RECENT BOOKS ?he revision and republication of this standard reference work is ample proof of its value and acceptance. It is without doubt the outstanding organic compendium in the English language. The price should bring these volumes within the reach, not only of large universities and research organizations, blit small colleges, junior colleges, high schools, and private libraries of organic research workers and teachers. This dictionary is not a competitor of the more exhaustive end expensive lexicons such as "Beilstein," "Richter," or "Stelzner," but will definitely create and maintain a position of prominence for itself. I t will appeal particularly to students and young instructors because it utilizes the simplest and most direct system of classification found in volumes, and also because it is printed in English. any The industrial chemist and research worker will appreciate the brief, convenient arrangement, stripped of all nonessential details, The organic chemist, and particularly those working in the field of organic qualitative analysis, will make frequent use of the tabulated physical constants and suggested derivatives. The authors and publisher are to be congratulated on producing a superb work under most difficultconditions. RALPHE. DUNBAR
I. M. Heilbron, el al., DICTIONARY OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. Professor of Organic Chemistry a t the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, Editor. Volume I , Abietic Acid to Dypnone, new, revised, and enlarged edition. Ox1072 pp. ford University Press, New York, 1943. xvi 24 X 18 cm. $30. 1943 Supplement to Volume 11. 44 pp. $1.00. 1943 Supplement t o Volume 111. 34 pp. $1.00.
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This comprehensive, three-volume work an organic compounds first appeared in 1934, and later in 1936 and 1938, At the time of this initial publication i t was planned to keep the "Dictionary" UP to date by the periodical issue of revised volumes. Prep*=+ tions were well advanced for the publication of the new edition of Volume I, when the outbreak of war brought such activities to a work was resumed in the summer of 1940, but a t a considerably reduced tempo, and it was not until the middle of 1941, when the heavy air raids on Britain were activity' It was abating' that work again approached decided a t that time that the new edition should be entirely rewritten. However, the exigencies of war again made it impossible to riwrite or even revise Volumes I1 and 111. Volume I, foitunately. had so far promessed that it now appears in a greatly increased size, and includes much augmented data and many new compounds. So far as the conditions of war permitted, the literature has been covered up to the end of 1940, with some additional references to papers appearing in 1941 and 1942. The authors, throughout this dificult period, have continued to collect data and information on compounds, many then, new, for incorporation in the revised edition of Volumes I1 and 111. The original printing of these two latter volumes has long since been exhausted, and so, as an emergency measure, it was decided t o reprint Volumes I1 and 111 in their original form, and to include all available material on new compounds in the form of supplements added t o each volume. This procedure also provided opportunity to include cross references in the revised Volume I to the new supplementary pages appearing in Volumes 11 and 111. The revised and enlarged Volume I, containing 366 additional pages, is now available, as well as reprinted copies of Volumes I1 and 111, including their 44- and 34-page supplements, respectively. The supplements are also available separately for those already possessing the original volumes, and desiring to bring this series up to date. All the compounds in this dictionary are arranged in strictly alphabetical order. Certain rather arbitrary rules were necessary because most organic compounds possess more than one name, and questions of orientation introduce further complications. The rules that have been applied are systematically outlined in five pages of the introduction, and appear to be consistentb followed throughout the volumes. The dictionary purports to list the constitution and physical and chemical properties of the principal carbon compounds and their derivatives, together with the relevant literature references. The following descriptive items have, where avsilable and applicable, been given for each compound listed: sources, where of interest; physical properties, melting point, boiling point, s o b bility, density, refractive index, heat of combustion, optical rotatian, etc.; chemical properties, typical reactions, analytical tests, etc.; derivatives under separate subheads; molecular weights and structural formulas; and selected references with emphasis upon prqparation, structure, and available bibliographies. Obviously no three-volume compilation of this type can be all-inclusive. There are some 15,000 organic compounds that are given extensive consideration, and briefer references are included to perhaps some 50,000 additional. Chemists interested primarily in dyestuffs, fats, oils, and waxes will fail to find many familiar compounds.
DAaorL
AoRzcuLma*I. CoLLBoe
FAROO, NORTH DAEOTA
AND TECHNOLOGY OP FOOD AND FOOD PRODUCTS. THE CHEMISTRY Edited by Morris B. Jacobs, Senior Chemist, Department of Health, City of NewYork. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York* 1944. 952 pp. 79 figs. l7 X 25.5cm. $10.50separate. Volumell-xx 890 pp. separate. $I9 per set. figs. 84 tables. 17x25. cm. Volume I of this two-volume work on foods has been written by 21 scientists and technologists, several of whom are well known in their respective fields. Both volumes have been planned and edited by Morris B. Jacobs, Senior Chemist, Department of Health, City of New York. The first 12 chapters deal with "fundamentals," namely. physical chemistry of fwds, carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids and proteins, enzymes, vitamins, mineral constituents, coloring matters, digestion of fwds, f w d spoilage, and food poisoning. The next 12 chapters treat various foods: milk products, meat products, fish, poultry and eggs, edible fats and oils, cereal grains, bakery products,,vegetables, mushrooms, nuts and fruits, carbohydrates, confectionery and cacao, coffee and tea, tlavors and spices. In general this volume stresses the chemistry, physics, and bacteriology of foods, food products, and their chemical components rather than technology, although several chapters, notably those on fish and fishery products, poultry and eggs, bakery products, and spices place the emphasis on technology. Among the chapters on "fundamentals" those on enzymes, carbohydrates, vitamins, amino acids, proteins, mineral constituentsof foods,andfoodspoilageareparticularlyinterestingand useful to food technologists and food chemists. These and other chapters would be more interesting t o the food technologist if more attention were given to the roles played in food processing and preservation by the compounds, substances, or microorganisms discussed, and conversely to the changes induced in them by food processing and storage. I n other words, this reviewer believes that more attention could have been given t o industrial application of the principles and facts presented in this section of VolumeI. Also he feels that in thechapterson the foods themselves more space could have been devoted with profit to technological processes, and less to the chemistry and perhaps spectroscopy. The chapter on poultry and eggs by Mary Pennington, and that on fish and fishery products by M. Stansby are particularly well written and informative. The chapter on f w d colors deals
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