ship8 between ~lilssesof compounds are to be commended. Msny of the recent developments in the fields of petrochemistry, drugs, hormones, synthetic fibers, and plastm have received some attention. If in somc cases the treatment seems too scanty, the interested student will find in the appendix a list of reference books to use in following up a particular subject. The six chapters on biochemical topics give an excellent presentation of import a n t areas of applied organic chemistry. A helpful glossary of chemical, biological, and medical terms is included in a n a p pendix. This edition retains the emphasis of its predecessors an the prttctiral rat,her than the theoretical aspects of organic ohemip try. Adequate examples are given of the methods by whioh the structure of a compound is established. The authors state t h a t they have purposely omitted electronic mechanisms of organic reactions. The hook is clearly mitten and can be recommended without reservations. SAMUEL E. KAMERLlNG Bo-moora COLLEGE Bsumwrcu, MAINE
CHEMICAL LTJGINEERING PRACTICE. VOLUMES 1 AND 2 Edited by H. W. Cremer and T.Davies. Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1956. 0 1 1 xiv 499 pp.; Val. 2: v i 632 pp. Many figs. and tables. 16.5 X 25.5 cm. $13.30 per volume an orders far complete set; $17.50 per individual volume.
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THE development of the chemical process industries, and of chemical engineering as a separate field of engineering associated with the process industries, has given rise to numerous handbooks and encyclopedia. For process technology, the 15-volume set of "Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology" discusses products, processes, and industries. "Chemical Engineering Practice" will be a. set of 12 volumes plus an index volume which "will enable chemical engineers to apply physico-chemical principles to plant operations and mocess develooment." The authors are ' ~ r i t i s h and ~ h c authorih ties in their fields. Volume 1, General, contains the preface t o the entire set. Here is made clear the objectives of the set. "A departure from this tradition [of unit operations] has been mad* the classification beine based on underlying physico-chemicai principles rather then upon the actual o p e c ations which give effect to them." The reader of the set is assumed to have a first degree in pure or applied physical science. Volume 1 begins with general subjects such as The Origin of Chemical Engineering and The Chemical Engineer. The former t r m s the growth of the process industries with the Lehlanc process, chamber sulfuric acid process, Solvay process, and interrelated chomied industries. The latter chapter shows the development of s special type of engineer for the process industries and the evolution of chemical engineering curricula for ~~
VOLUME 34, NO 4, APRIL, 1951
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his education. The material and energy balances far s. process oall for two chapters, of which the latter is quite lengthv and involves chemical equilibrium calcolations as well as energy balances. The last two chapters are on The Preparation of Flow Diagrams, and Units, Dimensions, and Calculations. The largest part of Volume 1 is devoted to Pilot Plants and Semi-Commercial Units. Various sections are devoted to general aspects, design, operation, reporting of results, and a lengthy bibliography of papers on the subject. For Volume 2, the subtitle "Solid State" is hardly descriptive of the contents of the volume. About half the material is largely metallography of steel and alloys. Fatigue, creep, and corrosion of metals are discussed, as are mechanical and physical properties of plastics and glasses. The other half of the volume appears to come under a. general heading of "porous masses." The chapter on fundamentals deals largely with filtration and flow through porous media. Some peculiar processes and operations are related to porous masses, ss the chapter a n The Purification of Coal Gas using the oldtime ferric oxide box. Flow in Fuel Beds and Transpiration Cooling obviously are related to porous masses, and the latter chapter is as modern as jet propulsion. The discussion of water and sewage treatment is largely the filtration processes involved, though ion-exchange is discussed briefly for water treatment. On the hasis of Volume 1 and 2, it is doubtful that the American chemical engineer will regard the set of ''Chemical Engineering Practice" as the reference set to whieh he will turn to supplement Perry, "Chemical Engineers' Handbook," or the textbooks usually found on his shelf. If we recall the fact that the set was prepared for a reader with a first degree in pure or applied physical sciences, we can agree thst a chemist unfamiliar with chemicd engineering will find much in this set whieh will he of value to him. Thus, the chemical engineer might prefer Jordan's monograph on "Chemical Pilot Plant Practice," whereas the chemist would learn much more by first reading the section in "Chemical Engineering Practice" on pilot plants and semicommercial units. Certainly this set should be available for student use so that he can get a t least a viewpoint different from the customary American viewpoint. KENNETH A. KOBE
U N ~ V E ~OF~ TEXAB TY ADBFIN,
TBX*~
AN INTRODUCTION TO CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
F. C. Phillip=, Reader in Petrology, University of Bristol. Second edition. Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 324 pp. 515 figs. and 1956. ix tables. 14.5 X 22 em. $6.
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THISis the second edition of a book first published ten years ago which may well become a classic in the teaching of crystallogrttphy. It differs from the first
edition by the inclusion of a chapter on the diffraction of X-rays by crystals, which, in the opinion of this reviewer, neither adds to nor detracts from its value. For educational purposes this hook has a particular merit which comes from its basis on years of good teaching by a scholar who thoroughly understands the fundamental principles and realizes their importance to the student. P s r t I is concerned with the external symmetry of crystals. I t gives a most comprehensible introduction to crystal morphology and to the crystallographer's concepts and use of point symmetry. Part I1 deals with the internal symmetry of ervstsls with an excellent account of the ~ r a lattices, h translation symmetry, and an introduction to mace eroun theorv.
of crystal growth and habit. With the exception of the short new chapter referred to above, the book is not concerned with the techniques of X-ray diffraction. To the student of X-ray crystallography it can, nevertheless, he recommended as a true introduction to erystsllography. The disadvantage of not having i t all in one book is off~etby the moderato price. G. A. J E F F R E Y
U e r v ~ n s m rOP PITTBBUROH PITTB~UR.". PENNBYLV*NI*
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY FOR STUDENTS OF PHARMACY AND BIOLOGY S. C. Wallwork, Ledurer in Chemistry, University of Nottingham. Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1956. xii 297 pp. 44 figs. 7 tables. 14.5 X 22.5 cm. $4.75.
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THE author state8 in the preface that "this book is intended t o cover all the topics in physical chemistry which are required by students of pharmacy and biology." And that, in the opinion of this reviewer, is precisely what is wrong with books of this type. If one believes, as the author of the present text evidently does, t h s t students of biological sciences should be fsmilisr with all, or nearly all, phases of physical chemistry, then it is surely wise to base a course on one of the excellent standard textbooks of physical chemistry, allowing the teacher to delete such specialized material as he deems unnecessary, and trusting him to explain in eztenso the more difficult subjects, rather than to turn to s. "physical Chemistry for Students of. . . . . . ," where brief, "simple" treatment is mistaken for clear treatment. ( I t is the full explanation, reinforced hy numerous examples and exercises, which is in fact the clear treatment,.) On the other hand, a good case can be made for the thesis that only a few topics 01physical chemistry are really important t o biology students, and that since they presumably do not assimilate physical chemistry as rapidly as chemistry students, they ought to spend all their time learning these few topics well. -4 proper
