chapter on electrochemistry has for some reason been postponed t o the closing pages, in spite of t h e overwhelming importance of the subject throughout the general chemistry course. Such dislocation of subject matter is made still more apparent hy the cross references. I n Chapter 9 alone (on water) crass references are given t o 35 paragraphs, 27 of which are to advanced sections not yet encountered by the student. A little more work here by the author would simplify greatly the task of the student* task now well nigh insuperable if the student is conscientious. The discussion of "five types of chemical change." p. 24, is either too long (since one of the five types mentioned is ignored. except for one insignificant example, throughout the remainder of the book) or too short (since equally important types are omitted from the list). The explanation hased upon the theory of Dalton that atoms can he shuffled, much as a pack of cards, is given in the present tense, although it is no longer true, as in the author's example, that we think of the fermentation of sugar as the breaking up of its molecules into their constituent atoms. and then the reassembling of these atoms into new molecules of alcohol and carbon dioxide. A number of statements are made which are open t o question. Some of these are doubtless due t o incomplete checking of the proof, as must be the formula for 1.2-dichloroethylene, which on p. 498 is called ethylene dichloride; the statement an p. 28 that in the combustion analysis of an organic compound, from the weights of Conand HIO produced we may calculate the percentages of hydrogen and oxygen in the sample; and the definition on p. 648: "One coulomb is equivalent t o the charge on 6 X loP8 electrons (Avogadro's number)." Some additional errors, obviously typographical, are the structural formula for propylene, p. 506; the graphic formula for cellulose. p. 535; the figure "50" for "1W" on p. 482; and various crass references, not all of which have been checked. It has already been suggested that most of the faults of the volume are due t o the haste with which it has been assembled. Such undue haste is not apparent in the preparation of the exercises a t the ends of the chapters. These numerous questions and problems are well chosen and thought provoking. If in a subsequent printing they can be set in larger type they will constitute the most outstandingly desirable feature of a successful text. P. Y.JACKSON U N l r e ~S r ~ r s sN A V A L Auosrrv ANNAPOL~S, M~YGAXD FUNDAMENTALS OP PHYSICS. Henry Senat. Associate Professor of Physics, the City College. College of the City of New York. 593 pp. Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., New York, 1945. xii 368 figs. 24 tables. 15 X 23 cm. Competition among texts for first-year college physics is so keen that any new book must be exceptional if i t is t o he outstanding. "Fundamentals of Physics'' is not exceptional, but it is fundamentally sound and should be successful. The p r e s e n t a t i ~of ideas has been worked out with great care. A simple and direct example is f i s t presented, words are carefully defined, and then the whole idea is expanded. Great care is taken t o avoid analogies, as leading t o loose thinking and confusion rather than clarity of thought. The treatment is in almost every case brief and directly t o the point. I n fact, some may feel that tw many of the usual derivations of formulas are omitted and too many statements made without indicated experimental or theoretical support. This approach was deliberate, in order t o shorten the book. but a few sections such as those on the kinetic theory of gases and the theory of the hydrogen atom have been treated fully t o show how far one can go in physics with elementary methads. I t is quite apparent that the author is in complete command of his subject, and acceptance of the book must depend upon whether or not one approves of the method of presentation. At the end of each chapter is a long list of problems and many searching questions. Proper use of the questions should force the student t o fill in many of the gaps in the formal presentation.
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Answers t o all the add-numbered problems are given in t h e appendix, together with a useful glossary of physics terms and the usual tables. The book is also smaller than usual because of an almost complete lack of photographs. Numerous drawings and diaa a m s occur throurhout the book.. but thev " ~ cannot .helo. the student to viwalize instruments and dcviecs associated with the practical applications of the subject. Careful demonstration Iecturm, or a good set of lantern slide?., should be used with thi5 text. The chapters on mechanics are well done, with many clever approaches that should help the student t o deal wisely with questions of force, weight, mass, power, and acceleration. No wave theory is presented. The topics of heat are fairly well covered, especially in the kinetic theory, hut the carrelatian of the gas laws, as shown in the P-V-Tsolid is completely missing. The sections on electricity are conventional, except for the lack of the oft-misused water analogy of electrical cells and circuits. The treatment of alternating currents includes vector diagrams for the impedance effects of inductance and capacitance. Electrostatic, electromagnetic, and practical units are all used in appropriate sections. The M-K-S system is only briefly described. Sound is verv brieflv covered. with little mathematics and no real wave theory. T h e treatment of light is more complete and includes a brief discussion of nuclear phenomena. This book may be called a streamlined physics text, with t h e emphasis on the physics and not on the applications of physics. It is well adapted t o the teaching of the fundamentals hut will not be of much use as a reference work for students of other fields of science. E. P. LITTLE P-sS EXBTBR.
EXZTBB
ACIDBUY
NEW H*.PSRIR&
COLLEOECHEMISTRY.Herman T.Brircoc, Professor of Chemistry, Indiana University. Hougbtou Mifflin Company, 586 pp. 267 figs. 23 tables. 19 X Boston, 1945. viii 25cm. 53.50. The present work of Professor Briscoe's is a revision of his "Introduction to College Chemistry." According t o the preface, the general plan and objectives of the hook remain unchanged; the alterations which have been made are largely ones of method of presentation and sequence of topics. One of the major innovations is the adoption of a two-column, larger page which contributes as greatly to the reduction of eye fatigue a s does the very clear type. If in the temper of the day one had t o classify this book a s radical or conservative, it would probably be placed just left of center. The book follows the conservative approach of developing the subject historically, but modern theories have been iatraduced very early where it has been found pedagogically helpful. Thus, while the atomic theory of Dalton, including the Law of Multiple Proportions, precedes the discussion of the structure of atoms, the latter appears in an elementary way in Chapter 3. The topic of structure of atoms. t o be sure, is taken up a ~ a i nmore completely in Chapter 12. The dijcussion o l acids and bases. inclt~dinghydrolysis. follows the definitions of llrdnsted and the subject i f strong electrolytes is hased upon the concepts of t h e Debye-Hiickel theory. To quote the preface, "the author has emphasized, wherever they could be used t o advantage, current concepts of the structure of atoms and molecules, of the electron theory of valence, of the properties of solutions of electrolytes, of acids and bases, and of other subjects concerning which views have changed during recent years, hut he has tried t o present these views, not alone and apart as the whole story, but as they are related to the views that preceded them." For a book designed for an intermediate level of attainment, the chaoten devoted t o descriotive chemistrv are unusuallv full and c o ~ p l c t e . I n addition to the tradiriaod material, he has included brief desmiptions of the less familiar elemcntr and their compounds. The l,horographs are of recent origin and excellent
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in quality. War applications have not been overemphasized. The chapters an organic chemistry include brief mention of the recent spectacular developments in "high octane" gasoline, synthetic- rubber. nlastics. and drues. Each chanter is followed bv an extensive list of references to books and journals to which college students are likely to have acrrss. The citations concerning descriptive chemistry, however, seem to he more up t o date than those concerning theory, where 1941 seems t o have been the dead line. The conclusion which this reviewer has reached, based upon an admittedly small samnling of the book. is that teachers will make no mistake in skec&z.it for th& heainninn course in . college chemistry. LAURENCE S. FOSTER MAS%CBOSBTTS INSTITUTB OF TBCHNOLOCY
The CHEMISTRY 0s LEATHERMANUPAC~WRE. George D . Mc-
Laughlin and Edwin R. Theis. Reinhold Publishing Corporation. New York, 1945. x 800 pp. 218 figs. 328 tables. 15 X 23 cm. $10.00. I n cmaplctely rewriting this monograph. the authors h a w fulfill:d u wed of lung standing in the field of lenthcr rhcrnistry Many of thr interprctatiorv of data presentmi in \Vilion'- 1020 second edition a r e n o longer jnstifiediu the light of more recent experimental evidence, and the current work succeeds in eliminating much of this misunderstanding. The subject matter included is in stricter keeping with the title of the work than was the case with the first two editions, as only the purely chemical aspects of leather manufacture are considered-with special emphasis on the structure and chemistry of skin proteins and on depilation and tanning. This narrowing c*msaroce. M*rr*c".rrarrr of scope should make the monograph of greater interest and value to all workers in the protein field, and it is, of course, a "must" for leather chemists. INFRARED AND RAMAN SPECTRA 08 POLYATOMIC MOLECULES. The treatment of each phase of the subject involves a descripGerhard Hnzberg, Professor of Physics, University of Saskatche- tion of essentiallv all of the imoortant and oertinent scientific ~~wan. D. Van Nostrand Company, Iuc., New York. 1945. paprrs puhliqhed in rcrcnt years, and the individual authors' xiii 632 pp. 174 figs. 148 tables. 15 X 23 cm. $9.50. intrrpretations and concluioni are prevented. Satisfactory This book is an excellent, detailed treatise on a very complex *ummarizatiuns of frrqucnrly conflicting opinions are not often field. I t is certainlv the most comolete treatment of the theorv of made, nor are they possible in many cases. The authors have lone wave length oolvatomic soectroscoov , that has vet . anneared avoided the temptation to draw unqualified conclusions based with rt,prcl to classical and quantum mechanical conaidcrations. on present-day experimental evidence, which is usually far from corrlplete illustrntianr and examples, and thorough indexing. complete or even adequate. In fact, the work not only indicates The author has rightly taken the viewpoint that the logical basis the appreciable activity in this field during the last decade, but for presenting this field is through molecular symmetry proper- points clearly to the augmented effort required and likely t o be ties and point group assignments. On this basis the subject attained in the near future. matter is presented in a natural sequence of increasing complexity KENNETH E. BELL -rotational and vibrational energy levels, normal vibrations and their interactions, examples of individual spectra, vibrationrotation couolin~. -. and thermodvnamic aoolications. The theoretical treatment is self-assured, with the only signs of indecision occurring in the treatment of Coriolis interaction. The examples are numerous and pertinent, and the author has con- ANNUALREVIEW OB BIOCHEMISTRY.James Murray Luck. sidered each case with care t o the point of making corrections or ~ d i t stanford ~ ~ , university; jarnes H. C. smith, ~ ~ disagreeing with the interpretation of the original work. Editor, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Division of Because of the mass of material and the fact that the hook is plant ~i,,l,,~~, stanford university, ~~~~~l ~ ~lnc,, ~ one of a series and therefore refers hack t o some derivations t o stanford University P. 0 . Volume XIII, 1944. ix 795 pp. avoid repetition, its value as a course textbook is somewhat un15 x 22.5 cm. $5.00. Volume XIV, 1945. x 856 pp. certain excent in advanced cases. Althoneh the author has used I K v oo c w. nn *" ,,*"." w"."". fine type for material which ir, illumimtml: but not absolutrly The topics treated in both volumes of this annual review are: necessary fur rhc prinriplos involved. 3 trlrhrr would hdve to do Biological Oxidations and Reductions; The Chemistry of the further careful rditirtg and rhoming of section. for use in a typical graduate cotme. For such a purpose, the inclusion of an oc- Carbohydrates; The Chemistry of the Lipids; The Chemistry of casional summary section giving pertinent formulas would have the Proteins and Amino Acids; The Chemistry and Metabolism been very helpful. For example, once a molecule has been as- of the Compounds of Phosphorus; Carbohydrate Metah?lism; signed to a certain point group there are simple formulas for de- Fat Metabolism; The Metabolism of Proteins and Amino Adds; termining the number of vibrations in each species, and the Mineral Metabolism; The Chemistry of the Hormones; The selection rules for the fundamental, overtone, and combination Water-Soluble Vitamins; The Fat-Soluble Vitamins; Nutrition; The Biochemistry of Malignant Tissue; and Mineral Nutrition bands. Such formulas do not appear explicitly in this book. Professor Herzberg has considered (admittedly) only the of Plants. Additional chapters in Volume X I I I include: Noutheory and examples which are susceptible t o fairly exact treat- oxidative Enzymes; The Steroids; The Biochemistry of the ment. He does not deal with semiquantitative work such as the Nucleic Acids, Purines, and Pyrimidines; The Nutritional Deapproximate treatment of long chain hydrocarbons as weighted ' ficiencies in Farm Mammals on Natural Feeds; The Alkaloids; Photoperiodism in Plants; chains, with the large field of empirical correlation between spec- Synthetic Drugs-Antispasmodics; Chloroplast Pigments; Growth-regulating Substances in Plants: tra and molecular structure, or with experimental techniques. Such aspects should be considered in any complete course in The Biochemistry of Fungi; and Histachemistry. In Volume spectroscopy, and it is t o he hoped that this very excellent work XIV there are also discussions on the following subjects: Enwill inspire the writing of a hook on a comparable level to com- zymes that Hydrolyze the Carbon-Nitrogen Bond: Proteinases, Peptidases, and Amidases; Nonproteolytic, Non-oxidative Enplete the field. The physical quality of the hook is good and the proofreading zymes; The Chemistry of the Nucleic Acids and Nucleoproteins; has been excellent. Only one error was observed-the wave X-ray Studies on Compounds of Biochemical Interest; The length scale of Figure 139. The print is necessarily small be- Chemistry of the Steroids; The Chemistry and Metabolism of cause of wartime restrictions and the photographic spectrograms the Compounds of Sulfur; The Chemistry of the Triterpenes; have not reproduced very well, but the easy style and text Animal Pigments; Detoxication Mechanisms; Nitrogeneons divisions make it very readable. The price is quite fair far such Constituents of Plants; Biological Nitrogen Fixation; The Chemistry and Metabolism of Bacteria; and The Chemistry of an authoritative work. VANZANDT WILLIAMS Antibiotic Substances Other than Penicillin. Author and subject indexes are, a s usual, provided in both A w s a r u N C u r m r m COMPANY volumes. 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