arrangement of bonds to try. Although the brief, hut helpful, comments come from a fairly short list, they give the impression of being tailored t o the specific case. Some examples are-("Sorry, that's not right. The arrangement of atoms is incorrect."; "It fits the Lewis rules, but you can do better. Reduce formal charges."; and "There is one atom with more than 8 electrons." We found no errors in the chemistry or in the operation of the program. Overall, i t is a good program, with the programming and the chemistry welldone. I t does not present any new approaches or special pedagogic values beyond interactive drill, hut it has no intention to do so. Student reaction was favorable; no comparative statistics were taken comparing those who did and did not use the program, hut those who used i t thought it useful and very easy to use with no assistance. Donald A. Tarr St. Oiaf College Ncflhfieid,MN 55057
Improving s a 6 t Y In t h e Chemical Laboratory Jay A. Young, Ed. Wlley: New York. NY. 1987, xviil 350 pp. Figs. and tables. 17 X 24 cm. $45.00.
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This good hook opens with the editor's statements of his first and second laws of safety, their corollaries, and a conclusion that reads: 1. By eliminating the causes of close calls and nonevents, accidents will he eliminated. 2. If we learn how to identify that a close call or nonevent has in fact happened, we can then know that there was a cause. or causes, which can he identified. 3. Once identified, a cause can he eliminated. The hook brings together 19 leaders in the field of chemical health and safety with their specific "how to's" t o improve safety in the laboratory. Some readers in our colleges may be intimidated by the stated organizational structure with a vice president for safety, hut all will agree with the precept that a sound safety program begins with sunoort a t the hiehest manaeement level in the institutim. There must be a sratrment d purpose for the safety program and its chain of command. This first edition is marred by careless proofreading. (No errors were found that interfered with the message.) Also, there are same disconcerting quantitative differences between the major chapter on fume hoods and a chapter on handling hazardous research chemicals that also covers the use of hcmds.The h e r carries the misinformation rhnt OSHA enli,rees an early rule calling for exhausr rates of 125-150fpm when handling regulated carcinogens in la1,oratory hoodc. This chapter doesn't recognize the wrll rstlrbliihed evidence that such high rxhnust rates may provide poorer containment because of turbulence and that well-desiened " svstems will orovide effective orateetion a t
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importance.) The chapter fails t o define clearly the good practices essential for work-
er safety whatever the exhaust rate. Despite such flaws the hook is essential. reading for all workers in laboratories handling chemicals and for the administrators responsible for these facilities. It promises to become the American Standard for lahoratory practice. Malcolm M. Renfrew Univenity of Idaho MOSCOW. ID 83843
Contemporary Classics In Physical, Chemlcal, and Earth Sciences Arnold Thackray (Compiler), iS1 Press: Philadelphia. PA. 1986. xviii 375 pp. 15 X 23 cm. $39.95.
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In 1977 Eugene Garfield, founder and president of the Institute for Scientific Information (iSi), began publishing in CUTrent Contents (CC) t h e feature "This Week's Citation Classicn-an invited 500word commentary by the author of a Citation Classic, which is a seminal scientific paper as shown by its frequency of citation in papers by other scientists. To date 2,300 of these autobiographical commentaries have appeared. In these the authors describe their research, its genesis, and the circumstances that affected its progress and publication, and they include the type of personal details rarely found in formal scientific publications, such as obstacles encountered and side paths taken. They also speculate on the reasons for the frequent citation of their work. The volume under review here is the fifth in the "Contemoorarv Classics in Science" series (Eueene ~~.~' ~ a r i e l d . Editor-in-Chiefl ~~. and inrludes commentaries selerted from those published in CC/lJh~sical.Chernzial, and Eorrh Scwneea from 1979 to 1981. The one-page commentaries take the reader hehind the scenes of science as the authors describe where new ideas come from, how scientists interact with their colleagues and superiors t o produce outstanding results, what their personal motivations were in conducting specific projects, and which types of research environments consistently produce effective results. The chemistry section (132 pp.) consists of 6 chapters-basic concepts (24 commentaries), inorganic and organometallic chemistry and catalysis (16 commentaries), organic chemistry, hiochemistry, and chromatographic methods (21 commentaries), spectroscopic methods (15 commentaries), nuclear magnetic resonance (24 commentaries), and structural chemistry, analytical chemistry, and the physical properties of polymers (18 commentaries). Among the familiar classica are Ahrland, Chatt, and Davies' a and b acceDtor classification (1958). Pearson's hard and soft acids and bases (1963), Pimental and MeClelland's book an the hydrogen hond (1960), Bent's valencehond structures and hybridization in firstrow elements (1961). Jannik Bjerrum's hook on metal ammine formation (1941), Gillespie and Nyholm's VSEPR theory (1957), and Stahl's thin-layer chromatography (1958). Incidentally, the sixth volume in the series, "Contemporary Classics in Engineerins and Aoolied Science." also contains citation classici in chemirnl engineermg and fluid dynamics ( 3 5 wmmentsrws, and ~
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chemistry (38 commentaries), same of them duplicating those in the volume reviewed here. The concise, anecdotal commentaries contribute to future historiography by preserving important hut otherwise unavailable biographical and story-hehind-thestory information. Practicing chemists and chemical educators reading them will learn. of unfamiliar aspects of otherwise familiar classic research. This volume should demonstrate to both students and laymen the nature and methods of science and the excitement a t the cutting edge of scientific discovery. In the words of historian of science Gerald Holton, who wrote the foreword, "There is not only much t o ponder here for any consideration of realistic theories of progress in science; there is also pleasurable reading that would he most instructive if assigned to beginning graduate students who, through those scientific papers themselves, would never find out the marvelous range of empowering tools nature offers its attendants." George 0 . Kauffman California State University. Fresno Fresno. CA 93740
lntroductlon t o General, Organlc, a n d Blologlcai Chemistry Sally Solomon. McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, 1987. xiv 845 pp. Figs. and tabies. 20.8 X 26 cm. $38.95.
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The minute one opens Introduction to General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry, it is clear that its emphasis is different from that of the usual text directed toward students in the allied health fields. Neither the inside front cover nor back cover contains a periodic tahle or tahle of atomic weights! Rather, the inside front cover conb i n s a two-page table entitled "Caloric Value, Composition, and Vitamin and Mineral Content of Common Foods", and the inside hack cover contains two tables: "Sources and Deficiencies of Vitamins and Minerals" and "Vitamin Content of Vitamin Supplements". The periodic tahle and aeeompanying tahle of atomic weights are found on the hack side of the tahle "Sources ." a t the rear of the hook. There are a total of 28 chapters with the material divided about equally between general, organic, and hiochemistry. Perhaps the author's statement in the preface sums up this hook heat: "Throughout this text the excitement and usefulness of chemistry are conveyed by making clear connections hetween chemical principles, the surrounding world and the human body." As a professor who has many times taught the first semester of our two-semester sequence for allied health students, I will give some examples of this application t o the human body taken from the chapters on general chemistry. In chapter 1 (Measurement) we find a discussion and a figure that illustrates a urinome-
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Volume 85
(Continued on page A274) Number 10
October 1988
A273
