BOOKS
A Concise History of the Field Mass Spectrometry: Applications in Science and Engineering. Frederick White, George Wood, xx + 773 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1986. $72.50 Reviewed by Joan T. Bursey, Radian Corporation, P.O. Box 13000, Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27709 As its title states, this book is intended to serve as an introduction to the applications of mass spectrometry in the areas of science and engineering. In covering these areas, the authors succeed admirably in presenting a concise history of the field of mass spectrometry. The description of instrumentation is very thorough in the areas of physics and inorganic analysis, and a reasonably mathematical treatment of the principles of operation is provided for the reader who is knowledgeable about analytical instrumentation. A balance has been achieved; the treatment of the operating principles of the instrumentation is not so deep into mathematics as to intimidate the average reader. The treatment of the instrumentation used in organic analysis, however, is very uneven. For example, the use of a separator when gas chromatography is combined with mass spectrometry is discussed as if there were still a decision to be made about the type of separator to be used. In the practice of the field of organic gas chromatographymass spectrometry, the choice of separator has been a moot point for several years. A capillary column with a direct coupling to the ion source is the method of choice: otherwise, a glass jet separator is used in the majority of applications. Most of the other varieties of separators mentioned currently are used not at all or only for extremely specialized applications. The section on computer-aided data processing likewise fails to give the reader a real appreciation of the current state of the art for computerized reduction of mass spectrometric data. There is a thorough discussion of how a computer coupled to a mass spectrometer works schematically and electronically, but little is said about what the average manufacturer-supplied data system can do for the user of a mass spectrometer in terms of presentation
of data and aids in interpretation. A discussion of the history of computerization of mass spectrometers would give the reader an appreciation for the capabilities of the computer in data reduction and interpretation. The coverage of the application of mass spectrometry to engineering and the physical sciences is excellent. The treatment of the topics is thorough, and there is sufficient reference to the literature to allow the reader to follow actual examples of the techniques being discussed and to trace the developments and advances in a particular area of research. Providing an ample selection of appropriate examples re-
MASS SPECTROMETRY Applications in Science and Engineering
FrederickA.White & George M. Wood
quired a very thorough review of the available literature, and for this the authors are to be commended. The coverage of organic mass spectrometry is eclectic, at best; perhaps because there are many books and monographs that focus on specific aspects of organic mass spectrometry, the authors did not feel that comprehensive coverage in this area was desirable for their book. The chapters on environmental and biomedical analysis are well worth reading, because they provide a different perspective. Many analysts who focus on a specific aspect of environmental or biomedical analysis lack an appreciation for the broad applicability of mass spectrometry as an analytical technique. The authors have attempted to profile a very broad range of analytical applications without great depth in any
one of these techniques. They have successfully met this goal, except in the area of organic applications. Many organic mass spectroscopists will feel that their area of specialization was slighted so that the authors could cover a wider range of applications. Illustrations and tables are copious. The illustrations are invaluable in describing the operation of the different types of instrumentation. The provision of summary tables prepared by the authors might have demonstrated that the surface of a particular area was barely being skimmed in the text. Literature references, however, are abundant—the interested reader can easily obtain additional information about a specific area. The collection of topics amassed by the authors as the "new frontiers in mass spectrometry" would not be considered complete by most authorities in the field, but there may be as many opinions in this area as there are authorities. The book is extremely readable; there are only occasional editorial lapses, usually involving misspelling or lack of agreement between subjects and verbs. It should certainly be included in the library of the student of mass spectrometric analysis who wishes to attain some comprehensive grasp of the applications of the field. For the organic mass spectroscopist, the inorganic mass spectroscopist, or the physicist, the book provides a glimpse of areas of applications of mass spectrometric techniques that are outside the usual areas of the specialist's daily applications. For the scientist who is not a mass spectroscopist, the book provides an overview of the field and some of the interesting applications of mass spectrometry, a field that spans more than three-quarters of a century.
Books Received Similarity and Clustering In Chemical Information Systems. Peter Willett. xi + 254 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016. 1987. $54.95 Particle Size Analysis 1985. P. J. Lloyd, Ed. ix + 669 pp. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016.1987. $110
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, VOL. 59, NO. 21, NOVEMBER 1, 1987 · 1263 A
