Now Completely Revised and Twice as Large
Beyond the Flyleaf Fear, War, and the Bomb.
P . M . S.
BLACKETT. vii + 244 pages.
Whittle
sey House, 330 West 42nd St., NRW York 18, Ν. Υ., 1949. $3.50. D R . Blackett has attempted to analyze the effects of strategic bombing as em ployed in the past two world wars and with the conclusions reached ventures to predict the role atomic bombs might be expected to play in future war^. He assumes that in a future war the United States would be on one side, Russia on the other. The author concludes that strategic bombing of cities with high explosives certainly will not cause a country at war t o collapse easily and yield to the opposing forces. For this reason he be lieves that the effectiveness of atom bombs for winning future wars has been greatly over-emphasized. I n arriving a t his dubious conclusion." T)r. Blackett has chosen to neglect en tirely the radiation effects of the bomb. This fact, together with many othei doubtful assumptions, including those made as to the possible future improve ments in the bomb, considerably ^weakens the arguments and reduces them to mere speculations and personal opinions. T h e latter part of the book has been devoted to a detailed account of the various proposals for the international control of atomic energy. The author has brought into sharp focus and with great clarity the differences in opinion between the United States and Russia as how t o control this new source of energy and the reasons for the present deadlock in the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
B. S. WILDI
The Basis of Chemotherapy. WORK and B. WORK,
T. «.
XX - j - 435 pages.
Interscience Publishers, Inc., 215 Fourth Ave., New York 3, Ν. Υ. $6.50. JJuRiiNiG the past decade, concepts of the mode of action of cheniotherapeutic agents have been developed. In general, "these concepts derive from the idea, first clearly stated b y Fildes, that chemo•therapeutic agents are substances whose constitution is such that they are •enabled to interfere with the utilization of one or more metabolites, whose par ticipation in enzymatically controlled re actions is essential for the propagation of bacterial cells. I n "The Basis of Chemotherapy" the authors present a clear, critical, and comV O L U ΜΕ 97; N O , 22 .
. .
prehensive account of the consequences of this idea, of the theoretical specula tions it has engendered, and of the ex perimental investigations which substan tiate the validity of these speculations. Following a brief historical introduction, the authors offer succinct accounts of the reactions involved in cellular me tabolism, of the nature of essential metabolites, and of the phenomena of enzyme inhibition before proceeding t o discussions of drug antagonism, of drug resistance, and of the relation of struc ture and activity. This manner of pres entation enables the reader who is not a specialist to garner easily and progres sively the ancillary facts and arguments necessary for proper comprehension of the main theme. The text is supple mented by a well chosen bibliography of 976 entries, of which about one third refer to papers published during the past five years. The text is remarkably free from errors, but Uieôe naveSALES page 37 in the discussion of penicillin, this substance is stated to be bacteriostatic and to be ineffective when administered by mouth. On page 199, it is stated that the only clearly defined toxic reactions observed following "large doses of sulfonamides in man are granulocytopenia and leucopenia." The reviewer enjoyed reading this book, and commends it to all interested in both the present theoretical concepts of the mode of action of chemotherapeutic agents and their ultimate extension to practical problems. As the authors remark, these concepts will "provide no royal road to the production of new chemotherapeutic drugs, but they begin to provide a rationale for the whole subject." Any chemist who has had even a limited experience with synthetic drugs will, I believe, welcome such a rationale.
KENNETH C. BLANCHARD
The Chemical Arts of Old China. Li CH'IAO-P'INO. viii + 215 pages. Journal oj Chemical Education, Easton. Pa., 1948. $5.00. THE Chemical Arts of Old China" will appeal to students of chemistry, especially the history of chemistry, as well as t o sinologists and all who are interested in the culture, economics, arts, and crafts of Asia. The book is in good balance, its style is simple, truly delightful, withal impressive, and when digested leaves a feeling > M A Y 3 0, 1 9 4 9
NATURAL PRODUCTS RELATED TO
PHENANTHRENE NEW THIRD EDITION By LOUIS F. FIESER and MARY FIESER HARVARD
UNIVERSITY
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This new, third edition brings up to date the chemically fascinating story of these naturally occurring compounds which have such an important bearing on human physiology — such, for example, as morphine, the sterols, hormones, and the steroid group of alkaloids. This volume continues and expands the brilliantly constructive work with -which the authors have been associated for many years. It will be of the greatest interest to drug and pharmaceutical chemists, physicians, and organic chemists working in these and related fields. Free Examination!] Mail This J I Coupon Today R E I N H O L D PUBLISHING CORP. DEPT. M-1 5 5 , 3 3 0 W . 42nd St. N E W YORK 18, Ν . Υ. Send for 1 0 days' FREE E X A M I N A T I O N one copy of Ficser P H E N A N T H R E N E to: Natne_ Address.
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W. H. NICHOLSON & CO. 1 · 6 Oregon St., Wllk.a-Bwr·, Pa.
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BEYONDTHE FLYLEAF: of pleasant satisfaction. I t is quite evident that t h e author is a philosopher and a m a n of science who h a s attained his purpose in presenting a thoroughly readable series of essays in this one nottoo-long and unique volume which should find a place in every public or private chemical l i b r a e . T h e history of China back i n t o t h e mists of antiquity is full of investiga tions and achievements related to chem istry, and to alchemy in the early times which follows the p a t t e r n we are more or less familiar with in other civiliza tions. Taoism, which began i n t h e fifth century B.C., a religion and a philo sophical way of life emphasizing sim plicity of social a n d political organiza tion, and which later degenerated into magic, finds frequent reference, thus adding interest and local color t o Li's presentation. T h e plentiful u s e of ideo graphs, t h e symbol, or written figure which serve as a graphic representation of the Chinese thought is of value t o the student and t h e sinologist w i t h o u t d e tracting from ordinary ease of reading. T h e same purposes are served b y t h e copious use of sketches and diagrams t h a t have much more than a mere artis tic value. Of the 15 chapters composing t h e book, we find the references to inks, colors, and dyes t o be fascinating, t h e work on salt most interesting, a n d that on lacquer wares altogether too short. Art collectors should find t h e informa tion and illustrations o n ceramics and metal wares t o b e most useful. W e hope t h e work will b e followed b y similar essays o n t h e part of D r . L i . C. C. C O N C A N N O N
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Petroleum Summarized
A Monthly Summary of Industrial Developments (Related to Petroleum Processing) is being prepared a t Georgia Institute of Technology for t h e execu tive, scientist, or engineer working in t h e petroleum field. I t will consist of a semitechnical economic coverage of d e velopments noted i n a continuous survey of t h e literature received by t h e 25th of t h e preceding month. At present, o n e daily, 17 monthly, and seven weekly periodicals a r e scanned for pertinent happenings. T h e publication is sponsored jointly on a nonprofit basis b j ' several com panies a n d is n o t available t o a n y com pany, individual, o r library except o n a full participating sponsorship basis. M a n y petroleum companies h a v e i n formation groups which prepare abstract bulletins and conduct searches a n d sur veys on specific phases of science a n d technology, b u t heretofore n o summary of these findings has been attempted CHEMICAL
E d i t o r of the Monthly Summary is Β . Η . Weil, chief of the Georgia T e c h Engineer ing E x p e r i m e n t Station's technical in formation division in A t l a n t a .
New Books Alloy Systems.
J A M E S O. LORD,
xix +
380 pages. P i t m a n Publishing Corp., N e w York 19, N . Y. $5.00. A m e r i c a ' s M i n e r a l Resource P o s i t i o n : A Symposium. Studies in Business E c o n o m i c s , N o . 18. National I n d u s trial Conference Board, N e w York, Ν . Υ. 50 cents. Arabian Oil: A m e r i c a ' s S t a k e in t h e M i d d l e East. and
HOLLIS
RAYMOND F . M I K E S E L L 201
pages.
University of N o r t h Carolina Chapel Hill, N . C . $3.50.
B. CHENTERY.
Press.
The Coming A g e of W o o d .
EGON G L E S -
]NGER. xv -f- 279 pages. Simon a n d Schuster, Inc., N e w York 20, Ν . Υ. S3.50. Das Koxnponieren in der P a r f u m e r i e . OTTO
GEKHARDT.
424
pages.
J.
W
E d w a r d s , A n n Arbor, Mich. $12.50. Development Schedule of N e w D r u g Products.
PAUL DE Η Λ Ε Ν .
125 pages
R o m a i n e Pierson, N e w York, Ν . Υ $15. Die Glasfabrikation. 2 volumes. 2nd ed.
ROBERT DRALLE.
1505 pages.
J.
λΥ. Edwards, A n n Arbor, Mich. $47.50 Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. V o l u m e I I I . E d i t e d by RAYMOND E . KIRK, SCOTT,
DONALD OTHMER, JANET D. and A N T H O N Y STAN DEN. Inter-
science Publishers, Inc., N e w York 3. Ν . Υ. $20. The F i l m in I n d u s t r i a l Safety T r a i n i n g . PAUL IR. IGNATIUS.
117 pages.
Har
vard University G r a d u a t e School of Business Administration, Boston, Mass. $1.50. General Chemistry. 5 t h e d . HARRY N . H O L M E S , viii -+- 708 pages. T h e M a c millan Co., New York 11, Ν . Υ . $4.50. Kurzes H a n d b u c h d e r P o l y m e r i s a t i o n stechnik.
Vol. 3 .
F R A N Z KRCZIL.
1448
pages. J. W . Edwards, A n n Arbor. Mich. $30. The N a t u r e a n d Origin of Limestone Porosity.
RICHARD
B.
HOHLT.
51
pages. Colorado School of Mines, quarterly, vol. 43, N o . 4, Golden, Colo $1.00. Oxyacetylene W e l d i n g a n d Cutting. A C o u r s e of I n s t r u c t i o n . Revised b y T . B . JEFFERSON, 4 t h ed. STUART P L U M L E Y .
McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., N e w York 18, Ν . Υ. $6.50. Science of C h e m i s t r y . and
LEWIS
F.
GEORGE W. W A T T
HATCH.
vii
-f-
567
pages. McGraw-Hill Book Co., I n c . , New Y o r k 18, Ν . Υ. $4.50. Surface Drainage of H i g h w a y s . C o m mittee Report a n d T h r e e P a p e r s P r e sented at 27th A n n u a l Meeting, 1947. R e s e a r c h R e p o r t 6 - B . 32 pages. N a tional Research Council, Washington 25, D. C. 45 cents. T h e r m o c h e m i e d e r L e g i e r u n g e n . FRIEDRICH W E I B K E a n d OSWALD K U B A S C H E W -
S K I . 366 pages. J . W . Edwards, A n n Arbor, Mich. $10. Thermo d y n a m i k auf den G r u n d l a g e n der Q u a n t e n t h e o r i e , Quantenstatistik a n d S p e k t r o s k o p i e , Vol. 1, 2nd ed.
PHILIPP
H . ZEISSE. 234 pages. J . W . Edwards. Ann Arbor, Mich. $6.25. A N D ENGINEERING
NEWS
