book reviews circle, and should he in every university library. ROYG. NEVILLE Bechtel Laboratory Belmont. Calif. S I Chemical Data
0.H. Aylward and T. J. V. Findlay. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1971. vii 127 pp. $3.50.
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Thereis growingdiscussion in the United States as to the worth and feasibility of moving toward S I units. Here is a. mast useful, compact book which both supplies some examples of what happens
when SI units are used, and (it is the opinion of this reviewer) shows that no great difficulties are involved. The biggest one is learning to live with an additional factor of four in moving from kcal to kjoules. I wonder how long it will he before centigrade disappears completely in favor of Kelvin? There are thirty tables of various values for the properties most commonly used in chemistry. They are clearly and s u e cinctly resented and a list of reference sources is indicated for those who wish to look further. Any small collection of data can he faulted, but this one seems to he exceptionally well balanced. I was amused to find that the tables for organic compounds included general properties plus them* chemical data wheress there are two Ben%rate tables for inorganic compounds. I would find i t space saving and more useful
to have the inorganic compounds treated as the organic compounds were. This compilation will almost certainly be more widely used abroad than in the United States, which is unfortunate for i t does show haw minimal the changes are in moving to SI units-a. direction that chemists in this country should follow. J . A. CAMPBELL Harvey Mudd College Claremont, Calif. 91711
Elsevier's Medical Dictionary in Five Languages
Compiled and arranged by A. Slioberg, Paris, France. Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam and New York, 1963. 1538 pp. 16 X 22 em. $45. Certain areas of chemistry are so closely allied to medicine that a chemical library must necessarily contain medics1 dictionaries in various of the modern languages. This monumental work, though based on English-American, actually comprises no less than five lmguages and thus is highly recommended. The languages included a : English-American, French (Fran$a&), Italian (Italiano), Spanish (Esparid), German (Deutsch). I n all, close to 35,000 terms are included and the worker in rtnv of these five laueuaees will make the location of any one term and hence its equivalents in the other four languages a. very simple matter. Actual trials have demonstrated that this device really works. Though small type is employed the text is excellently legible. I n these days when workers in science are daily confronted by journals published in other languages, the need for a dictiona y o f this kind and scope needs no defense and though the price, a t first glance, seems high, the buyer gets a lot for his money. The compiler, a medical man of rare talents, must have devoted years to this compilation and richly deserves a hearty approbation for his "labor of love." Though this review comes quite a few years after the actual date of publication, this kind of information never goes out of style and the chances of its being brought down to date seem a t present to he remote. This book is an exceptionally fine literary tool and deserves favorable publicity and the resultrtnt wider sale. RALPHE. OESPER University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio
Koagulalion und Stabilitil Disperser Systeme
Hans Sonntag and Klaus Strenge, Berlin, East Germany. VEB Deutscher Verleg der Wissenschaften, Berlin, German Democratic Republic, 1970. 173 pp. Diagrams and tables. 16 X 23 cm. 30.80 marks (= approx. $9.50).
A656 / journal of Chemical Education
