text was to provide a basis for a general introductary course for undergraduates in such curricula as preprofessional programs, biological and agricultural sciences, chemistry, engineering, and science education. This end was only partially achieved with the first edition, which had some deficiency in its coverage of areas such as metabolic interrelationships and control which limited suitability for majors in biological sciences, preprofessional programs, or chemistry. In this new third edition, these deficiencies have been largely made up at the cost of an approximate 20% increase in size from the first edition. As before, the hook is very dearly written, withattractiveand well chosen illustrations, diamams. and formulas. The format and producti& are convenient and attractive with few typographical or mechanical errors. ~
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The sequence of the 26 chapters is quite conventional. The first four chapters are introductory, representing an attempt to bring students of various backgrounds up to the same knowledge level. Included here are a brief discussion of the development of molecular biology and an overview of cell hiology. The book then proceeds to a second section of eight chapters covering the chemistry of the various classes of biomoleeules. One of the chapters contains an excellent discussion of amino acid sequencing including modern technological advances. The moleculnr hsair of bioenergetics, involvrng the disrua&n of the intermedian' metahoLism of the various classes of bio&oleeules, occupies the next seven chapters. There is some slight update and modernization of this material. The fourth section of three chapters is devoted tomolecular biology and includes quite current information on DNA ~equenring,gene expression, protein proceasmg, and uhiquitin proteolysia. The use of molecular biolom in biotechnulow -.isalso a part of this seeti%. The last three ehapters are devoted to immunology, hormones, second messengers, and human nutrition. The chapter on immunology is a new addition to the text and the hormane/second messenger chapter is much expanded and includes timely new material such as membrane transduction and polyphosphoinositol systems. Every chapter is followed by a hrief listing of suggested general readings and also by a list of more immediately relevant journal articles; while some of the material is classical, there is a significant amount of reference to modern publications. Finally, all the chapters end with a small but carefully selected and thoughtful set of problems. As before. the sections on bioenereetics and intermediate metabolism are especially well written and logically assembled, but other chapters, partirulnrly those covering biochemical genetics, immunology and endocrinology are very good and surprisingly complete, and tend to increase the overall quality of the text. While somewhat shorter than some of the better known and more widely employed texts, and hampered at Least slightly by its brevity, this third edition goes a long way toward meeting its avowed purpose of underpinning an introductory course designed to accommodateundergraduates from widely varying curricula. I t continues to he well written although concise, and provides adequate, and in some cases more than ade-
quate, coverage of much of what is important in contemporary biochemical information. Melvin F r i d College oi Medicine unlversiiy of Florida Gainesville, FL 32610 M l c r o s a l e Organlc Laboratory, Second Edltlon Dana W. Mayo, RonaldM. Pike, and S a m elS. Butcher. Wiley: New York, NY, 1989. u 522 pp. Figs. and tables. 22 X 28.5
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cm. $38.95.
One of the most significant organic laboratory textbooks of the 1980's was the first edition of Microseole Organic Laboratory. Mnvo. ~. , Pike. and Butcher were not the f i t to develop microscale organrc experiments, but they were the first to prove that the entire two-semester laboratory course can be taught using micrwcale experiments without watering down the chemistry. Their textbook showed that any effective macroscale experiment can be converted to an effective microscale exoeriment. and the small scale facilitates experiments using reagents that are tootuxiuor rooexpensive for students to use on a macroscnle. Conridering its uriginality and the large number of new experimental proredured. the first edition had minor rough edger. In addition to the usunl firit-edition ernrrs, the equipment diagrams were roughly drawn and the students were never introduced to important techniques such as downward distillation and the use of a separatory funnel. The second edition of Microscale Organic Laboratory is more polished than the first edition. The level of errors is law, the drawings are smooth and clear, and many procedures have been refined or clarified. Especially significant is the addition of six optional scaleup procedures using aseparatory funnel and and conventional glassware. More material on chemical safety and risk assessment has been added, perhaps to counter the media-induced chemophohia most of our students suffer. A Material Safety Data Sheet for acetone is given, together with a description of the information nrovided on the sheet lforchloroform). Also r~ new are the references within experimenlr to chemical tests uf the pruducrs, although in some caws the amounts of produrta re. covered are barely enough to carry out the tests. Several new techniques are introduced in the Second Edition, including the selective S ~ O F H N Oreaeent ~ and a clever lens oaver ii*
