Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals, Drugs, and Biologicals 15th Edition

The photo of the book shows a sealed package including the online subscription. The book received did not contain the online subscription. I returned the book, since the value to me was in the subscription. This book seller often shows pictures of the book and the book received is not what is shown.I rated this 5 so that it would be visible. It should really be a 1.

Not much to say about this quite indispensable volume. It's a bit out of date, some of the newest drugs, for example, are not included in it, but given the price of a brand new volume, this does fine to update my older volume fairly well. This is my fourth edition of this reference, which I try to update every other edition (sometimes years apart each).

Read it before every doctor interaction

I decided years ago to look up new drugs as they appeared in ads on TV, to discover what they are and who all makes them in several companies and with different "ask your doctor" names. OMG what a shock! This MERCK INDEX fills with highlights and underlines, especially about the poisonous levels. (Everything, even water, can kill at some level.) This book is far more useful than the many other lists of drugs. AND, it's fun to see the molecular structures and wonder how little is really known about the human body. You can even try to build some of the simpler ones with ball-and-stick models and marvel at how two almost-look-alikes behave so differently in us. Surely this book is worth the big price. (Maybe now I need to look myself up in the new DSM-5 as a chemistry mental patient.)

I've been referring to the MERCK INDEX since 1960. It sure beats Beilstein for quick superficial information on the materials of interest. The scope of this work seems to go up one plateau every decade; for example in the breadth of the appendices., and inclusion of the names of the new drugs.

Thank you I needed this for an environmental chemistry class and my instructor recommend get this index.

As with previous editions this is an invaluable reference for the chemist, pharmacist and medical practitioner. The first choice for citations on synthesis, physical and chemical properties as well as information on industrial and therapeutic usage of more than 10,000 substances.

Interesting