VOL.7, NO. 12
RECEN'i r BOOKS
feel it can he improved in the next edition. W. T. READ RUTOBPS UNIYE~SLTY New B n u ~ s w ~ cN. s , 1.
A Textbook of Organic Chemistry. A. F. HOLLEMAN, Ph.D., LL.D., DSc., F.R. S.E. Seventh English edition, John Wiley and Sow, Inc.. New York City. 594 pp. 80 figs. 15 X 23 1930. xx cm. $3.50.
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If popularity with students and teachers is t o be accepted as a criterion of excellence in a textbook, Professor Holleman's treatise must he given a very high place indeed. For nearly thirty years i t has been a favorite with classes in elementary organic chemistry throughout the world. During this time the book has appeared in nine different languages and the number of separate editions has mounted to the impressive total of fiftytwo. Such wide and sustained popularity has rarely been enjoyed by any textbook. The book was originally designed for use in the first course in organic chemistry. All important types of compounds were discussed though necessarily in a very brief way. Emphasis was laid on the theory underlying the subject and the number of facts given was kept dawn t o a minimum. These features, now so amply justified by the success which the hook has attained, have been retained in the present edition. Many alterations are t o be found in the text of this edition. The application in organic chemistry of certain physiochemical methods has been given a fuller treatment. Important changes are t o he found in the discussion of such subjects as disaccharides, enzymes, and the relationship between color and constitution. Minor changes throughout the book serve to bring it up t o date on many points of theory and practice which have undergone change during the last few years. Excellent as the book is, the reviewer feels that in certain respects it fails t o reflect fully the spirit of present-day organic chemistry. For example, emphasis is everywhere placed on those reactions
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which are supposed to indicate structure rather than those which are useful in synthetic work. Thus the Wurtz-Fittig method is cited as frequently as the Grignard reaction, the Friedel-Crafts method, or the use of malonic ester, despite the fact that the first-mentioned type of reaction is comparatively of little use in synthetic work and of doubtful value in structural studies. Thiele's theory of partial valencies (page 367) has not proved of sufficiently general use t o warrant its inclusion here except possibly as a historical note. It would seem advisable rather t o include some mention of the newer developments in valence theory a t least t o the extent of showing that all valencies are not alike in character. The modem tendency t o regard aromatic chemistry as a special case of ethylenic chemistry is not found in the hwk. For example, on page 357 aromatic compounds are contrasted with saturated aliphatic compounds, whereas one would expect them t o he compared with ethylenic compounds. The chemistry of phenols is compared with that of alcohols, hut ends are not mentioned in this connection. Again, the treatment of cyclohexane derivatives as hydroaromatic compounds relates them t o benzene. Would it not he better t o compare them with the paraffins? Similarly, would i t not be more helpful to compare the terpenes with the pentenes with which they are so closely allied? Apart from such considerations as these, this new edition of the book fully merits a continuation of the wide papularity enjoyed by the preceding issues. C. FUSON REYNOLD UNIYERSmY OF I L . I K 0 1 5
Uaarlin. ILL.
An Introdnction to Organic Chemistry. E R ~ CJOHN HOLMYARD, M.A.. M.Sc., D.Litt., F.I.C., Head of the Science Department, Clifton College. Edward Arnold & Co., London; Longmans, Green and Co., New York City, 1930. 282 pp. 31 figs., 9 plates. $1.75. xi
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JOmAL
OF CHEM[ICAL EDUCATION
This book, which is based upon the author's "Outlines of Organic Chemistry," is intended, according t o the preface, for complete beginners, boys and girls, who have just passed the school certificate examination in England. "The number of compounds drscribcd hnc dcliherntels bren krpt small" in order that the insuuctor may "make haste slowly" and "allow the elementary work t o be thoroughly assimilated." Within the limits established, this text is an excellent piece of work. The organization of the material is worthy of note. Especially commendable too is the emphasis put on structure in Chapter 111. Here with painstaking detail the author discloses the methods for determining the arrangements of the atoms in alcohol, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, formic acid, and ethyl formate. The discussion of the two series, aliphatic and aromatic, begins in each case with the hydrocarbons and continues through the derivatives. The plan, in general, seems t o be t o discuss the most tvdcal member of a ho.. mologaus series in some detail, after which a general discussion of the series as a whole follows. The few number of compounds discussed wilt undoubtedly result in adverse criticism from some quarters. Of the sixtyfive common organic substances listed a t the beginning, approximately twenty per cent receive no further mention. For instance, there is no discussion of the alkaloids, the organo-metal10 compounds, the heterocyclic compounds, the carbocyclic compounds other than those of the aromatic series, and many other types frequently met in elementary organic texts. I n other words the author attempts nothing but a discussion of the simpler types of the aliphatic and aromatic series, a method which cannot by its very nature consider some very interesting compounds of great practical importance. I n the opinion of the reviewer this is not a serious objection. The author aims a t thoroughness which is t o he followed by a more advanced study later.
DecEMwsn, 1930
Several of the new features introduced in recent American texts are noticeably lacking in this work. The Geneva system of nomenclature is completely ignored; even the names methanol and ethanol, which have come to be quite common in America, are not mentioned. The electron and the part which it presumably plays in organic combinations have likewise been omitted. The b w k is remarkably free fram errors. To be sure the statement in regard t o phenol-"an ample supply of which is always available fram coal tar"-is not true, a t least, in America. I n the discussion of the sugars clarity might be introduced by giving the ring formulas for some of the hexases since these are later used in the structural formulas for sucrose and lactose. The distinctness of the type, together with the s.~ a ~. i mannement ng of the eauations, makes reading easy. The plates add a great deal t o the attractiveness of this work. For the student who desires a limited treatment of the subject this text offers a clear, well-arranged, presentation. C. A. BUSBLER Unrwasrrv os TBNNBSBE KNOXYILL.L, TBNN.
Dietetics and Nutrition. MAUDE A. PERRY, B.S., formerly Director of Dietetics a t the Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Illinois, and a t the Montreal General Hospital, Montreal. Canada. C. V. Mosby Co., St. Louis, Missouri, 1930. 332 pp. 13.5 X 19.5 cm. $2.50. The purpose of the hook, as stated by the author in the preface, "is to present scientific and technical material in plain and simple language, t o meet the needs of schools, training schools for nurses, graduate nurses, physicians, teachers, and all others interested in personal and public health problems." The author has fulfilled the aim in that the information, as presented, is stated in simple language, making the material readily available far any reader. An excellent feature is a short outline preceding
