BOOK REVIEWS Chapter 5 runs into a problem: clathrates have ss yet had littleuse: separation of rare gases, purification of benzene, concentration of mene isomers, freshening of water. In order to say more, the author has had to include some work on inclusion compounds entrapped in only two dimensions, rather than all three. Not until almost the find chapter does a Mtle of the feeling of the author show through. The reader has to be content with: ". . . evidently clathrate compounds have often been prepared by many an unsusperting chemist," ". . . compounds thnt
have been with u s a long time, but whose existence and potential we have been slaw to reeogniae," and " . a whole new field of investigation which does not lack direction though, a t present, it lacks order." She could have improved the original diagrams, shown anomalies in original data, and criticized conflicting views, instead of just presenting things as they are. But presenting clsthmtes as they are has advantages. Every chemist in training ought to be aware that they have always existed, that chemists missed them and still have only scratched the surface, and that anyone can learn more about them. There is no het,ter field for a first
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research project than inclusion compounds. That is probably why this little book was written the way it was and why it should certainly be read by every teacher and student of chemical research. ROBERT F. MAR~CHNER
American Oil Company Whiting, Indiana
A Guidebook l o Mechanism in Organic Chemistry
Peter Sykes, Cambridge University, England. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1961. xiii 247pp. Figs. and tables. 14 X 21.5 cm. $3.95.
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This book can serve as a n introduction to modern concepts of organic chemistry for those who have learned from most of the elementary texts. The topics covered include structure, acids and bases, substitution reactions, addition reactions, carbonium ions, carbnnions, and radicals. A general knowledge of organic chemistry is presumed. The presentation is rather wide ranging: individual items are treated quite briefly as befits the title. This is clearly a. guidebook. In general the concepts are presented with reasonable accuracy, though often in a somewhat outdated or oversimplified form. The outlook of the book is comparable to that of Ingold's "Structure and Mechanism in Organic Chemistry," though the ooverage is considerably broader. Sykes should he compared with Hines' "Physical Organic Chemistry" or with Gould's "Mechanism and Structure in Organic Chemistry.'' These two are much longer, and more expensive, but they also provide better balsnce and accuracy as well as being more comprehensive. Sykes' hook might be suitable for a senior seminar or for independent. study by an advanced undergraduate student. I t would not be suitable for use by graduate students. Nor would it be particularly useful to s. student who had studied from a text such ss Morrison and Boyd or Cram and Hammond.
D. F. DETAR Florida State University Tallahassee
Mechanism of Sulfur Reactions
William A. Pryor, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York 1962. xiv 241 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $9.75.
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This little monogrnpb is a welcome addition to the growing list of books on organic sulfur chemistry. As recently as 1958, there had been only one attempt to summarize the enormous volume of literature in this fascinating but complicated field. Since then, several volumes have been puhlished, and two series of monographs initiated. The book by Pryar
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Journal o f Chemical Education
