NMR Spectroscopy Explained

When I initiated the development of MestReC back in 1995 (15 years ago!), my knowledge of NMR was fairly elementary and limited to basic theoretical rudiments (quantum mechanics description of NMR phenomenon, vector model, etc) and some experience in the practical interpretation of NMR spectra gained primarily whilst working as an organic chemist at Leicester University.

That said, during that first phase of development, I wish I had enjoyed the opportunity to have access to the book ‘NMR Spectroscopy Explained: Simplified Theory, Applications and Examples for Organic Chemistry and Structural Biology' by Neil Jacobson, I’m sure that my productivity would have been boosted very significantly by it. For example, there is an unmissable section devoted to practical NMR aspects and, in particular, NMR data acquisition and processing. It’s clear from this section that the book was written from the perspective of a spectroscopist who works with NMR on a day-to-day basis (Neil Jacobsen is the NMR Facility Manager at the University of Arizona). Concepts such as oversampling and digital filtering are presented in more detail than that found in standard introductory texts. I bought this book about 6 months ago and I have to say that it is a shame that it wasn’t available much earlier when I started my work on NMR.

Nothing is ever perfect and if I had to point out something missing in the book it would be a chapter devoted to DOSY, which I think would make a nice addition.

Overall, I believe that this is a great book which I warmly recommend to all of you who wish to deepen your understanding of NMR both from a practical and theoretical standpoint. Enjoy, and let me have your thoughts!