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The present reviewer cannot improve upon Hober’s summary of the scope and of the contents of the book which is given in the preface. “The subject of the book is physiology; not ‘physiology from above,’ but ‘physiology from below’; not physiology originated essentially t o fill human needs and help suffering individuals, but physiology as a branch of physical chemical science dealing with life as a physical, though exceedingly comples system, that may be subjected to scientific analysis like any other nature object.” “ . . . It will be convincingly shown that i t is not only possible, but of importance, t o anchor physiology even deeper in physical chemistry than was done previously, i.e., even closer to the fundamentals, on which our concepts of inorganic nature are erected, and when one tries to segregate the elementary processes combined in the life of a cell and to analyze them with the new tools of modern physics, this attitude makes more discernible the great number of unsolved problems.’’ “During the last four decades a tremendous revolution in our conception of the inorganic world has taken place, which during the last twenty years has progressively seized the aspect of the world of organisms. For qualities of matter spatially distributed quantities have been substituted; chemistry has more and more become a branch of physics.” Section 1 (by Hitchcock) consists of a conventional survey of the biologically most important fundamentals of physical chemistry. Of necessity this section is of little use t o the professional physical chemist. It also seems doubtful whether it will be of great use to the prospective biological readers of this book, except perhaps as a refresher course. The fairly comprehensive Section 2 (by Bateman) “is devoted t o outlining the numerous grades of structural complexity, beginning at the low level of atoms and molecules and defining the various electronic and nuclear forces which are involved in their linkage or disrupture. Then, ascending through levels of greater and greater aggregation, the rank of such giant molecules is attained as we meet in the synthetic polymerization products of organic chemistry on the one hand, and in the huge aggregates of amorphous colloidal micellae, of anisodiametric thread-like and leaf-like units, from which by interaction and orientation emerge the fibrils and fibers, the films, membranes, and septa, so widespread in living cells.” With the subsequent sections (3-8) the actual field of cell physiology is entered. Section 3 (by Hober) “ . briefly refers to the structure of protoplasm. Here, reasons are offered for the existence of submicroscopic particles of an even higher order of aggregation. As these particles are intermised with macromolecules and molecules of smaller and smallest dimensions inside and around the protoplasm, i t is made clear that they are subjected t o spatial and temporal changes brought about especially by the metabolic reactions. Therefore, the nest logical step is to assign functional significance to the various structures and t o their changes.’’ “Among these superstructures the most outstanding importance is claimed for the plasma membrane as an interphase between living and non-living.” Section 4 (by Hober) deals with the properties of the plasma membrane and its structure. Section 5 (by Hober) is concerned with the plasma membrane as an “ . ‘active organ,’ where metabolic processes are somewhat associated with a transport of solutes or of solvent against the concentration gradients between the interior of the cell and outside. In other words, work derived from the expenditure of metabolic energy can be done by this superstructure, provided the free energy is disposed of in an adequate succession and characteristic involvement of the chemical reactions . ” Section 6 (by Goddard) reviews the vast field of respiration of cells and tissues, while section 7 (by Fenn) introduces a microstructure other than the plasma membrane where the problem of interrelation between mechanism and metabolism seems to be more accessible than in the former case,-namely, the thread-like aggregates of myosin molecules in muscle. Section 8 (by Hober) deals with the various attempts at “interpretation of the mechanism of active transfer, this characteristic property of the numerous absorbing and secreting membranes, by comparing them with the sieve membranes as analoga, which, endowed with
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pores of different widths, with pore walls carrying different electric charges and placed in solutions of different ion concentrations, may be assumed to establish anti-diffusion and anti-osmotic effects with water and ions.” Here the reader is reminded that ‘Lsuchinterpretations lie as yet rather far beyond the limits of exact and definite statements.” I n the case of a book of such a unique character as Physical Chemistry of Cells and Tissues any discussion or criticism of minor points would be petty and inappropriate. The wealth of information presented in a critical manner is very great indeed, and the authors deserve the hearty thanks not only of physiologists and biologists in general but also of chemists and physical chemists. For the former the book is the clearest demontration possible of the necessity and the usefulness of applying the physical sciences with ever-intensified zeal t o the fundamental problems of biology; t o the physical chemist and physicist alike the book should be an inspiration t o apply his knowledge t o biological problems. This volume will remain for many years a guide book t o research problems in many fields of general and cellular physiology. The forty pages of author and subject indexes greatly facilitate the use of the book. The book is certainly a must for anyone interested in linking the biological sciences more closely than has been done in the past t o physics, physical chemistry, and chemistry. It also will represent a very valuable addition t o any physicochemical library; i t will be particularly appreciated by physical chemists interested in the borderlands of physical chemistry and biology. It is a most valuable addition t o the general scientific book literature. The print and binding of the book are pleasing, in spite of the war-time conditions under which it was produced. KARLSOLLNER. Atomic Energy in War and Peace. By GESSNER‘G. HAWLEY A N D SIGhfuND w. LEIFSON. 211 pp. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1945. Price: $2.50. A popular account of atomic, or preferably, nuclear energy has.the advantage over the Smyth report of being able t o treat the subject in a more logical and coordinated manner by omitting the details of organization, personnel, and administration. This was the aim of the present monograph. The authors admit that the effort is a hurried one and consequently there are many statements which require careful analysis and modification in the light of more accurate information. The reviewer finds the statements about the abundance of uranium quite misleading but not so much so as some that have been made before congressional committees and elsewhere by alleged authorities. T o imagine that the very low concentration of uranium generally present in the earth’s crust can ever be recovered and made available for atomic energy, as stated by some “experts,” is equally as wild as the statement on page 189 that “the earth’s crust contains about four parts per million of uranium, most of which is concentrated in specific localities.’’ The following statement that “it is only such rich deposits that are economically workable” is quite correct, but the assumption that this constitutes any large portion of the total uranium in the earth’s crust, in spite of its general low concentration, is erroneous. The statement on page 102 that uranium 235, “being highly unbalanced, is intensely radioactive” is hardly reconcilable with its known half-life of seven hundred million years. On the whole the authors present for popular consumption a readable and interesting account of the theory and development of atomic energy. S. C. LIND. The Chemistrb of Leather Manufacture, A. C. S. Monograph No. 101. By GEORGE D. McLAUGHLIN AND EDWIN R. THEIS. 8OOpp. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1945. Price: $10.00, The field of leather chemistry is enriched with twenty-five chapters of fundamental data pertaining t o this complex branch of chemistry. It is the work of Wilson et al. brought up t o date. The authors have added a volume of data t o the heretofore published theoretical
