smaller because it has fewer electrons obviously, meaning less repulision between them, and thus stronger attraction to the nucleus.

Textbooks include the one given in the sidebar by Oxtoby and Chang's one. You may be able to find these books in your local post-secondary library. The edition doesn't matter. Oxtoby is a little hard, but it is good for in depth explanation. Chang is great for AP and other high school studnets.

The Cartoon Guide to Chemistry is an excellent and entertaining introduction. It's a fun read, and it explains topics that may have been otherwise dull or difficult in a very entertaining and easy to grasp manner. A good friend of mine who has taken a few chemistry courses was pretty impressed with it, and said it contained much of the material you lean in your first two college classes.

I would check out MIT OpenCourseWare. They have some pretty thorough entry-level college stuff, even though their chemistry is not as well developed as their math and physics. A really popular class they have on solid state chemistry: here.

If you're more of a book person, check out Oxtoby for general chemistry (linked on the right). If you're interested in learning about symmetry in chemistry, I would recommend this book. It's a pretty fun and simple introduction to group theory and its applications.

Also, I've been told the UC Davis ChemWiki is a pretty good resource, although I haven't really explored it myself.

You could try Collman's book, http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Applications-Organotransition-Metal-Chemistry/dp/0935702512 that was sort of the classic for a long time, but of course it's missing the past 20 years or so of progress.

Hartwig's more recent text book http://www.amazon.com/Organotransition-Metal-Chemistry-Bonding-Catalysis/dp/189138953X/ is sort of supposed to be the successor to Collman's book but it's extremely dense and a bit hard to just sit down and read.

This book http://www.amazon.com/Synthesis-Organometallic-Compounds-Practical-Inorganic/dp/0471970700 could be fun for you if your library has it.

Another classic: http://www.amazon.com/Problems-Solutions-Organometallic-Chemistry-Kegley/dp/0935702237 that one's fun to go through.

In all cases if you find examples, etc that are interesting to you, go to the references and read the original paper!

I would also definitely recommend starting to follow relevant published research, the ACS journal "Organometallics" being an obvious starting point (http://pubs.acs.org/journal/orgnd7)

Anything by Feynmann are great reads. For upper division instrumental analysis, spectroscopy, and quantum I wholly recommend QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter by Richard P. Feynman et al. It describes all the concepts in the book in layman's terms in a brilliant narrative of chemistry. I recommend it to anyone that wants to learn about the strangeness of physics and chemistry. It is easy to digest.

The Feynman Lectures on Physics, although pricey helped me survive physics (I have the paperbacks). It seems you can read the entirety online at that site.

If you choose to do a lot of organic chemistry laboratory work then Advanced Practical Organic Chemistry is a really great resource. It covers just about everything you need to know to be very competent and safe in the lab. I found a used copy of the second edition that has served me well. I don't know what has been updated in the third edition.

I agree with /u/lmo2th Pauling has written albeit old but definitive books on chemistry. Although it can be very difficult to read and knowledge of differential equations is required, Introduction to Quantum Mechanics with Applications to Chemistry by Linus Pauling et al. was the most succinct book on the nitty gritty math of QM I found.

I recently graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry, it was difficult, but I loved every minute I spent in the lab doing research and can't imagine doing anything else. Edit: QED and Feynmann Lectures are great reads for lower division classes. Save the second two for if you decide on chemistry.

Cotton's "Chemical Applications to Group Theory" is pretty much the basis for all undergraduate classes that teach group theory. It's expensive though, and probably not the first book you'll want to read on the subject.

I would recommend Bertolucci's "Symmetry and Spectroscopy". It has a lot of great info, and is only $15.

Some good online sources (not all notes are about group theory, so pick and choose what will help you):

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5-04-principles-of-inorganic-chemistry-ii-fall-2008/lecture-notes/
http://chemistry.caltech.edu/courses/ch112/syllabus.html
Under "Symmetry in Chemistry"

You should also have a working knowledge of matrix algebra. If you want to look into the subject deeper, a good understanding of linear algebra will help.

I do chemistry at Warwick and absolutely love it here. The department falls a bit in the rankings due to student satisfaction but it's all bullshit. It's a great university and the chem department has great research facilities and brand new undergraduate teaching labs.

In terms of pre-reading i would recommend this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chemical-Reactions-Happen-James-Keeler/dp/0199249733
I found it a good transition from alevel to university

I just want to second "General Chemistry" by Linus Pauling that /u/kslusherplantman suggested. It's a very readable classic that will do a lot for your understanding. Also, it's like 15 euros: http://www.amazon.de/General-Chemistry-Dover-Books/dp/0486656225/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1404581980&sr=8-1&keywords=general+chemistry+pauling


Personally I'm kinda ambivalent on the programming issue. It's useful to differing degrees depending on what you do. That said, unless you get into hardcore synthesis, it's probably going to come up at least a few times in a career. On the other hand, unless you get into computational chemistry, it's not going to come up all that much. If you really want to learn one to get ready, learn python. Most stuff you do will be data processing related outside of more serious computational work, and python should be more than up to any of those tasks. It's also generally marketable if you decide to study something else and easy enough to learn that you won't waste too much time if you don't end up ever using it.

Other than that? Just relax. Graduating from German secondary school (Gymnasium?) you're probably fine mathematically. The rest of it will come as you take your classes. It's great that you're enthusiastic, but right now you probably want to focus on the non-academic changes in your life so that you don't get overwhelmed on that front when school starts.

Uncle Tungsten

Oliver Sacks is a great writer, while more known for his popular neuroscience books his memoir has both great stories and outlines the history of chemistry really well.

Well, it depends. Are you interested only in applications, only in method development, or both? You don't necessarily study "computational chemistry", so if you can be more specific, it would help a lot.

It sounds like you're more interested in applications, and biochemical simulations can require many different techniques. Leach is a good start for textbook reading. I'd also start reading the peer-reviewed literature, specifically for joint experimental/computational papers. Biochemistry and Inorganic Chemistry have quite a few. Just saying "try this software and do XYZ thing" isn't very helpful.

My p-chem professor recommended a book called Applied Mathematics to help with the math in the course. I haven't needed to use it just yet but I skimmed through it and it looks like a huge help. Maybe try that?

Edit: spelling

http://www.amazon.com/Symmetry-Spectroscopy-Introduction-Vibrational-Electronic/dp/048666144X

This book does a great job explaining the methods for predicting active vibrations in IR and also has great stuff on electronic absorption spectroscopy.

Here are my top three textbook choices:

This is a great book for how to actually do organometallic syntheses. I've followed several procedures in the book, and they work well / are quite descriptive.

I''ve taken two organometallic courses that use Crabtree. So I think this is a great book to learn organometallics. Definitely more organometallic than Miessler and Tarr.

A few of my friends have the new Hartwig book which looks awesome. I haven't read it yet, but in my opinion its going to surpass Crabtree as the textbook of choice for organometallics classes in the next few years.

pihkal It's a great book. 1/2 love story and 1/2 organic chem and pharmacology.

https://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Spoon-Madness-Periodic-Elements/dp/0316051632 has every thing you listed in a single book. It is a fantastic read that covers the usage of elements and stories of their discoveries and the scientists behind them. I love it and going to finish it while overseeing exams in the coming weeks.

A good upper-level undergraduate textbook with plenty of practice problems is Symmetry and Spectroscopy: An Introduction to Vibrational and Electronic Spectroscopy by Daniel C. Harris and Michael D. Bertolucci. This book is pretty thorough in its explanations, so if you work through it start to finish, it may help you better grasp some areas that are currently not clear.

Why Chemical Reactions Happen by Keeler and Wothers is a very readable introduction to the theory underlying all of chemistry: Molecular Orbital Theory. I read it before starting my undergrad, and its what swayed me to chemistry over physics! All the fundamental theories of chemistry are rooted in quantum mechanics, using some really neat concepts! Well worth a read if you're familiar with high school chemistry!

The cartoon Guide to Chemistry by Larry Gonick. Yes, it looks like it is geared towards kids, but it is funny and makes chemistry very accessible!

https://www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Chemistry-Larry-Gonick/dp/0060936770/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=cartoon+guide+to+chemistry&qid=1569849903&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Don't be put off with the general chemistry concepts. While they can be interesting, I found chemistry extremely boring until I started learning organic chemistry. Try and mix in some of the early organic videos once you have a good feel for how atoms can come together to form molecules. There is a lot of general concepts to learn but they are important.


Also I hear that Linus Pauling's book is a good place to start if your not going the traditional way.

Are they really concerned about people making these things at home? A lot of the chemicals you probably won't even be able to purchase without a license. A book that comes off the top of my head is PIHKAL which I'm pretty sure provides full procedures to synthesize all known phenethylamines and lists their corresponding physical effects; it isn't illegal.

EDIT: Grammar.

First of all, I loved Harris's book.

Secondly, take a look at Skoog, Holler and Crouch's Principles of Instrumental Analysis.

Tip: It's not worth buying at its current price ($258). It should be available in good condition in your department's library.

> https://www.amazon.ca/Chemistry-Raymond-Chang/dp/0073402680

I think this is the book that my coworker gave to me! glad to know that this book is a good source to turn to!

This is the book we're using in my applied spectroscopy course right now. It seems pretty helpful.

For pleasure:

• The Disappearing Spoon
  
• Periodic Tales
  
• Stuff Matters
  
• Molecules of Murder
  
• The Elements of Murder
  
• The Elements
  
• Molecules
  
• Molecules that Changed the World
  
• The Chemistry Book
  
  Undergraduate
  
  
• Organic:
  Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, The art of writing reasonable organic reaction mechanisms
  
  
• Inorganic: Inorganic Chemistry, Molecular Symmetry and Group Theory
  
  
• Analytical: Principles of Instrumental Anlsysis, Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry
  
  Graduate
  
  
• Organic: Advanced Practical Organic Chemistry, March's Advanced Organic Chemistry, Greene's Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis, Purification of Laboratory Chemicals, Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis
  
• Inorganic: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry

Introduction to Spectroscopy is an amazing reference. It is not as useful in first year, but in upper years it has an extraordinary amount of information on IR, UV, NMR and mass spec, there might very well be more in there, but that is what I have used it for.

You're not clear about what you want to learn in chemistry -- do you want to do more practical stuff (organic synthesis / physical chemistry) or do you just want to know how molecules/atoms behave (organic chemistry ,biochemistry, physical chemistry , quantummechanics?

Wrt to doing synthesis 'on your own': these days, doing chemistry outside a lab is seen as something 'very dangerous', because only trrrrists and clandestine drug-making chemists are interested in chemistry.

The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler is a popular science novel about the discovery and development of the Haber-Bosch process for ammonium nitrate.

The Alchemy of Air is a fascinating book on the history of the Haber Process, and as geeky as it is: the beginning of the synthetic chemicals business is well detailed in Mauve and so is Napoleon's Buttons and anything by Joe Schwartz.

There's Crash Course chemistry (YT channel). Great way to start in my opinion. I'd say watch that before moving to Khan academy. Then, if you're really serious: https://www.amazon.ca/Chemistry-Raymond-Chang/dp/0073402680 .

I learned with this book, turned out good.

None exist. But if you must, Cotton's book is obviously top notch.
Alternatively, one taught from a math perspective might be good.

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Applications-Group-Theory-3rd/dp/0471510947

This book is fantastic.

Along with Engel/Reid the course I took required Applied Mathematics for Physical Chemistry which you can find used for pretty cheap. It gives you a basic rundown of mathematical concepts with examples relating to phys chem. Of course, if your school does pchem in the same sequence as mine (2 semesters intro pchem, quantum, and then spectroscopy), you'll only need multivariable calculus (cal 3) for the first 2 semesters. Differential equations is needed (and should be taken before) quantum.

Applied Mathematics for Physical Chemistry by James R. Barrante, has pretty much everything you're asking for.

link

Cotton's Chemical Applications of Group Theory is a decent resource.

In short, the symmetry of a state is the direct product of the irreducible representations of all of the orbitals occupied in that state. A full orbital only contributes the totally symmetric representation because the direct product of any irreducible representation with itself is the totally symmetric rep. Because of that fact, you only have to really take the direct product of the partially full orbitals to determine the symmetry of a state.

This web page also has some useful information about the octahedral group, including the product tables.

Read Larry Gonick's Cartoon Guide to Chemistry like I did! You'll learn as much as a high school level course. www.amazon.com/Cartoon-Guide-Chemistry-Larry-Gonick/dp/0060936770

Highly recommend the Why Chemical Reactions Happen book.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0199249733/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_muitDbJVEXVQ4

Found this useful during my undergrad

A great book I used to start out was 'Molecular Symmetry and Group Theory' by Alan Vincent. It goes through a lot of the symmetry operations but eventually gets to their interpretation in the character tables.

I took a grad course on the history of chemistry and we used The Development of Modern Chemistry by Ihde.
Another comprehensive (but style-wise a little hard to read) is
Crucibles:The Story of Chemistry from Ancient Alchemy to Nuclear Fission.

I have yet to read The Disappearing Spoon, a pop-sci read on the history and stories behind discoveries of elements.

I'd recommend Zumdahl's Chemistry (http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Steven-S-Zumdahl/dp/061852844X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409839212&sr=1-2&keywords=zumdahl) as a good introductory text. It's relatively straightforward for someone approaching the subject outside of class.

I'd ask you to remember also, Chemistry is a messy subject, it just isn't as concise as mathematics by nature. If the text isn't to your taste it is probably a reflection on the haphazard nature of the subject, not the author.

That said, if you want the original gangster, old school text, Pauling's Chemistry is the die that all modern chem texts have been cast from, and it's cheap, printed by Dover in their classic style (http://www.amazon.com/General-Chemistry-Dover-Books/dp/0486656225/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409839362&sr=1-1&keywords=pauling+chemistry)

I taught myself general chemistry in high school using Pauling's General Chemistry text. It's a whopping $11.52 on Amazon right now.

There is an electronic version on iTunes for $20, if your students would prefer that.

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Steven-S-Zumdahl/dp/061852844X/ref=sr_1_1


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|




This bot is currently in testing so let me know what you think by voting (or commenting).

For organic chemistry, Vogel’s practical organic chemistry:

https://www.amazon.com/Vogels-Textbook-Practical-Organic-Chemistry/dp/0582462363

pihkal:

https://www.amazon.com/Pihkal-Chemical-Story-Alexander-Shulgin/dp/0963009605/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499568865&sr=8-1&keywords=phikal

For that kinda cash, I'd rather get this

http://www.amazon.com/Modernist-Cuisine-Art-Science-Cooking/dp/0982761007

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen –
by Harold McGee

is the bible.

Also Modernist Cuisine

This book was a life-saver when I was in grad school doing total synthesis

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Practical-Organic-Chemistry-Edition/dp/1439860971

John Hartwig's "Organotransition metal chemistry: from bonding to catalysis" (https://www.amazon.com/Organotransition-Metal-Chemistry-Bonding-Catalysis/dp/189138953X)

Those are the full names
Here are links
Zumdahl:
http://www.amazon.com/Chemistry-Steven-S-Zumdahl/dp/061852844X/ref=la_B001ILMCPG_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406049265&sr=1-2
Chang:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0073402680?pc_redir=1405946005&robot_redir=1
Buy them used and you don't need the latest edition (This saves a lot of money)

Here is a couple, the first two are Pop-sci and may be more of what you are looking for. The third is probably the most dense.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Spoon-Madness-Periodic-Elements/dp/0316051632

http://home.theodoregray.com/bookproducts/the-elements-autographed-copy

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Tree-History-Chemistry-Science/dp/0393320685/ref=sr_1_16?keywords=chemistry+history&qid=1574340632&sr=8-16

Currently reading Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood

There's a book titled "Chemical Applications of Group Theory"

https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Applications-Group-Theory-3rd/dp/0471510947

I dont find "invisible Spoon" is maybe The Disappearing Spoon ( http://www.amazon.com/The-Disappearing-Spoon-Periodic-Elements/dp/0316051632 ) ?

Have a look at this book.

My suggestion would be Uncle Tungsten: Memoirs of a Chemical Boyhood by Oliver Sacks. While not explicitly about chemistry history, it provides large doses of history in a very readable format woven into the narrative of his childhood experiments.

Sorry Skoog A chem book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0495012017?pc_redir=1412086803&robot_redir=1

First thing I'd recommend is a blog; More specifically, Derek Lowe's Things I won't work with. Read from the oldest to the newest. It's whimsical, funny, scary and fantastic.

Hager - The Alchemy of Air: About the Haber-Bosch process.

Coffey - Cathedrals of Science - Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry

TOC

1. The Ionists: Arrhenius and Nernst
   
2. Physical Chemistry in America: Lewis and Langmuir
   
3. The Third Law and Nitrogen: Haber and Nernst
   
4. Chemists at War: Haber, Nernst, Langmuir, and Lewis
   
5. The Lewis-Langmuir Theory: Lewis, Langmuir, and Harkins
   
6. Science and the Nazis: Nernst and Haber
   
7. Nobel Prizes: Lewis and Langmuir
   
8. Nuclear Chemistry: Lewis, Urey, and Seaborg
   
9. The Secret of Life: Pauling, Wrinch, and Langmuir
   
10. Pathological Science: Langmuir
    
11. Lewis’s Last Days 293
    
    Scerri - The Periodic Table - Its Story and Its Significance
    
    Kean - The Disappearing Spoon And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements 2010
    
    Le Couteur, Burreson - Napoleon's Button (Haven't read it but it gets recommended a bit)
    
    Jaffe - Crucibles - The Story Of Chemistry (haven't read this either but it seems to fit the biography bill)
    
    TOC
    
    
12. Bernard Trevisan (1406-1490)
    
13. Theoplirastus Paracelsus (1493-1541)
    
14. Joseph Priestley (1733-1804)
    
15. Henry Cavendish (1731-1810)
    
16. Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794)
    
17. John Dalton (1766-1844)
    
18. John Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848)
    
19. Friedrich Woehler (1800-1882)
    
20. Dmitri Ivanovitch Mendeleeff (1834-1907)
    
21. Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927)
    
22. Marie Sklodowska Curie (1867-1934)
    
23. Joseph John Thomson (1856-1940)
    
24. Henry Gwyn Jeffreys Moseley (1887-1915)
    
25. Irving Langmuir (1881- )
    
26. Ernest Orlando Lawrence (1901- )
    
27. Men Who Harnessed Nuclear Energy
    
    Edit: There is also Ignition! John D. Clarke (link to bad quality pdf) which contains the following paragraph...
    
    > Chlorine trifluoride, ClF3 , or "CTF" as the engineers insist on calling it...is also quite probably the most vigorous fluorinating agent in existence - much more vigorous than fluorine itself...All this sounds fairly academic and innocuous, but when it is translated into the problem of handling the stuff, the results are horrendous. It is, of course, extremely toxic, but that's the least of the problem. It is hypergolic with every known fuel, and so rapidly hypergolic that no ignition delay has ever been measured. It is also hypergolic with such things as cloth, wood, and test engineers, not to mention asbestos, sand, and water - with which it reacts explosively. It can be kept in some of the ordinary structural metals - steel, copper, aluminum, etc. - because of the formation of a thin film of insoluble metal fluoride which protects the bulk of the metal, just as the invisible coat of oxide on aluminum keeps it from burning up in the atmosphere. If, however, this coat is melted or scrubbed off, and has no chance to reform, the operator is confronted with the problem of coping with a metal-fluorine fire. For dealing with this situation, I have always recommended a good pair of running shoes