In response to “Higher Educating” (November issue), where Organic Chemistry is discussed as one of the prominent toughest classes: About 10 years ago I published a book in an attempt to address this problem. The book has failed to be widely used for this undergraduate course for understandable reasons associated with how the material is presented. However, the fundamental idea of the book Organic Chemistry Principles in Context: A Story Telling Historical Approach, which follows, is I believe important. Organic Chemistry need not be made easier to learn but rather shown to be part of understanding the wider world, to be worth knowing.
Perhaps the flaws in the book blocking its use might be corrected, but even in its present form the presentation has been seen of value in this review from Nature Chemistry (2013): “This textbook offers a fascinating and dramatic change to the landscape of textbook choice.”