RECENT BOOKS ANNUAL SURVEY OP A ~ R I C ACXEMISTRY, N VOLUMEVIII, 1933. Edited hy Clarnce I. West. Published for the National Research Council by The Chemical Catalog Company, Inc., New York City, 1934. 403 pp. 13 X 21 cm. $4.50. The place of the "Annual Survey" in American chemical literature is so firmly established that description and criticism are alike superfluous. The subjects reviewed in the current volume and the reviewers are as follows: Theories of Solutians-Martin Kilpatrick Kinetics of Homogeneous Gas R e a c t i o l l ~ L a u i sS. Kassel Subatomic Phenomena-Joseph E. Mayer and Donald H. Andrews Thermodynamics and Thermochemistry-George S. Parks CoUoidsS. S. Kistler Contact Catalysis-Arthur F. Benton Structure Determination hy X-Ray and Electron DSractionSterling B. Hendricks Electrochemistry-D. A. MacInnes Analytical Chemistry-I. M. Kolthoff and E. B. Sandell Compressed G a s e s R . Wiebe Aliphatic CampoundsCecil E. Baord Carbocydic CompoundsReynald C. Fuson Heterocyclic CompouudsArthnr J. Hill Pharmaceutical~CliffordS. Leonard Biochemistxy-Edgar G. Miller, Jr. Ferrous Metals in 1932 and 1933-Frank T . Sisco Insecticides and Fungicid-R. C. Roark Chemistry of the SilicatesGeorge W. Morey C e r a m i c s E . Ward Tillotson Petroleum Chemistry and Technology-W. A. Gruse Cellulose and Paper--Harry F. Lewis Leather-Arthur W. Thomas P a i n t s G . G. Sward Rubber-H. L. Trumbdl Gaseous Fuels during 1932 and 1933-Wilbert J. Hnff OTTO REINKUTE POR GRADUATES AND UNDERA MANUALOP THESIS-WRITING GRADUATES. Arthur H. Cole, Professor of Business Economics, and Karl W. Bigelow, Professor of Economics, University of Bufialo. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1934. 48 pp. 2 Figs. 14 X 21.6 cm. $0.75 net. ix The book is an attempt "to offer students certain comments on the aims of scienti6c work and a convenient compilation of d e s and usages which are widely accepted among mature writers as helpful in the preparation of first-class scientific papers." This manual is perhaps the briefest and a t the same time the meatiest book covering the field of thesis-writing that has come to the attention of the reviewer. Unfortunately i t is bound in a heavy paper c o w which will suffer from hard usage. The paper within the book is of stiff heavy quality and is not notably satisfactory for marginal notations in ink. It is rather obvious from the content of the hook that the problem of thesis-writing of the student in the physical and biological sciences is not a complete duplicate of that of the student in the social sciences. A few pages are devoted t o thewchoiceofSubject," an item which is not of much concern t o the undergraduate or graduate student in chemistry, as he himself seldom chooses the actual title or the broader scope of the research problem, the results of which are t o be presented as his thesis or dissertation. The title of the baok is misleadinx - t o a student in the ahvsicd . . or biological sciences. Students in thew fields would expect the hook to he of value only in composition and form of the final paper, yet they would profit from a careful study of the first 16
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pages before arriving a t a final decision relative t o the choice of a research problem from those available. Very few graduate students are familiar with proofreader's marks, hence the samples of "proofing" are timely. Ample reference to more extensive volumes on the subject are included. Also, the authors wisely refer the student to the current issues of the journals in his own particular field of endeavor, as t o accepted practices in composition and form. Perhaps a few minor improvements in the content would be worth while. (1) On page 7, no suggestions are included as t o a recommended form for handling bibliographic material secured from abstract journals. Occasionally an original paper appears in a journal or in a language which is not easily accessible to an investigator and the abstract only is a t his disposal. (2) On p. 13, the use of abbreviations could be extended in sample "B." (3) On p. 15, something should be included covering the form of experimental notes which are to be used as the basis of probable patents. (4) On p. 38 is a paragraph on the numbering of tables and of charts. Chemical iournals in America a ~ ~ a r e n t lrefer v Roman numerals for tables and Arabic numeralr for charts and ~r.whs. (5) On p. 44, proofreader's marks for ddele and boldfocr tyPe should be added. Every graduate student should be familiar with this volume. JESSE E. DAY Tes Omo Sram UNmeaslru
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SCIENTIPIC ORGANIZATIONS IN SEVENTEENTR CENTURY FRAN~ (1620-1680). Horcozcrt Brown,M.A., Toronto, Ph.D.. Columbia. The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1934. (History 306 of Science Society Publications. New Series V.) xxii pp. 13.8 X 20.4 cm. $3.00.
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The learned societies of the present time had their beginnings in clubs or small groups of men impelled by their passionate curiosity t o gather together and discuss the matters of scholarship and experimental science in which they were interested. "The character of these assmiatious," writes Brown, "the membership, and the nature of the programs, depended of course on the circumstances under which the particular academy began its sessions. A Datron of letters or the arts.. a mince of church or state, a merchant of great wealth, would dmw thc murc agreeable of the teachers or other professional men of his entourage into n mom or lcss regularly estahlishcd society; constant asociation gave a certain set of habits, sooner or later t o be set down as laws and regulations governing activities, ceremonial, and membership. In their meetings the wit of those who knew each other's habits of mind, temper, and prejudice, mingles with an esoteric lore derived from common readine and education: the vulaar idiom becomes a badge of liberty, of racial integrity, of freedom from thc tyranny of the School, and of unity in a civilization which begins to regard itself as national. Together, thcse men of learning treat each other as persons apart from and above the common run; when separated, their letters reflect the interests and philosophy of their group. These remarks hold in a very striking degree for the character and corporate activities of the academicians and journalists of the middle, and even of the end. of the seventeenth century in France." The book contains eleven chapters, on Peiresc and the Cab'met of the Brothers Dupuy, on Renaudot and Mersenne, Mersenne and England, The Montmor Academy Begins, The Montmor Academy and England. The End of the Montmor Academy. La Cmfiognie des Sciences et des Arts, The Conferences of Henry Justel, Science and the Press (the Journal des Savants and the Philosophical Transactions),The Academies of the Provinces. The Academy of the AbbC Bourdelot, and a finalchapter entitled Fluctlrot nec mergitur (the motto of the city of Paris) which discusses
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