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NEW BOOKS
The bibliography is not large but is usually well selected, chiefly from the publications of The U. S. Public Health Service, the U. S. Bureau of Mines, and The New York State Department of Labor and from articles in The American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology, and The Analytical Edition of The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. This book contains much useful information and would constitute a valuable addition to the library of every industrial, engineering, or analytical chemist. ARTHURD. HIRSCHFELDER.
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p H and Electro Titrations. By I. M. KOLTHOFF AND H. A. LAITINEN. 6 x 9 in.; ix 190 pp.; 43 figures. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1941. Price: $3.00. This is the second and revised edition of the book which was published by the senior author in 1931. The three parts which were included in the first edition,-(I) “hcidBase Indicators and the Colorimetric Determination of pH”; (3) “The Potentiometric Determination of pH. Potentiometric Titrations”; ( 5 ) “Conductometric Titrations,”have been thoroughly revised. In addition, a fourth part under the heading of “Voltammetry (Polarography) and Amperometric Titrations” has been added. This book is intended as a text for a special advanced course in analytical chemistry for seniors and graduate students. Problems and an outline for a comprehensive practical course covering the fundamentals of the subjects are included. This course comprises two lectures and four laboratory hours per week during three quarters. As in the first edition, the theory is given in very condensed form and for additional information the student must consult the references to general textbooks of physical chemistry and monographs on specific subjects. It would undoubtedly simplify matters for students if the authors of books and articles on these special subjects would adopt a standard nomenclature. Also, the reviewer believes that the name “hydronium” is better for the HJO+ ion than “hydroxonium.” The book is well written and will undoubtedly enjoy the well-deserved popularity of the first edition. M . L. NICHOLS.
Abridged ScientiJfc Publications from the Kodak Research Laboratories, Vol. XXII. 278 pp. Rochester, New York: Eastman Kodak Company, 1940. This book contains abstracts of forty-one reports of researches by forty-eight members of the staff, published in seventeen journals. These very adequate abstracts give one a clear idea of the variety and extent of the research work being carried on in the Kodak Research Laboratories. S. C. LIND. J . FBENCE.6 X Torch and Crucible, the Life and Death of Aintoine Lavoisier. By SIDNEY 9f in.; ix 285 pp, Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1941. Price: )3.M). It is rarely that an author competent to evaluate the significance of discoveries such as those of Lavoisier, grasps, a t the same time, the historical background and ha8 the gift of presenting it in a manner so charming, accurate, and thoroughly comprehedble to the layman as well as to the scientist. Every chemist, of course, knows the work of Lavoisier in elucidating the nature of oxidation, in overthrowing the phlogiston theory, and in revolutionizing chemical theory. Most chemists know that he was a political victim of the French Revolution, but few possess the entire picture in its true setting BB i t is so vividly described by the present author. Had the author added the word “balance” to the title, while spoiling its euphony, he would but have emphasized further what he frequently points out in the text that it was by the constant use of the balance that Lavoisier WBB able to replace conjecture with proof and thus to establish his right to the title “Father of Modern Chemistry.” After a century and a half, it would be futile to renew discussions of priority for their
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