Written by Lloyd N. Ferguson (1918-2011), this work serves as a qualitative introduction to physical organic chemistry and attempts to shift contemporary discourse surrounding molecular structures from a focus on atomic nuclei to a holistic view of the electronic structure of molecules. According to Ferguson's preface, his book is "an attempt to assemble most of the widely accepted modern concepts of the electron distributions of organic molecules and to present a general description of the more direct methods through which these viewpoints have been formed."

Ferguson was an organic chemist with a vast research oeuvre including authorship of seven chemistry textbooks and more than fifty research papers. Ferguson, at the time of this publication, chaired the Chemistry Department at Howard University. He was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. Among his numerous contributions to the field of organic chemistry, Ferguson founded the first doctoral program in chemistry at a Historically Black College or University while at Howard, and the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers in 1972.

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