STRATEGIC MATERIALS AND NATIONAL STRENGTH.Harry N. Holmes, Professor of Chemistry in Oherlin College. The Macmillan Company, New York. New York. 1942. 106 pp. 4 figs. 14 X 21 cm. $1.75. STRATEOIC MATERIALS IN HEMISPHERE DEFENSE. M. S. Hmel. W . J. Murphy, and F. A. Hessel. With a section on petroleum by Harold J. Wesron. Hastings House, Publishers, New York. New York, 1942. xviii 235 pp. Illustrated. 14 X 21 cm. $2.50. The first of these is a provocative little book by a well-known enthusiast. Should he read by everyone who needs to know what materials are becoming scarce and why. The second goes into much more detail; in its first section (Strategic and Critical Materials) the argument is supported by comparison tables and interesting graphic devices. Part I1 (Latin America) shows the necessity for hemisphere solidarity, while Part 111 (Additional Materials) discusses the part that copper, lead, zinc, petroleum, and chemicals play in our vital economy.
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synthetic rubbers; and properties of solvents, plasticizers, and synthetic rubbers. SEMI-MICROQUALITATIVE ANALYSIS.Paul Arthur and Otto M. Smitk, Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. Second Edition. McGraw-Hill B6ok Company. New York City, 1942. xi 322 pp., 28figs., 8 tables, 15 X 23 cm. $2.75. PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICB OP QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS(WITH SEMI-MICRO LABORATORY TECHNIQ~).P. E. Spoerri. Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn; H. Weiderger, College of the City of New York; and R. Ginell., Polytechnic Institute of Brooklvn. First Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Comoanv. New York City. 1942. x 282 pp.. 58 figs.. 18 tables A d 5 0 analytical tables. 15 X 23 cm. $2.75.
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Both of these hooks are designed for a brief course in qualitative analysis employing semimicro laboratory technic. As may he surmised from the fact that they have been issued by the same publisher, they represent divergent educational viewpoints. Each is the product of many years of experimentationon the part of its respective authors and the striking dissimilarities in the approach underscore the truism that there are no unique solutions .P ~ o ~ u c rAsN.D THEIRCIIHMICAL ANALYSIS). Roy P. Hudson. to educational problems. The differences do not lie in the chemConsulting Engineer. Chemical l'uhlishing Company. Inc. istry of the separations and ea&matory tests because in these Brooklyn. Ncw York. 1912. xv T 2% pp. X figs. 21 tables. aspects neither hook deviates very far from the usual scheme, but mare in the implied attitude of the teacher toward his students. 14 X 22 cm. $3.75. Beginning where the elementary textbook of chemistry leaves One leads the srudent on, giving helpful suggestions, outlining ~ with great detail, and pointing out the pitfalls along rhc off, this tells what goes on in the blast furnace. The chapter t h path on Chemical ~rinci&s will perhaps he appreciated by general way to ease his progress over the roeky trail; the other points students. Considerable emohasis is olaced unon the im~ortance out the goal and provides a rough map and expects the young of blast fumacc fuel. As R. H. Swerster says in the foreword pioneers to reach the end of the trail with only infrequent prod"nnort of it comes from actual observation and personal experi- ding. A decision to adopt one or the other of these text woulddemce, and it covers a phase of hlasr furnace practice that has k r o . pend largely upon the predilections and training of the teacher; so far, unrecorded except in scattered puhlished'papers and in the either treatment could undoubtedly serve as the basis for a satisunpublished records of many coal, coke, iron, and steel operating factory course, hut a teacher who likes one would probably find the other unsuitable for his purpose. companies." The viewpoint of the Arthur-Smith text could he called the PLASTICS CATALOG. 1943. Published by Plastics Catalogue Cor- more conventional. The theoretical part is well developed and poration, 122 East 42nd Street, New Y a k , New York. 864 carefully written. Numerous exercises are provided. The anap p 24 X 31 cm. $5.00. lytical scheme has been carefully worked out for a short course. For anion analysis, advantage is taken of the method of anionThe student and teacher of chemistry will end much here of fascinating interest. Profusely and beautifully illustrated in elimination. based upon oxidation-reduction reactions as well as colors One forgets that its purpose is largely advertising for. upon preliminary tests. The cation procedure is given in conlike much of the modern advertising a t its best, it is largely edu- siderable detail hut the estimation of the quantity of the components in the "unknowns" is not considered. In pursuing the cational. Conveniently divided into sections: Plastics in War, Materials, Plastic Materials Manufacturing. Molding and Fah- work of the course, a student would have little need to refer t o ricating, Finishing and Assembly. Machinery and Equipment the literature or to other textbooks as the discussion of theory Laminates and Plywood, Coatings, Synthetic Fibres, Rubber- and basic chemistry is surprisingly complete for a book of 300 Like Plastics, and an Index. Although part of it is directed to pages. the trade, its greatest interest is to the general and preferably The approach of Spoerri, Weinherger, and Ginell, on the other somewhat chemically informed public. One cannot read it hand. is more radical and in some wavs more oravoeative. The without becoming enthusiastic about the recent contributions theoretical section has been "modemired" to an unusual degree: of this field of chemistry to our everyday life. For chemists, extensive use is made of periodic tables for presenting similarities in chemical behavior of cations; the discussion of complex ions severallarge display sheets will he of particular interest-showing properties of plastics; chemical formulas of plastics, resins, and is unusually comprehensive: some consideration is given to the ~~
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kinetics of chemical reactions; the discussion of acids and bases has been generalized and includes a section on solva-ions; and the relation between the chemical behavior of compounds and their structures has been clearly illustrated. Students of superior ability will @d this introduction very stimulating. Two chapters in this volume deserve particular notice: the first is one on "Mental attitude" which emphasizes the scientific viewpoint or "research ideology"; and the second is one a n "Blowpipe analysis," which reintroduces this long neglected branch of qualitative analysis to the elementary student. Wider use is made of organic reagents for confirmatory tests than in most elementary qualitative hooks. Teachers who worry about the development of a "cook book" attitude on the part of their students may possibly find that with this book the student will need to possess much more initiative and enterprise than is usually required and that he will develop habits of scientific thought which he will retain long after he has forgotten the details of the analyses. If this is accomplished, the aims of its authors will have been achieved. LAURENCE S. FOSTER Bnowr U ~ m a a s ~ r x PROVIDBNCB, RHODBISCAND
THE PBINCIPLESAND PRACTICE OF BEAUTYCULTURE.Florence E . Wall, Lecturer on Cosmetology, School of Education, New York University. Keystone Publications. New York, 1941. xviii 708 pp. 183 figs. 15.0 X 22.5 cm. A book primarily for beauty operators on a subject which promises to o5er future opportunities as a branch of applied chemistry.
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A TEXTBOOK OF BIOCHEMISTRY. Roger I. Williams. Ph.D., D.Sc., Professor of Chemistry, University of Texas. Second Edition. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., New York, 1942. x 533 pp. 40 tables, 17 figs., 16 photographs. 15 X 22 cm. 84.00. Here is a teat around which can be easily built a thorough course in biochemistry for medical students and others whose interests lie in the study afmammals. The author has shown rare ability in selecting his material, as well as in clinging tenaciously to his chemistry without jealously invading the fields of physiology and pathology. The subject matter is helpfully arranged in five parts, namely, Biochemical Materials. Tissue Composition, Food Composition, Bodily Mechanisms for Promoting and Regulating Chemical Change, and Metabolism. Outstanding features of this book are the extensive tables on tissue-composition, the many clear structural formulas, the glossary of physiological and medical terms, and the restricted but select listing of references. The final chapter is a muchneeded summary of chemotherapy, taking up the arsphenamine, quinine, and sulfonamide groups of compounds. The typography and binding are excellent. I t is a pleasure to find almost no errata. I n structures denoting the indale group, no hydrogen is depicted attached to the nitrogen atom. This abbreviation may cause same confusion. The recent advances in theories of intermediate metabolism are for the most part well presented and fused with some of the older ideas. The vitamins are described clearlv ~~~~~wherever they come into the metabolic scheme, and also in a separate section with "essential f w d constituents."
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THE PIRoTECnNlA OF VANNoCcIo BlRINGuccro (1540). Translated from the Italian by Cyril Stonley Smith and Maiiartha Teach Gnudi. Published by The American Institute of Min465 pp. 94 ing and Metallurgical Engineers. 1942. xxv figs. Quarto size, $5.00 (33.00 t o members of A.I.M.M.E.). While "The Pirotechnia" is not an autobiography in the usual sense, it gives a strikingly clear picture of the workings of a twentieth century mind in a sixteenth century brain Biringuccio was a keen observer and though he is most modest with respect t o his own accomplishments he was undoubtedly a n able executive. I t is a temptation t o quote a t length from the book but much of the reader's pleasure and satisfaction would be lost in an attempt to separate sentences from their context. A few paragraphs, however, will indicate Biringuccio's modern viewpoint. "Indeed it is one of the first considerations which you must make before excavating the ore--that you begin to consider and examine the availability of the things you need, and the supplies that are found there, as, for instance, the wood, water and food supply, all of which must be abundant. There must be enough wood for the needs of the mine, to make charcoal for smelting, roasting, relining and other fires, in addition t o the wood necessary for making props for the mines, as well as for constructing machines, huts and other similar things" (p. 22). This simple advice is as sound today as i t was four hundred years ago and many a mining enterprise has failed because the owner has not realized that i t takes more than ore t o develop a successful mining property His practical mind rejected the work of the alchemists who were so active in his day. ". . . I believe the best thing to do is to turn to the natural gold and silver that is extracted from ores rather than that of alchemy, which I believe not only d w s not exist but also, in truth, has never been seen by anyone, although many claim to have seen it" (p. 41). He believed, also, in Largescale production as a matter of economy. "Nor must I fail to remind you that the advantage in such a process, as in many others, lies in doing everything on a large scale, that is, with large mines, a large number of tools and furnaces, . . . and, in short, because the profits greatly surpass the expense. The worker who would want to make a little is not aware how much more i t involves, for it is true that each one of said operations requires many men and much work" (p. 105). I t is quite impossible in a review to indicate the number and varieties of topics which are considered in detail. They vary from the mining of the ore, through the making and casting of alloys to the art of wire drawing which is in principle the method of today. Biringuccio was essentially a metallurgist but the chemist will find much of interest in his account of the preparation of the acids used in the parting of gold and silver and "The Manner of Compounding Various Incendiary Compositions Which Are Cammonly Called Fireworks." The translators have succeeded admirably in retaining the author's colloquial style so that the book reads like an original rather than a translation, Mechanically, it is a fine example of the bookmaker's:art in the selection of the paper, the type, the excellent reproduction of the originalillustrations, and the binding. This is a "must" book for any metallurgist who is interested in his profession beyond the narrow limits of his special field. ROBERT S. WILLIAMS
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