Recent Books Curs Metodic de Chimie si Minerdogie. C. 1. I S m n r I . Professor de Chimia
facts and industrial but the selection and treatment of the theories Organica la Universitatea din Bucure- has been made with such that the si G. G. Lowinescu. profesor de students are enabled to acquirr a very Chimie Neorganica la Universitatea din accurate general notion of chemical pheBuc~esti. (14 X 20 cm.). 477 PP., nomena and to understand their impor235 figs.. and 20 portraits. 10th edi- tance and generality. tion. 1926, Bucarest. Editura "Cartea It is one of the teat of such a Romaneasca!' hook to implant and inspire a real and The loth edition of this book, just sincere interest in chemistry, instead of issued, follows close on the steps of its being, as hooks used to be in times not so predecessor. It is a classical tmtise in far off. a mere collection of prescriptions ~~~~~i~ and was twice translated into and "a catechism to be learned by heart." Thin is best illustrated in the pages deFrench before the war. The section dealing with organic chem- voted to the organic chemistry. The chief aim of the authors all through istry has been completely rewritten, bringing it up to date with respectto the most their work has been that.wbich is the aim of any wlightened teaching, namely, to recent advances and putting it in -rdance with the new programs of teaching foster thescientific spirit. The last pages of the book are occupied in Roumania. The plan and method have m a i n e d the same; the method is indue- by wnsiderations on the circulationand up of trando~mationof matter on the earth or in tive and experimental. The 328 experiments is indicated, chosen the universe, and what constitutes a charamongthe easiest and most instructive and acteristic of it, biographical notes on the great chemistsand their work: Bayer, Balrequiring only a very limited apparaws. when it has been considered that the lard, Berthelot, Berzelius, Bunsen, Chevknowledge already gained by the students 'e~l, Dalton, Davy, Dumas, Fischer. permits, and it is felt necessary, general fiedel, Gay-Lussac. Hofman. Kekul€, Laas voider, "the Reformer of the Chemistry," theories have been developed, as problems particularly interesting from the Liebig, Mendele&, Moissan, Pasteur, industrial point of view, especiauy to the Ramsay, Saint Claire Bville, SehnteenRoumanian students. Physical and nat- berg-, wohler. Wurtz. The new edition, like its forerunners, is ural phenomena are also qlained. Thus the authors have expounded or described: dedicated to the memory of one of the the fundamental chemical laws, the authors, Istrati, who died in 1918, and thearies, thermocbemirtry, ayst- who was not only a great chemist, pupil of dographic systems, the petroleum in- Friedel, Moissan, and Henry, but also dustry, the great chemical industries of played a conspicuous part in the politics Romania, the part played by physics of his c w t r y . A biographical note on and chemistry in the deve[apment him is signed by his coUahorator, Prof, G. G. Louginescu of the University of other sciences, etc. E U GLEMAIRE ~ Naturally, in the restricted space of a book intended for teaching and embracing the whole of chemistry and mineralogy, A First Book in Chemistry. ROBERTH. BRADBURY, A.M., Ph.D.. Head of Dethe authors could not hut deal with a partment of Science, South Philadelphia $p@ number of elements, compounds,
High School. D. Appleton and Com687 pany. New York. 1922. xxii pages, 300 illustrations. 19 X 13 cm. $1.80.
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The purpose of the book as stated by the author in the preface is t o "obtain clearness of statement and simplicity of presentation and to interest the student while, at the same time, providing the opportunity t o obtain information of permanent value. The industrial side of chemistry and its practical applications in the home are treated with unusual fullness. I trust that this book may aid the teacher in his difficultbut pleasant task of gratifying the curiosity of the many students who desire t o know not only what chemistry is, but what i t has done for mankind." The author has concentrated on this task all the accumulated experience of his successful career as a teacher of elementary chemistry. He has succeeded splendidly in his undertaking. He has presented the fundamentals of chemistry in a. clear and convincing style, avoiding technicalities in the interest of his young readers. The material selected covers the field, but without the hulk so evident in -me recent elementary texts. The illustrations are numerous, but well presented, wisely selected, and educationally valuable. I n the main the order follows the conventional development of the subject, but there are certain departures which attract attention. The introductory chapter gives a brief outline of the metric system, the centigrade scale and facts concerning density. After a brief chapter on physical and chemical changes, the student is introduced t o oxygen through the medium of its effect on hot metals. Chemical symbols are explained on page 20 but their use is not introduced until page 162. Valence and nomenclature are missing from the first half of the book. Chlorine is described early, but the other halogens are not discussed until after mast of the metals have been presented. The closing chapters deal with organic chemistry. explosives, war gases, foods, radium, m d atomic structure.
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Each chapter is followed by a summary and a list of exercises which are practical and thought provoking. An occasional group of review questions will fix permanently in mind the principles developed in preceding chapters. The appendix contains useful tables, logarithms, temperatures, atomic weights, physical constants and solubilities. The teacher who is anxious to keep his course of study abreast of the best in chemical education will also appreciate an accompanying pamphlet which shows in parallel columns how this text complies fully with the requirements of the course outlined by the Committee on Chemical Education of the American B. S. HOPEINS Chemical Society. Organic Chemistry for the Laboratory. W. A. NOYES,Ph.D., Director of the Chemical Laboratory. University of Illinois. 5th ed., The Chemical Puhlishing Co., Easton, Pa., 1926. xiii 329 PP., 45 figures. 23 X 15 cm. $4.00.
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This is an improved edition of a wellknown and long-used laboratory manual covering organic preparations. About 130 typical preparations are given. These are arranged in groups, one chapter t o each p u p , hydrocarbons, 15; alcohols and phenols, 9; ethers, 3; aldehydes, ketones, etc., 13; acids, 14; acid derivations, 15; hydroxy- and keto-acids, 8 ; carbohydrates, 7; halogen compounds, 9; nitro, 7; amines, 17; diazo, etc., 8 ; sulfur, 4. As in the college teat by the same author, aliphatic and aromatic compounds are studied together. Each chapter opens with a general review of the methods of preparation and of the properties of the class of compounds considered. The directions for the preparation of each compound are preceded by well-chosen references to the literature, not thrown tagether as is usually the ease, but the contents and hearing of each reference are indicated. The first two chapters are on methods of analysis and general operations and the last is on the qualitative examination of carbon compounds.
