book reviews Inorganic Complexes
Douid Nieholls. John Murray, London, 1974.76 pp. Figs. and tables. $3. This short and attractive hook by the Senior Lecturer in Inorganic, Physical, and Industrial Chemistry a t the University of Liverpool is part of the Modern Chemistry Background Readers series whose goal is t o provide "supplementary reading material on a topic which studentsoften find difficult or which reauires a more detailed treatment r l t t , n .v posclhle in a textbook." Wrirten primarily for lhtish v.mmar irhwl sixth-form studrntr {nprr 16-18, and trachrr*. 11 IS Intended to serve as an introduction to firstyear university work. The author is concerned primarily with the interpretation of chemical reactions occurring in aoueous solution. and he believes that an
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is academic, and a rationalization of the common facts of inorganic chemistry is provided, to the deliberate exclusion of the appheation of complexes in biological systems, as catalysts, and in the solid state--an understandable decision in view of the book's brevity. Aspects of complexes dealt with include historical development, nomenclature, formation, reactions, and theories of bonding. As with other volumes in the series, the book concludes with a chapter detailing test-tube scale experiments together with questions and answers involvine this oractical work.
sider this book for supplementary reading on coordination chemistry. George 8. Kauffrnan Caiifornia State Universitv. Fresno Fresm. California 93740
A Century of Chemlstry: the Role of Chemists and the Amerlcan Chemical Society.
Herman Sklonik, Chairman, Board of Editors. Kenneth M. Reese, Editor, American Chemical Society, Washington. D.C., 1976, XVIII, 468 pp., illus. $14. How can one catch the fabulous enthusiasm, the dynamic drive, and the creative ability of thousands of chemically alert men and women who produced the first one hundred years of our American Chemical Society, 1876-1976? Well, Herman Sklonik and Kenneth M. Reese attempted this imposing task by utilkine the multiole and often averla~oine
in this reviewer's opinion they were phenomenally successful! A190 / Journal of Chemical Education
Some may find fault, indicating that this volume indicates the seemingly scrambled hodge-podge of overlapping activities as the A.C.S. developed. However some are not cognizant that most of this work resulted from the contributions of enthusiastic, unpaid volunteers in various jobs often with little internal communication. Certainly the variety of committees and groups that have directed their work toward chemical education, a t some level, have admirably demonstrated that such a diverse attack can be successful. Surely the description of the multitude of scholarly researeh-oriented journals and other publications on diverse subject should make us proud of A.C.S.'s contributions to world-wide chemistry. Chapter I hegins appropriately with "Historical Perspectives" which gives a clear interesting insight into the early problems that plagued the organizers of A.C.S. Those unfamiliar with the status of chemistry before World War I, in our country and the rapid development of chemical induitry durln: ttwse yrar, of thr war will Ibr amaxed They w~ll,a* *ell. Ire startled by I'rtGlent Woodmw \\'llilln's in-tituting ul the ('hemica1 F.,undstion and ;election of Vran~i,(:arvau a; the IXrrctw; mwtlg ( k r man p.ttc,nt. urrt wnti
