The organic qualitative analysis section has been strengthened by the inclusion of tables on the properties of compounds and derivatives. Fieser has continued to emphasize the use of unknowns wherever it seems practicable. The color plates that appeared in the iront of the earlier texts have heen omitted, but the more useful photograph3 have been retained and appear in black and white a t appropriate points in the book. Ground glass equipment is used in new photographs, but it is not essential that it be availnble in order to carry out the experiments satisfactorily. While some of the older diagrams are reti~ined and may seem outdated, particularly in the section on vacuum dii;tillation, they still represent the principles adequately. Those wishing to include kinetic experiments or experiments requiring the use of the usual gravimetric, volumetric or colorimetric techniques will not find the text particularly helpful. Nor is it as useful as "Experiments in Organic Chemistry" for independent projects. However, on the whale, this hook offers an exeeptionnlly wide selection of well thought out experiments to choose from, and is a very good laboratory text far elementary organic chemistry. FRANK C. PENNINCTON Coe College Cedar Rapids, I m a Animal Chemistry or Organic Chemistry in its Application to Physiology and Pathology
Justus Liebig. A Facsimile of the Cambridge Edition of 1842 with a new Introduction by Frederir 7,. Holmcs, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Sources of Science, Nu. 4. Johnson Reprint Corp., New York, 1064. cxvi xl 347 pp. 12.5 X 20 em. $14.50 Liehig's Die Chemie in ihrer Anwendung auj Agrikullzir uni Phgsiologie appeared in 1840, a ~vorkso successful that it went through many editions and translations and established its author ss one of the principal founders of agricultural chemistry and plant nutrition. Two yema later he plhlished the companion, Die organische Chcmie in i h w Anwendung auf Phgsiologie und Pathologie, in which he attempted to provide solutions to the problems of digestion, animal heat, respiration, ete. and thus arrive a t a practical basis for better nutrition. The book raised ,z flood of critical comments, it involved Liebig in numerous heated disputes, much of the contents were shown to be based on pure fantasy, but nolletheless it provided a great thrust upon the course of physiological thought and investigation. I t s importance as a determining farce warrants the present reprinting. The volume under review here is a reproduction of the English translation by Liebig's friend William Gregory of Cambridge, who worked from the author's manuscript and supplied additions, notes, and corrections. However, the most notable feature of the reprint is The (Continued on page A480)
+
A41 8
/
Journal o f Chemical Education
+
Introduction hy Frederic Holmes of M.I.T., who in no less than 125 pages discusses the book. He takes a p the history of the sobject, he analyzes the principal topics discussed b y Liehig, and he presents the opposing views of Liebig's contemporaries, etc. I n other words he provides a useful guide through the text and shows by this example what a wealth of historical information can he supplied in connection with an outmoded tent. Without the Introduction, this reprint ir merely a reissue of a book that in spite of itself beoame important hecmse of its critics and hecause it "presented a. point of view and a pathway for experimentation which have remained fruitfd for over s cenhry." With the Introduction it presents s. fine contribution to tKe histnrv of biological chemistry. R ~ L P E. H OESPER Unitwsitu of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio Understanding Physical Chemistry. Pmrts 1 and 2
Arthur W. Adamson, Tiniversitv of Southern California, Las Angeles. W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1964. 489 xix pp. Figs. and tables. xii 16 X 23.5 em. Clothbound, $10; paperbound, $3.95 each part. I n "Understanding Physical Chemistry" Professor Adamson has compiled an extraordinarily fine set of problems with their solutions. The collection c o m a from examination questions which have been given as part of the undergraduate physical chemistry course a t the University of Southern California. The prahlems are not routine nor are they arithmetically complex; rather, they are designed both to te3t and to rhallenge the student's mastery of the fundamental concepts contained in the various areas of classicsl physical chemistry. The d u tions to the problems are erceptiondly well done. More than answers are given; the solution to each problem is explained in detail, and m y subtleties are carefully pointed out. Diligent study of the problems and their solutions cannot help hut reinforce understanding of the quantitat,ive aspects of physical chemistry. To review a problems hook cogently is a difficult task. Possihly the best approach is to list the areas covered, the numher of problems offered, and the impressions of the reviewer. The hook is divided int,o two parts, each of which is available in edition individually. Part 1. Properties of matter, thermodynamics, chemical equilihrin. 1. Behavior of gases (3 chapters, 59 problems). Those problems concerned with r e d gas behavior and condensation phenomena are superb. The relationships between the kinetic and molecular theory for gas behavior and the transport properties of gases are not emphasized. 2. Physical properties of molecules (1 chapter, 36 problems). The additivity relationships of molar refraction and molar polmizahility, are discussed. I n addition s. fine selection of problems emphasizing the Beer-Lamhert Law is included. (Continued on page A@4)
+
A420 / Journal o f Chemical Education
+
