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and confusing to the student. Professor Buerger has compiled a, volume which should be required reading for such authors. He has succeeded in doing what radiation chemistry which are of primary he set out to do, namely, to create s o m e significance in other areas of chemistry. thing useful and understandable for stuLEONM. DORFMAN dents in chemistry, physics, mineralogy, Ohio State Uniuersity rnetsllorgy, and biology. I especially Columbus, Ohio 43U0 like the lavish use of figures. This hook will not he suitable for use as a principal text by all instructors, because, ideally, they should have more insight from prsetical use into this subject. I t should be owned, and read, by everyone who Introduction to Crystal Geometry considers himself a. crystallographer, and by everyone who makes use of the results Marlin J . Buerger, Massachusetts Inof X-ray crystallographers. stituteof Technology,Cambr.idge, Mass., On the minus side, the author displays and University of Connecticut,, Storrs, an undue emphasis on the nomenclatural Conn. MoGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., aspects of his snbject. These include a New York, 1971. xii f 204 pp. Pigs. preference for the 1st setting (which no and tables. 23.5 X 16 cm. 812.50. one uses) in the monocliniesystem, rehashing the hexagonal-trigonel-rhombohedra1 According to its introduction "most of hessel, use of "isometric" instead of the the information conlained in this hook has more economical (and nnembiguons) been available since 1801, when the theory "cubic," and axid labeling in the orthoof space groups was first publiahed." rhombic system including 8. lengthy exWhy, then, this book? Well, for one position of whet happens to t,he space t of fundamental, thing, it puts a g r e ~deal group symbol when the axes are permuted. t,hough elementary, material between the same net of covers. More important, An eleven page table of the equivalent positions and their multiplicities for all however, is the antidotal elTect one hopes 230 space groups seems unnecessary. The t,his book will have against the mounds only misprint noted in this carefully of garbage which have been produced on produced work is an obvious one on p. 154. this subject since 1891: any author writing a text book of physical chemistry J ~ R DONOHUE Y feels qualified to write {.heususl obligatory Uniuersil?,qf Pennsylvania chapter(s) un crystallography and symPhiladelphia metry, and tho resulting jargon is useless
book reviews
A 192 / Journal o f Chemical Education
McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science a n d Technology. 1971
Daniel N . Lapedes, Editor in Chief. MrGraw-Hill Inc.. New York. 1971. and tables. 28.5 X 22 4 8 1 ~ ~Figs. . cm. $27.50. This newest in the oldest series of science yearbooks is a worthy companion to the new 15-volume McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia. of Science and Technology. The bulk of the volume is devoted to 1970 developments from "absolute zero" to "xylem." I n these days when it is impossible to keep even with the frontiers of knowledge in any but narrow fields of specialby, the need for an authoritatively writt,en sommary of recent advances is experienced by everyone. This volume meets that need. I n addition, 10-page essays preview 1971 advances in each of six fields. Chemists will be glad to find those on origin of life and on computecassisted rtnalytical chemistry, a t l e a d The book is further made a visual pleasure by the inclusion of 8. collection of excellent photographs of scientific importance. WFK
Absolute Configuration of Metal Complexes
Cli$'ord J . Hawkins, University of Queensland. A Volume in the Interscience Monographs on Chemist~y, (Conlinued on page A194)
book reviews Inorganic Chemistry Section. WileyInterscience, New York, 1971. x 349 pp. Figs. and tables. 2 3 5 X 16 em. $19.50.
+
This monograph is the latest volume in the excellent series on inorganic chemistry published by Iute~science. Although t,he author points out that there exist other trext,menla of various related aspects of this area of inorganic chemistry, the present work is the first to deal wit,h the myriad facet* of this important topic. I t is a timely presentation because the interest in the area has expanded dramatically within the past few years. The need for a st,imnlsting and comprehensive discussion of the absolute configmations of metal complexes is long overdue. The question which must he asked, then, is does the present work fulfill this need? In the opinion of this reviewer, the answer is both ye3 and no. If the reader has only a sllperficial interest in this area, the combination of the rather xwesome price ($19.50) and the necessary beckgmond knowledge which the reviewer feels is essential to an understanding of t,he subject matter, then the reader must be content to cxamine some less demanding text. If on the other hand, the reader is willing t,o "dig" then this text should be added to his research library.
A 194
/
Journal o f Chemical Education
I n the introductory chapter, the author briefly discusses the concepts of sterwisomerism and absolute configuration, geometrical isomerism, optical isomerism, diastereoisomerism, and chirality. I n Chapter two, the notation of absolute configurations and the adopted symbolism are discus.3ed in a clear and careful manner. This chapter is indeed welcome in clearing up and explaining to the nan-initiate these often confusing suhject5. Conformational analysis is the subject of Chapter 3. This is treated comprehensively with numerous examples and references to the literature. The author follows the methods developed by his own research group in dealing with the contributions of the various forces which determine Ihe (a) stable conformations, ( b ) the most preferred canformstions, and (e) the energy differences between the various stable conformatiann. Chapter 4, the Absolute Configuration by X-Ray Analysis, is s. nat,m.al followup to the discussion in Chapter 3. A hrief review of anomalous dispersion and absolute configuration is followed by a discussion of the vnrions methods that have been employed to determine xbsolut,e configurations by this technique. The chapter is concluded by e x m i n g the results of X-ray diffract,ion studies of chelate rings. Once again, a large number of examples are presented which have been taken from the literature. In the longest chapter of the book, Chapter 5, Professor Hawkins presents a comprehensive and critical treatment of
circulsr dichroism (CD). This chapter is outstanding. I t is well organized, clear, and contains a wealth of information. This is the best presentation of CD this reviewer has seen. Chapter 6 deals with the application of nmr to the stereochemistry of inorganic molecules. After a very hrief treatment of the theory of nmr, Professor Hawkins discusses the application of nmr to the study of geometrical isomers, diamine complexes, amino acid compl6xes, polyamino carhoxylate complexes and pseudotetrahedral complexes. Chapter 7, contains, a hrief discussion of miscellaneous techniques (mainly. infrared) which have been applied to the stereochemical elucidation of inorganic systems. The subject matter in Chapter 8 could just as well he included in the appropriate sections elsewhere in the text. All in all, i t adds little to the overall purpose of the hook. In the opinion of the reviewer the hook will be used by researchers in the area and possibly as a. text for a special t o p i e course for advanced inorganic stodenbs. In summary, Professor Hawkins has fulfilled, in an admirable fashion, the need for a comprehensive and critical discussion of this fascinating area of coordination chemistry. CRAIGTAYLOR Universitg of Georgia Athens, 50601 (Continued on page A196)
