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VOLUME 33, NO. 4, APRIL, 19% Here are a few of the changes. New simple problems for drill are interspersed in the chapters; some needed elementary physics is now included; valence in a simplified way is treated esrly; and a little argctnio chemistry has been put into the first part. The final twa-thirds of the book is very much the same as in the first edition. This reviewer was disappointed to find that the principle of Le Chatelier is still introduced in conjunction with a discussion of water softening with zeolite-s, setting for the principle which seems unnecessarily complicated. As before, the book is attractively composed and bel~utiiully illustri~tedby Roger Hayward. This, like Professor Pauling's other books, is certain to contribute in an important way to the education of many scientists. WILLIAM T. SIMPSON
U w r v ~ ~ s nOPu NABXINUTON S E A T ~ EWIBE~NBTDA ,
RECORD BOOK FOR QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS Eleanor Cornett, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Wayne 114 University. W. C. Brown Co., Dubuque, Iowa, 1955. x pp. 21.5 X 27.5 om. $2.25.
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type of arrangement found in this book precludes such redundancy. It is unusual in a text to find no preliminary definition of acid or base until page 517. When these authors iinally meet the issue they meet it full-square, not only witb the definitions developed by Boyle, Lavoisier, and Arrhenius, but with the solvent definitions and with those of Bronsted and Lewis. The nature of classification and definition is discussed with equal thoroughness in connection with oxidation and reduction, and the overlapping of classification systems is discussed with clarity. It is a matter of personal opinion whether a text designed for the use of firsbyear students should include such topics as polarography, hydrolysis constants, and Troutan's rule or whether it is essential that such items of apparatus as the Cottrell boilingpoint apparatus and the Beckmann thermometer should be described. Readers in the States must be prepared to see the name of element 13 spelled "aluminium." The H 3 0 + ion is called the oxonium ion. Many teachers could ret~dtbis baok with profit and most of them would read it with delight. The average student would regret that there are not more photograph and would lack the familiarity with the language of chemistry which the authors have assumed. The authors knew for whom they were writing and did it beautifully.
THE "Reoord Book" is designed to accompany the laboratory section of "Semimicro Qualitative Analysis" by Welcher and LAWRENCE P. EBLIN 32, 548 (1955)). It is exactly Hahn (see review, m s JOURNAL, what its name implies, a spiral-bound depository for a student's records of his operations, observations, and conclusions. The instructions have been reduced to an absolute minimum. The influence toward careful record keeping has been increased to 8. AN INTRODUCTION TO CHEMISTRY maximum. Much additional space has been provided in order ta allow for flexibility. The reviewer feels that this manual Howard L. Ritter, Professor of Chemistry, Miami University, can be an invaluable tool, not only in teaching qualitative t~naly- Oldard, Ohio. Iohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1955. xii sis, but also in producing students with good note-taking habits. 649 pp. 113 figs. 33 tables. 16 X 23.5 em. $6.50.
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AN INTRODUCTORY LABORATORY COURSE IN CHEMISTRY AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PRINCIPLES OF CHEMISTRY
L. H. C m g g and R. P. Graham, Professors of Chemistry, Hamilton College, McMaster University. Rinehart & Co., Inc., New 740 pp. Figs. and tables. 16.5 X 24 em. York, 1955. ix $6.50.
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Most recent texts are characterized by large amounts of such "fundamental" material, but few if any prior texts have gone so far as this one in the omission of purely descriptive chemistry. Although this text is far first-year university courses in chemistry, the authors franklv state that it was written "to meet the needs of students who come to university with one or two years of chemistry behind them." In this book there are no chapters with such titles as Hydrogen or Oxygen and the Oxides or The Halogens or The Hydrocarbons. Some descriptive material traditionally found in such chapters is presented by way of illustration of principles; e. g., the synthesis of ammonia is adequately presented in the chapter entitled Reversible Reactions. Here the authors seize their only opportunity to discuss the uses of ammonia in industry. The authors have appmntly planned their book witb care b e fore stasting to write it, so that, e. g., the production of bromine from sea water is discussed under Oxidation and Reduction and the essential facts about oxygen and nitrogen are to be found in a chapter entitled Liquids and Changes of State. Since the baok is a text and not a reference book, there can be no vdid objection to this arrangement. Texts of a former vintaee would refer to the same com~oundin two different places. Potassium nitrate would be encountered in the chapter on nitrogen and again under Alkali Metals. The
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Howard L. Ritter, Professor of Chemistry, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio. Iohn Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1955. xiv 119 pp. 15 figs. 22.5 X 29 cm. Paper bound. $2.50.
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PROFESSOR RITTER'S textbook is divided into three sections: The Nature of Matter, The Principles of Chemical Reaction, and The Descriptive Chemistry of the Elements. The &st two seotions are devoted entirely to fundamentals in which the descriptive material is 'limited to that which is. necessary for illustrations. Basic principles are presented with painstaking care and then carefully reemphashed. Frequent use is made of new welldesigned figures to aid in explaining a particular point. The whole approach of the baok is modem. The student is introduced in a. qualitative way to such concepts as ionic atmosphere, metal-halogen complex ions in solution, and energy considerations in carbohydrate metabolism. The formal mathematical requirements have been held to a minimum. The book is well and carefully written and hes been cawfully printed. It should prove to be a strong competitor in a highly competitive field. The laboratory manual although written for use with the text need not be; it can well stand on its own rights. I t i8 designed for use throughout a full year course. Professor Ritter's intraduction states that he auestions the value of the "~atehwork." "many short experiments-in-one," "many short an&ern type bf experiment. Many experiments require more than one period, one may take 20 hours (a 12-cation qua1 scheme). There is a point to each experiment and it is clearly stated. Most experiments require some quantitative data. A duplicate data sheet has been supplied for each experiment to facilitate the checking of laboratory work. The manual constitutes a fresh approach to the problem of the introductory laboratory course in chemistry. RARRY H. BATEY. JR.
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COLGE.E0 1 W*BXIN.TON PULLMAN. WABAINWON
