nevertheless, the reviewer cannot conceal his admiration for those freshmen who succeed in grasping it all! This is not a. text for beginners. A foreword lists topics which the student is expected to have at his command in consequence of his study of chemistry in high school; these include the significance and use of symbols, formulas, and equations, the gas laws, the periodic system, the atomic theory, Le Chatelier's principle, the elementary chemistry of ten substances, and the definitions of thirty-two chemical tenns. The text is divided into six parts. Part One, A Framework of Concepts, discusses the nature and p l x e of science and r e views the electronic and spatial charmteristies of chemical bonds. Part Two, Corners of the Tetrahedron, which makes up nearly half the book, is straightforward organic chemistry of monofunctional compounds. Aromatic hydrocarbons are introduced immediately after the unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons, and thereafter the two classes are considered together. The various systems of %ids and bases me introduced in connection witb the carhoxylic acids, while a, chapter on oxidation and reduction follows the chapter on ketones. Part Three, Foundation for the Framework, discusses the evidence underlying the concepts (wbich are stated as postulates in Parts One and Two) of directed valence, the tetrahedral carbon atom, and aromatie structure. Part Four, Neighbors on Joined Tetr* hedra, deals with polyfunctional compounds; Part Five, Inside the Tetrahedron, is concerned with metal-organic compounds, covalent compounds of silicon, phosphorus, and the hdogens, and aquaammono compounds; Part Six, The Hexagon, is a misoellany devoted only in part to aromatic substances. Numerous exercises are provided, consisting mostly of formula- and equation-writing and of problems in synthesis and identification. The mast important characteristic of a good textbook is accuracy, and in this respect "Chemistry of the Covalent Bond" rates high. The reviewer found no serious errors in the text (there is one in the drawing on p. 349, however) and only a small numher of misprints and minor inaccuracies. The writing is generally readable and clear, the definition of 8. mole of hydrogen ions on p. 182 beings deplorable exception. The author tries to present explanations along with the facts, but is careful not to give the impression of certainty where no certainty exists. Equations are written with great care to specify conditions and yields and to show the molecular species actually involved. Unfortunately, however, the book contains s. fairly large number of annoying inconsistencies, especially in Part Two. The most serious of these concerns the symbols 6+, 6- and @, Q. I t is claimed that the former are used in the "static" and the latter in the "dynamic" case; but, quite aside from the practical difficulty of deciding between the two cases, if indeed there is any red difference between them, the author's usage is not consistent from page to page. Furthermore, this attempted distinction results
VOLUME 35, NO. 1, JANUARY, 1958
in neglect of the real distinction between the partial charges on a polar single bond and the full charges in s. polarized resonance structure. Typical of the less serious defects are the following: the term "enzyme" is used without definition on p. 141 and is defined an p. 413; equation 1459 contains both &O+ and H + ss though they were separate species; the chapter summaries occa~ionallycontain information not included in the chapter itself. The benzene ring is denoted by a hexagon small enough to fit into a single line of type, which gives a very strange impression of the proportions of many aromatic molecules. The formation of the NO1+ ion in Lzoaid mixtures is introduced in
mechanism." I t must be emphasized, however, that such defects are annoying rather than serious. On the whole, "Chemistry of the Covalent Bond" is well conceived and soundly executed. It should receive careful consideration by m y ohemistry department which is contemplating the revision of its freshman course; and it might also serve very well, with a little amplification by the instructor, as an unorthodox and stimulating text for a, conventional course in organic chemistry. GORDON G. EVANS Tcma U N I V ~ R ~ ~ T Y Mnorono, Mass
COLLEGE CHEMISTRY William N. Nebergo4 Associate Professor of Chemistry, and Frederic C. Schmidt, Professor of Chemistry, Indiana
University. D. C. Heath and Co., Boston, 788 pp. 227 figs. 8 0 1957. vi tables. 18 X 23.5 cm. $6.75.
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"COLLEGECREMISTRY,'by Nebergall and Schmidt is an important addition to the already large number of books dealing with chemistry for college freshmen. The main feature of this book, and tbat which particularly distinguishes it from other texts on general chemistry, is the integration of the study of the metals with methods for qualitative analysis. The many schools which offer a one-"ear course in general chemistry which includes qualitative analysis should examine this text most carefully. The material covered in Part I is tbat normally covered in the first half of s. year course and includes chemical principles as well as some descriptive chemistry of the non-metals. On the whole, the presentation is lucid and straightforward but on a level that is somewhat more elementary than is nocessa~y. For example, the gas laws are not derived from the kinetic theory nor is the general gas law even presented. In particular, this reviewer felt that the presentation of the concepts of atom structure and the nature of the chemical
bond was inadequate. It seems quite impossible adequately to explain the build-up of the periodic table without recourse to the Pauli Exolusian principle and to Hund's rules. Similarly a discussion of the nature of the chemical
in this text. In fact, in the preface the authors state that "the periodic classification of the elements is deferred until sufficient descriptive chemistry bas been presented to enable the student to grasp the meaning of the periodical relationships of the elements." This statement hardly appesrs to he consistent with the uses to which the periodic table may be put as stated by the authors in Chapter 15. Many of the variations in physical and chemicsl properties of elements and compounds can be adequately explained only after a careful study of bonding and its relation to electronegativity, size, and position in the periodic table. Without such a. prepamtion, knowledge of such things as relative acidity, basicity, and oxidizing power far example, is reduced to mere rules-accurate and valuable, perhaps, but jejune. The level of treatment in Part I of this text is reflected in the many problems (witb answers) given a t the end of each chapter. This reviewer felt that these problems were too elementary and unimaginative; that too many could be solved in one step, frequently simply by judicious juggling of figures. Many bright students who received a superior cbemistry course in high school, would be likely to find the work of the first semester to be somewhat dull. For the material to be presented in the second half of the one-year course, the authors embark upon a rather successful attempt to present a text more in keeping with the actual practice in many schools today. This section is in three parts, one dealing with the "study of the metals ss they are gouped in the analyticd scheme" with "due attention being given to periodic relationships;" another section on the quantitative use of the chemical principlesapplicable to qualitative analysis; and still a third section devoted to the actual analytical procedures, the standard scheme of analysis being used with replace ment of hydrogen sulfide by thioacetamide. In all, the presentation is good. Thus the texher and student have at their disposal one book instead of three (general chemistry, qualitative analysis, and a laboborstory manual of qualitative analysis). There can be no question but that a t $6.75 this is a bargain. It must he admitted that frequently when qualitative analysis is integrated with the freshman course in general chemistry, the qualitative analy8is take8 a back seat. In this book Nebergall and Schmidt h m attempted to reverse thia trend and to hang the general chemistry of the metals on to the coatAails of qualit* tive analysis. Thus it is left for the individual professor to decide wbich is the more important. E. S. GRAHAM KBNYONCo,,.r;a~ Gawar~n,ONTO
