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ful electrical forces arising out of the charged bydrogen ion become practically absent, though not completely absent as form41 charges are now involved, and other factors begin to assume more importance. Brown has successfully explained the base strength under such circulhstances as due to an interplay between the classical polar factor and a steric factor originating out of the size of the alkyl groups present in the acid and/or the base. Though substantially agreeing with Brown’s theory we are inclined to think that his steric factor should also include the polarstriction effect we have discussed, which becomes more probable from the fact observed by Brown that the tertiary amine is invariably weaker than the secondary amine, though the relative strengths of the other amines vary with the nature of the alkyl group present in the acid and/or the base. SANTIR.PALIT. Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn Brooklyn, New York April, 1947
SEW BOOKS Ozidation. A general discussion held by the Faraday Society, September, 1945. 398 pp. London: Gurney and Jackson, 1946. Price: 20 shillings. The appearance of this volume, containing thirty-two papers presented a t a symposium on oxidation, marks a welcome return by the Faraday Society to the policy i t had long followed before the war of holding symposia from time t o time on subjects of current interest in theoretical chemistry. The subject of oxidation affords a wide spread of topics in many fields of theory and practical application. The general discussions interspersed through the sessions form a most valuable part of the symposium. While the theoretical aspects of oxidation receive full attention, the subject of combustion naturally led t o the consideration of fuels and explosive gas reactions. S. C. LIND.
Abridged Scienfific Publications from the Kodak Research Laboratories. Vol. XXVII. 314 pp. Rochester, Xew York: Eastman Kodak Company, 1945. This is a continuation of t h e publication in abridged form of papers which have been previously published in full in English in scientific periodicals. The present volume contains fifty papers published in American and British journals. S. C . LIND.
Reactions at CarbonCarbon Double Bonds. By CHARLESC. PRICE. vi York: Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1946. Price: $2.50.
+ 120 pp.
Rew
This interesting little book is the result of a group of lectures given by Professor Price a t Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn under the direction of Dr. H. Mark. As stated in t h e Introduction, this book is the first volume of a series of “Lectures on Progress in Chemistry.” Written in the “eventful summer of 1945,” this work constitutes one of the finest reviews of the subject t o be found anywhere. While many researchers in physicoorganic Chemistry may not share the position taken by Dr. Price in his reluctance to accept the application of
~ ' c s o n a n ctheory ~ t o certaiii aspccts of this subject, there is no doubt that his attitude will provokr much new experimental work by the disciples of resonance theory. Interrunversion through hydrogen bonding in the enol forms of p-diketones (page 8) and thr dimrrs of siniplr carboxylic acids is apparently trealed as an application of resotia n w . This is nndoubtedly a casr of tautomerism and not resonanrr, s i w e the Iiydrogeii ittoin is nut aiiuated equidistant from the two oxygen atoms. Hydrogen bonds in general owe tlwir existence t o roulombic attraction. There are probably two idrntical minima i l l tlir i w ' r g y I S . internuclear distance ciir\,es for these molecules. -1 fc\v inconsistrmcies and sinall typographical errors are t o br noticed On page 59 it is stiitrd that, "Thr data thus suggest that primary, secondary, and phenyl radicals are niucli more reactive than tertiary or benzyl radicals." Yet o n page 60 one finds that "Tlie order of reactivity of alkyl free radicals, Io < 11" < III"." rtc, Ileference is made on page 31 t o the "polarizability of the elertriins." .\tonis a i d tiiolwules are polarizable, but t h c polarization of an electron is probably uut of the realm (if human imagination. .in o. atom is missing froin tlir quinune furmula on page X6, r r n d formula "B" o n page 102 cat negativr charge Iiy niistakr. This hook represents a distiiict cotit r i h l i u n t u thv ?lirniistry of ( ' a r b ~ ~ i - [ % r double b~~i bonds and should 1)r read ljy all ot,ganic v l w n i s t s . .\I t w o w i l t s per p a g r . this viilunir is c r r t a i n l v iiot i w w p r i i w l 1
