APRIL. 1951
233
principal conrril,urcm, 14 ar h w r ones. 18 as havinp, reviewed the manuscript rn whole or in p u t , and two xs trchnirnl advisors to the e t x f l oi five editors. l'hr l i ~ include t muny emiwnt nnnws and there is no question of the competence of the various contributors to write on their respective subjects. The coordination of all the material must have been B major effort and has been well done. The discussions of the physical phenomena start with qualitative descriptions of the underlying causes which are followed by summaries of predicted and observed effects with only general indications of the theoretical or experimental basis. The scientific reader may wander just how experimental points would look on many of the ouwes and a. nontechnicd reader would find much of the book heavy going. One can nevertheless hope that manv will read this book rather than ones on astronomical collisionsdnd flying srtueers. The sections dealing with human and property damage are documented with photographs taken after the Japanese bombing and with a. variety of statistics, all of which bear testimony to the intensive and extensive destmction. The discussion of protective and relief measures shows in a matter&fact way what formidable questions face the planners of atomic defenses. The find effect of the book should be awesome for anyone not familiar at first hand witb atomic weapons. A "nominal" bomb corresponding roughly to 20,000 tons of T N T is used as a basis for most of the discussion, the brightness of the ball of fire is expressed in "suns" as units, and distances of less than half a mile from such an explosion are found to be in such triple jeopardy fromradiation, blast, and fire as not to be considered in any detail. One may perhaps find comfort of a sort in the comparison of the bomb with a third-rate earthquake, and in the conclusion that negligible effects on the weather are to be expected. Whatever the limitations of the resenta at ion arisine from insdvquutc knowlt~dgeor ornis.;il,n of ~ r r i ~ w information nt may bs., thr hook is n \xluahlc summsry of p3=t e q ~ n e n r rwith atomic bmnl,~and nf whst ma? I w v r ~ wtcd ~ to hapt~mwhcm onecxplotlc:r.
-
ROBERT H. COLE Bnorn L,?7,VEnaITT Pnovroeucs. Rnoor; ISLAND
0
CHEMISTRY VISUALIZED AND APPLIED
Armand Joseph Courchajne, Instructor in Biological Chemistry, Hahnemann Medical College; and Science Inshuotor, Hahnemann Hospital School of Nursing, Philadelphia. Edited by M. Cordelin Cowon. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1950. xis 687 pp. 122 figs. 14 X 21.5 cm. $5.50.
+
TEEREare three parts to this combined text and reference: Part I covers many important aspects of inorganic ohemistry, Part I1 provides an introduction to organio chemistry, and Part 111 presents considerable information on biological chemistry. The book is intended for the use of students contemplating a career related to health and disease. The quantity of detail which the author has been able to pack into s. single volume is phenomenal and all of it consists of either basic chemical fact or the application of these facts to a study of physiology. The large number of unusual and interesting applications of chemistry to the field of medicine should make a strong appeal to those who will use this book. The inorganic chemi~tryin the first twelve chapters is organized rather cleverly for ready assimilation. As early as page xii of the Practical Suggestions to the Student coines the warning that there are only four general types of chemical compounds-xides, acids, bases, and salts; and, happily, only four general types of chemical change-synthesis, analysis, single replacement, and double replacement. In Chapter 2, Matter, there are lists of laws and of definitions. An example of a problem to determine formula from percentage composition is followed by an example of 8. problem to determine percentage composition from the formula. Each chapter begins with the clause: "From your daily reading, past study, and experience, do you reodl:" and
this clause is completed by a. list of twenty or thirty alternative clauaes such as: "What a molecule is? How many internationally known elements there are?" Unfortunately, this kind of organization keeps the author so occupied that he has little time to follow the logical development of the great principles of chemistry. Even the structure of the atom is delivered dogmatically with no reference to the early experiments or to the periodic classification of the elements. Mendeleev and Moseley share less than a page between them. The suspicion arises that the author believes these students of health had better memorize the chemical facts that they will need in their business and leave the study of chemistry as a science to those with time and inchation to pursue it, a suspicion strengthened by a. reading of the questions that appear at the end of the chapters. In the second section, an introduction to organic chemistry, chemicals are grouped according to their medicinal value, thus disturbing much of the inherent logic of organic chemistry. In the third section the author is clearly a t his best, with page after page of interesting up-to-date information on biological . chemistry. Physicians, dentists, nurses, and others interested in the chemistry of health and disease have here an excellent reference book, hut in using this book as 8. text, an instructor would need to show marked restraint. B E N T L E Y EDWARDS
Cnroo STATECOLLEOE Cnroo, C ~ ~ ~ r o n a r *
0
QUAKERS IN SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY
Arthur Raistrick. Philosophical Libzsry, Inc., New York, 1950. 361 pp. 16 plates. 14 X 22.5 cm. $6.
THEauthor's thesis is that the persecution of the early Quakers dmost inevitably drove them out of farming and into business and that their religious practices contributed heavily to their financial success. His examples are drawn exclusively from English Quakers of the period 1650 to 1800. From the time of George Fox the Quakers have protested against the double standard of truth implied in the custom of taking oaths. As a consequence, they were branded as "suhversive characters'' and thrown into jail by the thousands. There is an appalling familiar ring to the story. They refused to pay tithes to the church and had their goods confiscated as a result. Most of them were originally farmers, hut they shifted to various business occupations in which they were less dependent on horses, cows,. imulements, . . etc... which could so easilv be taken from them.
cern for the welfare of their employees, and they were very conservative in their ventures. Numcrous intermarriages united families in many different lines. Among their most notable contributions to technology are the process for smelting iron ore with coke instead of charcoal, improvement in the purification of lead, and the making of the most accurate clocks and watches of the period. In the field of medicine, it was a group of liberal Quaker doctors who tested Jenner's technique of vaccination after the conservative Royal Society had turned a deaf ear to him. Various naturalists arc mentioned, among them John Bartram, the only American Quaker included. The author shows a curious sense of proportion in giving almost the same space to his treatment of John Dalton and his contemoomrv chemist,. William Allen. customs of the times. RICHARD WISTAR
