Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry by Donald G. Crosby Oxford University Press: New York and Oxford, 1998. xiv + 336 pp. ISBN 0-19-511713-1. $59.95. reviewed by Paul Tomboulian
Those teaching a one-semester chemically oriented environmental toxicology course may find this new text by Crosby an attractive choice, with its compact format and a wealth of technical topics presented with a sophisticated syntax. Demanding a background of organic chemistry but little biochemistry, the book skillfully leads its readers into applications of toxicology related to biochemical transformations, without the medical or pharmacological content found in toxicology books such as that by Casarett and Doull, or the less comprehensive Principles of Toxicology by Stine and Brown. With the experienced perspectives of a chemical practitioner, Crosby follows a careful and logical design for the 16 chapters, integrating the fields of environmental chemistry and toxicology in a coherent fashion. Thus he avoids the segmentation of topics found in Zakrzewski’s Principles of Environmental Toxicology, or the biologically oriented and descriptive texts such as Basic Environmental Toxicology, edited by Cockerham and Shane, or Introduction to Environmental Toxicology, by Landis and Yu. The book is more chemical and quantitative than either of two of my previous favorites, Principles of Ecotoxicology by Walker, Hopkin, Sibly, and Peakall, and the more traditional Toxic Substances in the Environment, by Francis. The writing style is engaging and concise, while the content is accurate and analytical. Crosby flavors the tech-
edited by
Jeffrey Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
nical content with an appropriate sense of place or humor, always conveying an obvious but muted enthusiasm for the subjects. The factual narrative is coupled with a positive problem-solving ethic for environmental responsibility and improvement. Biochemical and physiological concepts and terms are demystified to engage the novice reader in learning about the often overwhelming collections of principles, theories, and applications implied by the text title. Chemodynamics is introduced to augment and clarify intercompartmental movements, going beyond the qualitative descriptions of most competitive textbooks. Any chemist can open this book and find topics of interest, along with historical anecdotes and fascinating descriptions of natural phenomena (as in the biotoxins chapter) or pollution issues (as in the chapters on refractory and reactive pollutants). If the book were longer, it might add several favorite topics such as the biohazards of radon daughters, and major groundwater pollution issues including nitrate. While I plan to use the book this fall, I am already looking forward to the next edition, which should incorporate more contemporary references. For instance the use of 1991 TRI data gives an outdated picture of this rapidly changing database. Similarly, fewer than 25% of the chapter references are dated after 1990 and only a few after 1993. The newest editions of several important sources are not listed, for example Casarett and Doull’s Toxicology. Some rather old references from the 40s, 50s, and 60s, while of historical interest, seem out of place in a modern text. Several important contemporary sources are missing, such as Thibodeaux’s challenging Chemodynamics and Hites’s research findings on global environmental pollution. Paul Tomboulian is in the Department of Chemistry, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309;
[email protected].
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 77 No. 7 July 2000 • Journal of Chemical Education
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