in the 810 pages of the volume. The book is not intended as a text and would not be suitable for that purpose. I t does, however, provide a n up-to-date (1976) survey of a variety of aspects of solid-state reactivity. Mast of the experimental methods currently used in investigations of solids are illustrated in one or more of the contrihutions. Overall, the book presents a good picture of the "state-of-the-art" and cites a number of areas where further investigation is needed. It is especially appropriate as a reference volume for libraries of institutions and individuals involved in solid-state resemh. Charles W . Owens Univwsity ot New hmpshire Durham, N.H. 03824
used in many-body theory and quantum field theory will be of value t o those interested in the Green's function and graph theoretic methods and those interested in relativistic theories. Each chapter containsa brief introduction to the topics to be dlscuased and examples ns well as exercises are prowded to help the student develop gradual constructive solutions to problems, thereby correcting the deficiency of the more formal exposition normally encountered in the textbooks. While not addressed t o chemists per se Miedal's comoilation of trade secrets. mathematical tricks and real.world mcthoddoa)' f u r m a welcome and timely addition to the scient:tic community intcrcstcd in quantum mechanical techniques. Don R. Mclaughlin
me University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131
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Oualitatlve Methods In Ouanbm Chemistry A. B. Migdol, I. V. Kurchatov Atomic Energy Institute and Akademia Nauk, translated by A. J. Leggett, University of Sussex. W. A. Benjamin, Incorporated, Reading, Massachusetts, 1977. xxiii 437 pp. 17 X 24 cm. $21.50.
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Physics meth~dologyin science overlaps with chemical methodulogy nhen solutionr to prohlema are suught by analogy and by approximation. The use of models and simplification become necessary when closed solutions cannot be obtained and provide not only useful qualitative and semiquantitative information-but help pave the way for imoroved theories. Since much useful information in chemistry can ire ubtaincd hy assuming the validity of simplified f u r m ~uf quantum mechanics muchattention haialw been given t o numerical analysis aided by digital computation. Still the need for qualitative approaches in chemistry will continue t o persist. This is due in part to limited computation technology and on a deeper level t o a lack of basic understanding of the real essence of chemical structure and reactivit."~ --, Migdal's book, written for physicists, presents basically the physics methodology for obtaining qualitative and semi-quantitative solutions to quantum mechanics problems. Chemists with interests in the areascovered will find the book quite useful. The first chapter entitled "Dimensional and 'Model' Approximations" forms an introduction to the remaining chapters by treating in separate sections purely mathematical estimating techniques (such as the method of steepest descents), model and dimensional approximations in atomic physics (such as the Thomas-Fermi method), and approximation techniques used when the radiation field is considered (such as quantum electrodynamics). Of the remaining five chapters the most familiar to the majority of chemists will he chapters two and three dealing with perturbation theories and the quasielassicsl approximation. Material related t o spectroscopy and scattering theory will be useful to those interested in these fields although the treatment is definitely physical rather than chemical. Further topics in scattering theory are developed in chapter four by investigating the analytic properties of the scattering amplitude. The last two chapters on methods
papers a t the jubilee meeting of the Colloid Symposium held in San Juan, Puerto Rim. The first symposium was held in 1923, making this the oldest specialized chemical meeting series of the U.S.A. Three skipped years during the Depression and World War I1 caused t h ~ 50th s one to be delayed till 1976. Almost 500 people, close to a quarter of them from abroad, attended and over 250 papers were presented. The first volume of this series contains the plenary and invited lectures which have also a .~.o e a r e din J . Colloid Interface Sei.. Val. 58. The 148 eunrributcd papers rtprrdured f n m typeirrrpt nrr to bc found in Vul II through V here under rwieu. Papers dealing w t h aerosols, emulsions, and surfactants are collected in Vol. 11; those on adsorption, catalysis, solid surfaces, wetting, surface tension and water in Vol. 111;those on hydrosols and rheology in Vol. IV, and general papers as well as those on biocolloids.. oolvmers. mo. , n ~ l d y r sand . memtmncs in Vul. V I t /s vivus fmm thew headmg that n hrond range of topics, techniques, and points of view are rrpreitnted. As mtrnl fur such wlurnes, the rengc of depth, orlgmnhry, and clarity 181the cmtrit,utioni is a h hers hrond. The series has bein produced very promptly, within six months of the meeting, making the material available to those unable to attend the meeting and t o those who attended but could not, of course, listen to all the presentations which were given in several concurrent sessions! However, this led to trade-offs as the papers are reproduced with a minimum of editing and refereeing, if any, (Continued on page A424)
Collold and Interface Sclence Edited by Milton Kerker, Clarkson College of Technology. Academic Press, New York, 1976. Volume 2, xx 481 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $21. Volume 3, ax 548 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $22.50. Volume 4, xviii 587 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $22. Volume 5, xvi 507 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $22. These four volumes record the contributed
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Volume 55, Number 11, November 1978 1 A423
book reviews from manusnipts typed and organized by the nm~ri1,utut.in their individual ~tylc-.Henre. the appearanceleaves much to bedesired and obvious misprints or errors are often disturbing. In addition, the fact that about one-third of the communications are presented only as abstracts makes the record rather incomplete. Most of these contributions could have found their way t o refereed journals, many of them to the J. ColloidInterfme Sei. of which the editor of this series is coeditor. One might ask, therefore, whether they should have been published in this form. Very roughly, these four hard-cover volumes are the equivalent of three volumes of the J. Colloid Interface Sci., hut cost only 60%as much, so that there seems t o he good economic justification for offering them to the public. Perhaps more important is the fact that only a majority of the papers would normally find their way t o the J. ColloidInterface Sci., or similar journals in this specialized area. The rest would have gone to journals having very different audiences with little overlap. It seems that the organizers (and the sunny skies of Puerta Rico) brought t o the meeting a variety of speakers, some of whom would not normally present their work to, or listen tocomments by, colloid and surface chemists despite the basic community of interest. I am thinking in oarticular of the naoers . . bv R. T. Greer on pyrite drposits in coal. of 0. K. Rice on the role u i surfnvc a r f i w ~mpuririesm critical phenomen~,and of M. F l r t c h ~ rand C. I.
A424 1 Journal of Chemical Education
Loeh on the substrate selection by a marine bacterium. Perhaps by juxtaposing papers covering such a spectrum of interests, these hooks can cause some of that cross-fertilization which is so important in the development of any science. This may well be their best justification. Thus, despite their very apparent defects, these volumes can he recommended as a relatively inexpensive snapshot of the wideranging interests and problems of today's workers in colloid and surface chemistry. Karol J. Mysels General Atomic Company Sen Diego, Califmia 92138
