the end of the nineteenth century. Boltzmann was an extraordinary teacher, gave lectures in experimental physics, theoretical physics and mathematics. But he also lectured in philosophy. I t is interesting to notice his shrewd criticism against philosophers like Hegel or Schopenhauer, and he suspected that Kant may sometimes have been teasing or kidding the reader. All this is written with the love and devotion for Boltzmann and for his country. This little brochure fills not only the need for a biography of Boltzmann, but i t gives, by means of the description of the life of Boltzmann, a living picture of the Austrianmonarehy at that time. Because of all these points of view and
because of the fact that the works of Boltemann are as important as ever in the fast development of modern physics, a translation of this biography should be considered. PAUL HIRTECK RENB~ELAER POLYT~~C IXBTITUTE ~~NTC TROY. NEW YORX
ANALYSE QUANTITATIVE MIN-E Gpston Charlot and Denise Bezier, 1'Ecole de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles. Third edition. Masson et 823 pp. 211 Cie, Paris, 1955. viii figs. 17.3 X 24.5 cm. Fr. 6200 (paper hound), 7000 (hard cover).
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THISserious work aims to supplement the existing treatises on classical methods and on specialized topics of quantitative inorganic analysis. I t briefly reviem the
more recent literature with the intention of providing a. guide far the practicing analyst in arriving a t the most suitable procedure for the solution of a given task. In the Erst part (pp. 1-370) the principles of the various methods are briefly discussed. Not included are the "purely physical methods" such as mass spectrometry, Raman 8pectroscopy, X-ray spectrography, measurement of magnetic properties, and other physical measurements employed as analytiesl methods. Since a table of contents is not provided, this part must be searched with the use of the running heads on the top of the pages. I t opens with a review of statistical concepts. This is followed by seven chapters (116 pp.) devoted to a theoretical discussion of titrimetry which follows the traditional approach, except that the Bronsted's concept of acid-base systems is consistently applied. Brief chapters deal with separation by precipitation, chromatography and ion exohange, distillation, titration in nonilqueous solvents, extraetion, gravimetry, sampling (one page); then follow the instrumental methods, and most of the space is given to electrochemical procedures: electrodeposition, polsrography, potentiometry, ampemmetry, and coulometry. Chapters 18-23 finally deal with applications of radioactivity (6 pp.), the det,ermination of traces (4 pp.), semimicro and micromethods (2 pp.), dissolution (6 pp.), aahing of orgrtnio m a t e rials (4 pp.), and gas analysis (9 pp.). The second part of the hook gives methods for the sepamtion and determination of most elements. I n order to render the collection useful, mainly those of the newer methods were included which show some definite advantaee aver the clsssieal tory of the authors, or are recommended by a body such as the National Bureau of Standards of the United States. Also, the literature references have been selected for their usefulness. The elements are arranged in alphabetical order (pp. 3717591. An appendix contains teblcs of gravimetric factors and atomic weights, bibliography, subject index, and author index. The numerous illustrations are simple hut to the point. The print is clear and the hook is attractively hound. I n the reviewer's opinion, this formidable work could be improved by a better organization and a systematic approsoh to the material treated, particulasly in the theoretical part. I n spite of the inherent difficulties involved in the critical evsluation of modern analytical procedures which appear in print a t a prodigious rate, the authors have done an honest job. One cannot try dl the methods that have been proposed during the past decade and it will take many workers and much time to sort out the methods that are reliable a t d l times from the methods that leave much to be desired, even in the hands of metioulous workers. The work is a worthy addition to the shelf of the analytical laboratory as a reference book. The price is of interest to those of us who remember with nostaleia the low prices a t the "book stalls along the Seine" as we watch the prices of American
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION. DECEMBER. 1956
science reference books take the same trend as the stock market. It seems that $15620 for a reference book is now the rule r:ttlirr rhnn tltc ,wt.p!l
