RECENT BOOKS HAVEYou HADYoun VITAMINS?Harry N . Holmes, Oberlin College. Farrar and Rinehart, Inc., New York and Toronto, 1938. ix 60 pp. 13 X 19 cm.$1.00. Teachers of chemistry will find interesting and useful the nontechnical account which Dr. Holmes here gives of some of the relationships of vitamin A and the research work which led t o his successful crystallization of this substance. This part of the text is supplemented by two full-page photographs: the crystals, and a model of the molecular structure accompanied by a blackletter desk plate of the name as an aid to memory. The rest of the book is extraordinarily difficult t o review. According t o the preface i t is "written for the intelligent housewife concerned about a wise selection of food for the family, and for all others interested in vitamin therapy." I n the opinion of the present reviewer i t would be wiser not t o bring therapy or the recommendation of "capsules" and "tablets" of artificial concentrates into a book apparently written for lay readers with little or no scientific training. It would also seem that any attempt t o treat briefly such a large and important subject, as vitamins even in their relations t o everyday questions of food selection. would justify a more carefully studied and discriminating style, such as Dr. Holmes has used so successfully in some of his other writings. H. C. SHERMAN
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Professor of chemistry, 0r&n &ate College. D. Van Nastrand Company, Inc., New York, 1938. x 522 pp. 17 figs. 14 X 22 cm. $6.00
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Seven years have passed since the author's INTRODUCTION TO BIocnsxIsrnv appeared, a book which is unusual inasmuch as the scope includes the biochemistry of plants and lower forms as well as that of mammals. I n contrast the present hook deals primarily with animal biochemistry and was designed "to develop insight on the part of the student, into the phenomena of biochemistry." In the f i s t section, on biochemical materials, are found the chemistry of lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, and salts, with a discussion on colloidal properties. The next section deals with the composition of tissues, including blood. Then fallows a section on the chemical make-up of foods. I n the fourth section, which deals with badily mechanisms for promoting and regulating chemical change, are found chapters on enzymes, temperature control, chemistry of respiration, control of permeability, hormones, and nervous control. The final section deals with digestion, absorption, the metabolisms, and excretion with a chapter devoted to chemotherapy. The book is engaging and well written, with a refreshingly objective point of view and with continued evidence of independent thmking. For instance, the oft-repeated error regarding the alkalinity of the intestine is replaced by a statement based on modern experimentation. Again, the author is frank in stating that the early hopes for the demonstration of the importance of glutathione as an important factor in biologic oxidations have scarcely been realized. The simple but cogent illustrations which are frequently cited t o emphasize biochemical principles attest the sound pedagogical practice of the author. For instance. the magnitude of the turnover of material in the course of a year's growth of a twelve-year old child is dramatically set forth. Throughout the book there is skillful amalgamation of very modem contributions with the classical arguments, particularly difficult in so short a bwk. The typography is good and there are few errors in this respect. It is t o be regretted that Blwr's suggestion for the classiiication of the lipids has not been followed; the alternative employed in this book is not as clear as warranted by current
knowledge. The chapter on colloids should appear earlier in the first section. If possible, the material on transport of gases by the blwd should be amplified in a subsequent edition. The penera1 references a t the end of the chapter; are an excellent de-e to assist the student in collateral reading, but the failure to find there the references touched on in the text is somewhat disconcerting. The b w k is perforce highly condensed; this circumstance, together with the somewhat ahstract treatment of the material, will present difficulties to the beginning student in what is, a t best, a complicated field. The student of medicine, accustomed to center discussion in organs and tissues, may a t first decide that this book is somewhat lacking in functional implications. However, to the worker in biology and chemistry, it should prove not only useful hut stimulating. ARTHUR H. SMITH W~ulraU ~ r v e ~ t u r r DBm0.T. MICHLOIN
ATOMS. ROCK.AND GALAXIES. J. S. Allen et al., Members of the Colgate University Faculty. Harper and Brothers, New York City. 1938. viii 474 pp. 14 X 21.5 cm. S . 0 0 .
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This textbook is based upon a survey course in physical science. which has been taught a t Colgate University since 1930. It is designed t o orient the freshmen in the fields of astronomy, geology, chemist*, and physics, and contains the usual material found in Survey texts. Although there is some integration, the book consists essentially of six chapters of astronomy, fourof geology, one of meteorology. and two each of chemistry and physics. However, the chapters are not of comparable length, so that about three-fifths of the space is devoted t o astronomy and geology, leaving about one-fifth each for chemistry and physics. As most s u m y courses devote from over one-half to as much as three-quarters of the space t o chemistry and physics, the treatment of these basic sciences in this hook is, in comparison, brief and often inadequate. The approachis descriptive and informative rather than analytical and critical. Though there are many instances in which an idea is logically developed (e. g.. "Distances of Stars," page 429 seg.) a logical development is not always carried out. Very often the information is presented without any indication of haw it is obtained. Frequently, terms such as "molecules" are introduced for the first time without any explanation and in the same breath with words such as "mwn" or "streams." as thoueh each wereequally obvious and a part of the experirnre of rhc arudent. The authors are apparently aware of the dificulty, for they frequently define a term in footnotes or refer to later sections. While in general the information is authoritative, one Jinds many carelessly written expressions which are misleading or confusing, as well as a few errors of fact. For example, the statement "The brightest star we can see in northern latitudes is Sirius, ."would imply that a star brighter than Sirius is visible from the southern hemisphere. Hormones are called "fluids of complex composition." and alcohols are defined as "hydroxides of hydrocarbons" and are refered t o as "polar" compounds. Banana oil is said t o be "amyl butyrate." Each chapter closes with a rather lengthy summary. in which the key sentences of the chapter are repeated. There are also a good set of questions and a bibliography a t the end of each chapter, both of which should Drove of value in the use of the text. Despite its shortcomin& the book deserves the serious consideration of the teacher of a physical science survey course, far which no adequate text has yet been written. THEODORE A. ASHFORD
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TBBUNIVBRSITY OR CMEACO
CEXICAOO. ILLIN019
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