Textbooks and tensions that shaped physical organic chemistry in its formative years

By the 1930s, physical organic chemistry had become sufficiently established in American and British universities to produce a market for textbooks in the field. Between 1937 and 1949, five textbooks appeared from UK and US authors; these set the framework for their successors for some years after. A close examination of these five reveals dissension about some major issues that often arise when a new subdiscipline is seeking a place in the sun: the nature of the audience; the basic theoretical framework; the standard nomenclature and formats for representation; and the identity of the ‘founding fathers.’ Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. By the 1930s, physical organic chemistry had become sufficiently established in American and British universities to produce a market for textbooks in the field. Between 1937 and 1949, five textbooks appeared from UK and US authors; these set the framework for their successors for some years after. A close examination of these five reveals dissension about some major issues that often arise when a new subdiscipline is seeking a place in the sun: the nature of the audience; the basic theoretical framework; the standard nomenclature and formats for representation; and the identity of the ‘founding fathers.’