BOOK REVIEWS
he hetter preparat.ion for the reader l l u ~ n n semester of general rhemiat,ry.
Inorganic Reaction Mechanism.: Introduction
An
John 0. Erlwarrls, Bmwn T;niverxity, Providence, Rhode Island. R.'4. I h j m i n , Inr., New Ynrk, lllfi4. xii 190 pp. Figs. and twhles. Ili X 2:< cm. 57.00.
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A texl.hrmk nn general inorganic reartion merhanism~hits long heeu ueeded. Pwfessor 1Sdwards has attempted to fill this gap with a short text in which it h:w hoen "pnssihle neither to rnvw all of the variety of mechanisms known n w t o cover any of them in great detail"-tc quote the author. The Imok is definiteljnot a text designed for beadring inorgsnir. chemistry by the use of rear.l.icm merhnnisms, hut is rather an intrndurlii,~~ to the redm of kinetics and mechsnismc as applied to inorganic ehemis1,yv. In this wntext i t is quite good, is thotvughly referenced, and is generally up-t,+rlnt~ through early 1963 through the use of added frrutnntes. Good st,udents who have had general, organic, and physical chemistry ss tauglll in our hett,er colleges and universities will undonhtedly be hored with much of the introductory mnterinl in Chapters 1 and
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Chemical Education
2 : hrnvever, the references suggested are
at a m w h mare sophistirated level, and there is no donht that most abudents can profit from the review. The author's use of S t o mean hot,ll solvent anion and s u b strate in the same rhapter (2) is confusing when referring to the rhapter. Chapter :l o m linear free-energy relation.; is quilr good except for figures 3-1 and 3-2, which negnle earh other as well as the test if the r u n w are used its drawn for the t-zattions in the opposite dirertion. The nubhor is a t his best as the material hecomes !nore peroxide-oriented in Chapters 4 and 5. However, t,he alpha effert appears to he overrtressed-if this effect. is so important, hyd~mylamine shruld I,e n mnrlr more eflective nu
