The Chemist's English Robert Schoenfeld, VCH Publishers: DeerfieldBeach.FL, 1985.xii 173pp. 14.7 X 20.7 cm. $17.95.
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The author, managing editor of the Australian Journal of Chemistry, notes that "in all my years as an editor I have never found a chemist whose prose style has been improved by reading a traditional hook on English style, written by a professor of English". Therefore he has revised and updated this collection of instructive but lighthearted and chatty essays, all but two of which have been published p?eviously (Parts 1-30 in the Proceedings of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute and Parts 31-33 in CHEMTECH). Writing with typical "down under" informality, as a scientist for readers who are themselves scientists, Schoenfeld states his goal modestly: "This book does not set out to teach you to write good English [but] will teach you to avoid a number of annoying errors that may cause delay in getting your work published.. . . I do not set out to give you a recipe for good scientific writing; I want to give you a n appetite for good English.. . I promise to keep you entertained and hope to give you confidence. so that you will want to sit down as soon as possible a t your writing desk, eager to tell your public about your latest results". In 33 essays, ranging in length from 2 t o I pages, most of which hear catchy, ingenious, or humorous titles such as "An Investigative Examination of Driveliferaus Jargonogenesis", "Is You Is or Is You Ain't my Data?", and "A Clash of Symbols", Sehaenfeld lightheartedly, but masterfully, explores and analyzes (with copious scientific examples) a multitude of problems in scientific writing-prepositions, Latin and Greek prefixes and plurals, anthropomorphism, dangling participles, excessive use of t h e suffix "-wise2' ("Manglish"), Germanized English ("Gerglish"), vogue words, acronyms, punetuation, verbosity versus brevity, noun chains ("the German vice"), syllabification and word division, foreign phrases, italicization, typography, auxiliary verbs ("the tugboats of language"), "that" versus "which", symbols, and personal pronouns. The last two essays, written especially for this book deal with important general matters; "A Chemical Analysis of the English Sentence" (the longest essay-12 pp.) introduces a
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"chemist's grammar" to deal with sentence structure, and "Lights! Camera! Action? (7 pp.) introduces a universal grammar to enhance communication. A 5-page index makes this delightful volume a useful reference book as well as an entertaining "read". As a contributing editor of the Journal of College Science, I wish that I could assign this slim book as required reading t o my abstractors. I recommend i t to all scientists and educators who find writing to he a chore.
There is a good balance of general chemistry concepts, physical chemistry, and descriptive chemistry, with the typical chapters in Organic and Biochemistry for those instructors who like t o include these topics in a general chemistry course. One drawback the reviewer sees in this textbook is the use of smaller print for the problems. Elvira F. Hasty Mundelein College Chicago, IL 60660
George 6. Kauffman CaliforniaState University, Fresno Fresno, CA 93740
Chemistry, The Central Science, Third Edltlon Theodore L. Brown and Eugene Lemay, Jr.
Titles of Interest
Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1985. xxi 902 pp. Figs. and tables. 20.5 X 26 cm. $35.95.
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The third edition of this general chemistry textbook represents a continued effort by the author to improve the presentation of the material. Miwr ch-mrer have brrn made thruughour most uf the chapters, including new prrrulrnu. the intn,durrion of rolur figures, the expansion and rearrangement of topics. More specific changes include the condensation of material from the chapters on Chemistry of the Atmosphere and Chemistry of Natural Waters into one chapter: Chemistry of Nonmetallic Elements has been divided into two chapters, one covering the Chemistry of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbanand the secondone covering the Chemistry of the Noble Gases and Elements of Groups IIIA-VIIA; a clearer presentation of Metallurgy in chapter 22 with an added section on Alloys; the inclusion of a chapter in the Chemistry of Transition Metals and a clearer presentation of the section in Polymers in the Organic Chemistry chapter. In conclusion, the improved presentation and updating of the material makes the chapters more readable and easier for students to understand the basic principles.
Concise Dictionary of Chemlstry John Daintith. Oxford University Press: New York. NY. 304 pp. Figs. and tables. 13.5 X 20 cm. This dictionary is derived from the "Concise Science Dictionary" published by Oxford University Press in 1984. It consists of all the entries relating to chemistry in this dictionary, including physical chemistry, as well as many of the terms used in biochemistry.
Chemlstry In the Marketplace, Thlrd Edltlon Ben Selinger. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Group: North Ryde. Australia, 1986. xiii 556 pp. Figs. and tables. 17 X 24.5 cm.
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This is the completely revised third edition of this book which provides an updated and restructured overview of the marketplace in terms of the products we use and the chemistry needed to understand their
Reviewed In This Issue Revlewer Robert Schoenfeld, The Chemist's English
George 8. Kauffman
Theodore L. Brown and Eugene Lemay, Jr., Chemistry, The Central Science, Third Edition Titles of Interest
Elvira F. Hasty
Volume 64 Number 7
July 1967
A173 A173
A173
