join 'om." Their "Atomic Structure" chart, a. distinctive feature of the first edition, has been modified until i t hears a striking resemhlence t o Eichinger's " E l w tran Chart" (J. Cmnr. Eouc., 34, 70 (1957)) even t o the sloping electron shells. \'e extend a warm welromo t o the fraternity of enlightened souls. This textbook is rigorous and demanding and the pace is pretty fast. Gas laws appear in Chapter 2 while Chapter 4 divu1p;rs the mvsteries of eql~ivalent, neights and normal solutions. As the phlishers claim, i t is "a sound hook for srienw and chemistry majors."
JACK\V.EICHINGER, JR. F l o ~ i d aSlole University Tnllahassee
Basic Organic Chemistry
L o v i . ~ F. Fiescr and Mary Fiese?, Harvard University. D. C. Heath & Co., Boston, 1959. vii 369 pp. Figs. and tat,les. 19 X 23.5 em. $6,
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The tit,le and the size of this h o k conform to the objective of the authors: "to present the basic facts and theories of modern organic chemistry in itn easily assimilnhlc form and in a limited numher of pages." The Fiesers have abandoned the traditional organization by types of compound8 in favor of a series of topics, making lor a book which is different. I t is short b u t i t is solid-and definitely not bah-tailed. After an introductory chapter on the nature of organic compounds zt vocabulary is established in the second chapter, Structures of Aliphatic Compounds. The reduler is next introduced in the following chapters t o two types of reactions, substitution and addition, and t o oxidation and reduction. Along the way he encounters evidence for structural considerations and reaction mechanisms which are basic to much of the material considered in later chapters. Brief chapters on aromatic hydrocarbons and the cycloalkanes provide illust,rntive material and present oppoi.tunities t,o consider aromatic properties, rcsanance applientions, strain theory, and conformation. Folloving a hriof chapter an petroleum there are chapters on arida and bases, elimination reactions, replacement reactions, reacbions of csrhonyl compounds, rearrangements, and optical isomerism. The book closes with short chapters on carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, polymers, and dyes. There is a, short chapter on synthesis but the emphasis of this book is clearly not on nythesis-it is on the interpretation of rpsrtions and an structure. Each rhaptcr has a brief review summary and s. numher of quest,ions and prohlemn. Answers t,o the prohlems are provided a t the end of the hook. There is a generous upp ply of ercrllcnt illustrations. Among these the drawings and photographs of moleeulnr models and the photographs which illustrate fundamental lehorntory operations are psrticularly helpful. This short book, intended for short courses, is really long on principles. The
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nnthors have achieved their statpd ohjeetive and the book can be recommended, not only for short courses, but also to those interested in longer courses and to those desirous of review and refreshing in the fundamental principles of organic chemistry.
Organic Syntheses.
Volume 38
John C. Sheehan, Editor-in-Chief. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 11158. vii 120pp. 15.5 X 23.5 rm. $4.
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The annual volume^ of "Organic Syntheses" are now an American tradition. SAMUEL E. KAMERLING This 38th and lateet release again contains Bozodoin College the common names, the Chemical AbRrensuick, Maine stracts names if different, the equations, procedures, notes, and additional methods of preparation for 31 organic compounds. Precipitation from Homogeneous Direct,ions have been submitted hy 49 Solution contributors in addition to somc mcmhers of the Board. Each preparation has been Louis Goldon, Murrell L. Salukky, and checked by members of the advisory board Hobcrl H. Willa~d. John Wiley Ri snd assoeiate~. The cumulative mhject Sons, Ine., New York, 1959. vi 187 index lists d l material contained in Volpp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 em. umes 30 to 38 inclusive. The style, size, 8i.50.
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appearance, and quality are identical to those of previous volumes of the series. "Organic Syntheses" are t,oo well known and ert,ensively used to require any crtonsive description in this reviea. However, same new trends appear to hc rvolving. Recent volumes now contain ICSR nmt,erirtl of s. biochemical nature, and this is under~tandabledue in part to the appearance of the new related series dealing wihh "Binchemical 1'repwa.tions." I t is also apparent that some difficulty has been encount,ered hy chemists, using previous procb dures, hecnuso of the unstaiiility of various compounds. Special precautions are now incloded, RR an appendage, far the preparation of et,hyl asodicarboxylate [ O q . Syntheses, 28, 59 (1948)l; methoxyacotylenc [Ory. Sfjntheses, 34, 46 (1954)l and o-toluamide [Ow. Syntheses, 11, 97
This boak deals with precipitations in a,hich the precipitating agent is generated (hy h,vdrolgsis) within the salntian. .4lthough it is small in size, this book represents a vahlahle contribution to tho chemical literature. In the authom' words "the numerous papers on precipitation from homogeneous aolution are scattered throughout vario~wjournals, and thus it, has swmed dwirahle to hring all the information into n single volume." The book should he of g r e ~ t e s use t to the analytical chemist although chemical engineers engzged in forming or purifying products h p precipitation may well find helpful ideas in both the theoretical and prarticd sectionn. Approximately t,wo-thirds of the text is devotod to present,ation of specific prooedmcs and critical diacuasion of the results. Following the introductory chapter the next. nix deal, in succession, witith precipitations of hydroxides and bat;ic salts, phosphat,es, oxalates, sulfaten, sulfides, and misoellaneom anion*. The nort two chspter8, which take up most of t,he remaining third of the boak, are devoted to theoretical aspects of precipitation processes. The first of these ~ h s p k r scovers the distrihntion laws and the theoret,ieal aspects that have been ~ l u c i d a k dusing precipitation from bomogeneous solution; the second discusses the nolection of conditions for optimum ~fficionay in a fractional precipitation. The tenth and final chapter, Applications in Chemical Technology, is short a n examples hut long on intereating extrapalationn into the realm of future possibili t i c ~far t,he technique. The authors have done a commendable job in scoompliahing what they set out to do. When and if the authors are faced with a second edition, the reviewer feels that they might profitably disgress somewhat to include a bit more background taken from the voluminous clmsical studies of copreeipitation. The present volume appears to have been written on the assumption that the reader would he t,horoughly acquainted with the historical background and would need only an acortsional reference to tie together "heterogeneous" and "homogeneous" precipitadion processes.
L. B. ROGERS Massachuselts Zmtitute gf Technology Cambridge Volume
36, Number 9, September 1959
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