The introduction to this book states that it is “not itself a text,” which is quite true. Readers will not learn physical chemistry by reading this book alone. Rather, it is meant as a companion to a physical chemistry textbook. It does, however, provide a good summary of physical chemistry topics and easy-to-use Mathematica programs for performing the tedious calculations typically encountered in a physical chemistry text. It does not describe how the programs work, nor does it discuss the Mathematica system. It is a book for people who want to compute the calculations for physical chemistry without having to write the programs themselves.

I wish the author had designated a particular physical chemistry text as this book’s companion text. Minimally, he should have listed physical chemistry texts that follow this book’s format. I am afraid that in trying to serve a larger population, the book’s utility has been weakened.