explaining many terms used in chemistry and related sciences. Also contains brief biographies. Not intended for the ex pert, but for those in other disciplines who need chemical information.
BOOKS
Biosynthesis Up to the Minute The Biosynthesis of Proteins. H. CHANTRENNE. viii + 220 pages. Pergamon Press, 122 East 55th St., New York 22, N.Y. 1961. $6.50. Reviewed by Dr. Mahlon B. Hoagland. Dr. ΗοαξΙαηά is associate professor of bacteriology and immunology at Har vard Medical School, Boston. Workers in the field of protein biosyn thesis are on the crest of a wave of discovery, speculation, reviewing, and frantic exploitation unparalleled in the history of biological research. Unlike the earlier empirical days, broad hypotheses are acquiring exper imental support almost daily. A book bringing the many varied aspects of this field together is overdue and its failure to appear until now is in large part due to awareness that it would be out of date before it saw the light of day. Dr. Chantrenne has faced this danger and come u p with a most valuable contribution to the literature. He is eminently qualified to handle the task, having contributed fundamen tally to our knowledge of activated intermediates in biosynthetic reac tions, as well as having been a contin uously imaginative and productive in vestigator in protein synthesis. The subject is covered with thoroughness and breadth, reflecting the author's wide range of interests in bacterial, higher plant, and animal sys tems. He first considers genetic as pects of the control of protein synthe sis: the evolution of concepts of the role of the gene, the one gene-one enzyme hypothesis, and the modern focus on these problems at the molecu lar level. The chemical nature of de oxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid in viruses, bacteria, and higher animals is covered rather briefly, along with a statement of the hy pothesis underlying current investiga tions that the linear arrangement of bases in these molecules somehow de termines the linear order of the amino acids in protein. There follows a de tailed consideration of the intracellu lar sites of protein synthesis, including a critical evaluation of the numerous experiments on enucleated cells. The major part of the book is concerned 70
C&EN
APRIL
30, 1 9 6 2
with a thorough and critical coverage of the chemical pathways in protein synthesis and the roles of the nucleic acids in the process. T h e final chapter deals with regulatory mechanisms in protein synthesis including discussions of non-Mendelian hereditary factors in enzyme synthesis, and the problems of differentiation and antibody synthesis. Dr. Chantrenne has not only criti cally evaluated the experimental work in the field, but has clearly separated fact from fancy. The latter achieve ment will be found invaluable to the uninitiated as the current literature frequently fails to do this. There are some 1600 references to provide both the beginner and the experienced teacher and investigator with a wealth of further reading. T h e chronology of developments in the field is handled with accuracy. The only fault this reviewer finds with the book is the one anticipated at the outset; since it was completed in 1960 it contains little of the newer developments on ribonucleic acid syn thesis, messenger ribonucleic acid, and the unraveling of the code. None of these developments, however, alter the picture that Dr. Chantrenne has painted and indeed, the book serves as an excellent introduction to an un derstanding of them. In sum, the book can be highly recommended as an important contri bution in a field that is the central focus of modern molecular biology.
Organic Peroxides: Their Formation and Reactions.
The Philosophy and Logic of Chemical Engineering.
Physical Techniques in Biological Re search. Vol. IV. Special Methods. WILLIAM L. NASTUK, editor,
xiii +
410 pages. Academic Press, Inc., I l l Fifth Ave., New York 3, N.Y. 1962. $13. Polycarbonates. WILLIAM F. CHRISTO PHER, DANIEL W. FOX. ix + 182
pages. Reinhold Publishing Corp., 430 Park Ave., New York 22, N.Y. 1962. $7.95. Systematic introduction to the polycarbo nate polymers. Compiles all available fabrication and property data and said to be useful to both research and appli cation workers. Progress in Plastics 1961. Papers and Discussions at International Plastics Convention, Interplas 1961, London. PHILLIP MORGAN, editor,
xi +
181
pages. Macmillan Co., 60 Fifth Ave., New York 11, N.Y. 1962. $12.75. Surveys recent developments, technical and commercial, in polyolefins, vinyls, and polystyrenes. et Dosage
des Éléments
MAURICE PINTA.
xxix -j- 726
pages. Dunod, 92, rue Bonaparte, Paris 6, France. 1962. 98 NF.
GERHARD A. COOK, editor. ~~
xviii + 424 pages. Inter science Pub lishers, Inc., 250 Fifth Ave., New York 1, N.Y. 1961. $17.50. Molecular Spectroscopy. Methods and Applications in Chemistry. G. H. BEAVEN, E. A. IOHNSON, H. A. WILLIS,
R. G. J. MILLER, viii -f 336 pages. Macmillan Co., 60 Fifth Ave., New York 11, N.Y. 1962. $12.50. Book endeavors to meet the need for an authoritative technological textbook that can be used by both chemical engineers working from the practical to the theo retical and by chemists in universities working in the opposite direction. A New Dictionary of Chemistry. 3rd ed. L. MACKENZIE MIALL, editor,
ix
The Physical Basis of Polarized Emission. P. P. FEOFILOV. Translated from the Russian, xii + 274 pages. Consult ants Bureau Enterprises, Inc., 227 West 17 St., New York 11, N.Y. 1961. $12.50. Book attempts a systematic exposition of problems associated with polarization of radiation. Treats all problems associated with spectroscopy of polarized radiation except polarization in coherent and Raman scattering.
Traces.
Argon, Helium and the Rare Gases. Vol. II.
HOWARD F. RASE,
+ 164 pages. Gulf Publishing Co., 3301 Buffalo Drive, Houston 1, Tex. 1961. $4.50. Analyzes the foundations, goals, and logic of chemical engineering.
Recherche
NEW BOOKS
E. G. E. HAWKINS, xiv +
434 pages. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 120 Alexander St., Princeton, N.J. 1962. $12.50.
xi
+
593 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Park Ave. South, New York 16, N.Y. 1962. $13.75. Includes brief accounts of many chemical substances and operations in addition to
Retardation of Evaporation by Monolayers: Transport Processes. VICTOR K. LA MER, editor, xx + 277 pages. Academic Press, Inc., I l l Fifth Ave., New York 3, N.Y. 1962. $10. From a symposium held by the ACS in New York, September 1960. Semiconductor Abstracts. Vol. VII. I. J. BULLOFF, C. S. PEET, editors. 714
pages. lohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Park Ave. South, New York 16, N.Y. 1962. $20. 1959 issue of abstracts of literature on semiconducting and luminescent materials and their applications, compiled by Battelle Memorial Institute under the auspices of the Electrochemical Society. Sponsored by Battelle and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The Shift and Shape of Spectral Lines. RORERT G. BREENE, JR.
xii +
323
pages. Pergamon Press, 122 East 55th St., New York 22, N.Y. 1961. $15.
