The unit on chemical concepts might well have been incorporated earlier in the hook. As one reads the text there is a feeling of a lack of continuity, of a need for coherent threads hindine the vast collection of oh-erval,lc, apparently uncoordinated phenomena into a conl i y o u s whole. Will the average nun-s~wcinlistin physics npprcciale the scientific field properly if he is nut made conscious of a n orderliness throughout the array of physical phenomena, which as individuals are very interesting, but when viewed as a whole may appear isolated and uncoihdinated? Will his interest and appreciation he lost if he is made t o understand the basic, fundamental principles and laws for which his numerous phenomena are only examples and applications? If these he properly envisioned, he can see his scientific world from the "matter-inthe-bulk." the molecular, and the subatomic viewpoints. CHARLESG. EICHLIN U ~ w s a s r r vor M m u ~ a l i o
COLLBOQ P ~ RMABYLAND . OP ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.VOLUME11. I. M . Heilbron and H. M . Bunbury, Editors, and W . E. Joner,
DlCrroNARY
Assistant Editor. Oxford University Press. New York City, 1936. xii 846 pp. 19 X 26 cm. 630.00.
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The second volume of this excellent reference compilation, which was discussed in detail in THIS JOURNAL,12, 99 (Feb.. 1935). has now appeared. The suhjects from eccaine to myrtillin chloride are covered in Volume 11. The standard set by the &st volume is well maintained. OTTO REINMUTE GLANCES AT INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH. E d m d R. Weidlein and William A . Hamor. Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, Pittsburgh, Pa. Reinhold Publishing Corp.. New York City. 1936. x 246pp. 25 figs. 12 X 19 cm. $2.75.
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As indicated by the title explanation (During Walks & Talks a t Mellon Institute), the purpose of this volume is to publicize the work of the Mellon Institute. At the same time, the authors have succeeded in presenting distinctly worth-while and readable material. To business men who are interested in the industrial possibilities of chemical research, t o students and teachers of chemistry who have had little experience with industrial applications of chemistry, and to industrial chemists who are seeking t o widen their usefulness, much of the hook will prove of decided interest. Part IV, in particular, which deals with questions of industrial research management, succeeds in stating and clarifying a numher of conceptions regarding the relationship between business and science which a t the best have been nebulous in the minds of many. Chapters VIII and IX, which are of primary appeal t o the student who is still a t work on his chemical education, would probably have been improved by simpler language. While they are clear to the executive who will eventually employ these students, they may leave the student himself considerably bewildered. We trust that the authors' allegory of the Golden Fleece does not indicate that Dr. Zinsser's "Rats, Lice and History" has set a precedent of such caliher that all scientific writers will feel compelled to embellish their subjects with allusions to the classics. The authors will doubtless awaken the animosity of the feminine members of the profession by the unorthodox title of "Biochemistress" which they have applied under the figure on page 162. This may be more than balanced by their statement on the opposite page that all employers of research chemists should allow a t least $150.00 per year for traveling expenses t o meetings of scientific societies. The volume is well worth the attention of chemical students, particularly those with industrial leanings. Due to its arrangement, the book need not he read as a whole, since the various chapters and sections stand clearly by themselves. Within the scope of its title, the hook affords interesting glances a t the achievements, possibilities, and control of industrial research; and while the instances cited
refer particularly to the Mellon Institute, the generalities apply with equal force to industrial research in any organization. The volume is well written, printed with an especially clear and readable type, and is remarkably free from typographical errors. The illustrations are clear and forceful.
LIVING CHEMISTRY.Ermstine M . J . Long, Normandy High School, St. Louis, Missouri. John S. Swift and Company, Inc., St. Louis, 1935. xxiii 214 pp. 39 figs. 21 X 27 cm. $1.00.
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Living Chamistry is a combination workbook and laboratory manual for a pandemic course in high-school chemistry. I n part, the author says of her work: ". . . . . I t is the first attempt which has been made to correlate major understandings, scientific methods of thinking, and character traits. The author has. used other methods, hut finds that this plan reduces failures. . . . This is one of the few attempts which have been made t o train pupils directly, through experimentation and class exercises, consciously t o use the scientific method. . ." The hook is in keeping with the most modern principles of education for second.. ary schools. The unit plan is used; the work within each unit is, in general, very well organized. However, as the author states, ". . . The work has been disorganized insomeunits t o enable the. pupil t o fit the pieces together and see the whole pattern.. ."' The manual is composed of work sheets, directions and report blanks for experiments, and directions for optional work which the student must do in order to earn a grade higher than "C." I n general, the work sheets direct the student's study and provide a place for recording some of the information thus obtained. These record sheets contain many of the completion type of question which are, however, very well counterbalanced by the writing of short expositional reports. The experimental work mav he classed under four headins: teacher demonstration. student demonstration, studcnt gmup experinlent, and individual jtudent erpcrimcnt. Thc optional work of thc courv consists largely of short essay reports and experiments which the student may help plan. The entire course m s the gamut from simple tests for mixtures and compounds to the digestion and assimilation of foods so completely that one wonders how the student carries away from the course the mental development and appreciation of natural law which even a high-schwl course in chemistry can give. One regrets the necessity, if such there he, of the use of such unit headings as. "On the Trail of the Negatron," "Diving in for Ions." "Nosing Out the Non-Metals," or the giving of grade points for slogans and jokes on certain subjects. One also regrets inaccuracies, such as, "Note that all chemical reactions involve an interchange of negatrons." The reviewer questions the wisdom of using the definitions: "An acid is a suhstancewhich dissociates orotons." "A base is a substance which associates procons," or "Ncutralirations can then be rxplained as reaction=, which involve the tranifrr of proions in the same way that oxidation involves the tran,fx of negatrons." etc. One also wonders a t the necessity of such simplified expressions as, ". . . sulfur joins with -to give " with students who are expected to "make an analysis of the negatron and ionization theories." Living Chemistry contains a full and excellent bibliography and is to he commended for its consistent effort t o develoo the indepmdrncr and initiative of the student and toinstil m him intellectual honesty. The hook is worthy of the consideration of those deqiring to makc a ~ t u d yof preterit-day mrthods in secondary
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