BOOK REVIEWS tions for the uniformity of arrangement and coverage of the different chapters. This book is not a collection of individual articles, but a. well organized reference work. All chemical libraries, including those in undergraduate colleges, shodd have this set, and individual research chemists in the field of psychopharmacology will find it indispensable. WALTERJ . MOORE
Indiana Universitl~ Bloomzngtn
Applied Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists
Sergei A . Schelkunoff, Columbia University. 2nd ed. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, 1965. Bell Telephone Laboratories Series. xii 406 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. 89.50.
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Thi~ book is intended for a. wide variety of research workers and students in the physical sciences and engineering. Previous experience in undergraduate calculus and differential equations has been sssumed, although the author wisely begins many of the chapters s t a n elementary level. It is this feature which makes the hook more readable and generally less formidable than the specialized and exhaustive text b y Margenau and Murphy.
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The subject matt,er has been carefully selected so as to be of general utility t o those who employ mathemat,ics primarily for the solution of physical problems. There is overall emphasis on numerical approximation methods, and sn extensive treatment of ordinary and partial differential equations. Included throughout the text are many helpful illustrative examples and problems with answers. There is a minimum of cross referencing and interde~endenceof sections whieh, in this reviewer's opinion, promotes efficiency in communication. For the advanced student of physics or chemistry, this hook is highly reeommended, especially if used in eonjunet,ion with that by Margenau and Murphy.
JOHN T . YATES,JR. National Bureau oj Standards Washington, D. C .
Robert Boyle on Natural Philosophy: An Essay with Selections from His Writings
Marie Boas Hall, Imperial College, London. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1865. ix 406 pp. 16 X 23.5 cm. $6.75.
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As stated in the sub-title, this is a n "essay" on the great English scientist Robert Boyle (1627-1691) with selections from his writings. Boyle, who ranks in genius and learnmg with men like Newton,
Descartes, Leibnitz, and Galileo, was a n unassuming and quiet man of tremendous erudition in theology and in almost all branches of natural science. H e published many papers in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (of which he was a founding member), as well as many books and tracts, the bibliography of which has been published by John F. Fulton ("A Bibliography of the Honourable Robert Boyle," Oxford, 1961). I n 1744, Thomas Birch published the first collected edition of Boyle's "Works" in five large folio volumes, and a second edition appeared, in 1772, in six thick quarto volumes containing well over 4000 pages! I n the present book, which is, in a sense, a sequel t o her "Robert Boyle and Seventeenth-Century Chemistry" (Cambridge, 1958), Dr. Baas Hall (one of the leading modern authorities on Boyleand his times) has attempted to evaluate Boyle's important scientific work, including chemwtry, and t o bring out his importance in the history of sciencefor thetwentieth-century reader. That thirr is no easy task will he attested by anyone who has wrestled with the heavy folio or quarto volumes of Birch's compilation. Neverthless, Dr. Boas Hall has successfully chosen and edited selections from Boyle's voluminous works whieh illustrate his main achieve ments and ideas in a comprehensible manner. The hookis divided into two main parts. The introductory first part (pp. 3-115) comprises six chapters which deal with
(Continued n page A80)
BOOK REVIEWS Boyle's life, the "new learning," mechanical philosophy, chemistry, pneumatics, and a conclusion outlining Boyle's stature and importance. These chapters clearly summarize the topics covered and short extracts from contemporary sources are given. Part two (pp. 119391), the major portion of the book, is in four sections which present extensive selections from, and commentary on, Boyle's writings. The selections are taken from the Birch edition of Boyle's "Works" (London, 1744), and from the Boyle papers in the Libraryaf the Royal Society, London. Each of the sections is carefully chosen to illustrate Boyle's philosophical attitude toward the topics covered. The first section (pp.llS176) includes extracts concerning, for example, "the requisites of a good hypothesis," "natural religion," "the practical uses of natural philosophy," "hydrostatics," etc. The second section (pp. 177-272) deals with Boyle's "assessment of Aristotelianism," "the corpuscular philosophy," "the structure of matter," "theory of the elements," "transmutation of the Aristotelian elements," and various physical and chemical properties (or "qualities" rts Boyle termed them) and phenomena such a s heat, cohesion, fluidity, corrosiveness, precipitation, gravity, magnetism, electricity, color, fire and flame, etc.
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From the diverse nature of these topics one can readily see that Boyle studied p h e nornena often widely removed from pure chemistry. The next section (pp. 273422) is concerned with chemistry, and selections from Boyle's lesaer-known chemical works (cf. "The Sceptical Chymist") are presented (e.g., "Experiments and Notes relating to Chemical Qualities," "Aerial Noctiluca," "Icy Noctilucs," etc.). Subjects covered include, for example, the uses of chemistry, chemical experiments, indicators, phosphorus, and m i n e d waters. The fourth and final section (pp. 323391) comprises selections from Boyle's works on pneumatics. Significant experiments leading to the discovery of Boyle's Law of Gases are described and illustrated by excerpts from the "New Experiments Physico-Mechanical, Touching the Spring of the AirandIts Effects" (1660and 1662). Selections are also given on "the astonishing weight of the atmosphere," "sound and air," "what is a vacuum?," "air, light, and &me," "omposition of the atmosphere," etc. The hook closes with some biblicgraphical notes (pp. 400-401), a partial list of Boyle's published works (p. 402), and an index (pp. 403406). On the whole this i. a very readable and enjoyable book. In this reviewer's opinion it is written in an easier, more freely Bowing style than Dr. Boas Hall's "Robert Boyle and Seventeenth-Century Chemistry." The latter work suffered, as indeed did Boyle's own writings, from a rather considerable prolixity with par*
gntphs amvrmes exceditry i w r hundred wwb. The prrwm a u r k ie Ips? icd\ous, s is t c r 1," con~r.ltularnl nrd 1Jr. n o ~ llnll for her judicious selections and for redueing the over four thousand large quarto pages of Boyle's "Works" (1772) into an octavo hook of onlv one-tenth t,he number of pages. As this m i e w e r knows well, reducing the rambling style of seventeenth-century prose into the succinct format of the modern article or book is often extremely difficult. Dr. Boas Hall has admirably ttecompliehed this t,ask, and her book is a significant and scholarly addition to the swelling corpus of literature on Boyle and seventeenth-century scientific thoueht. The book is enthusiasticallv recommended as a worthy addition to the library of any college, univenity, or individual mientist.
ROYG. NEVILLE Palm Verdes Peninsula California Michael Famday
L. Pearre William. Cornell Univenitv. .. ,~~ Ithaca, New York. Basic Books, 1no.i New York, 1965. xvi 531 pp. Figures. 16.5 X 24 cm. 512.50. -~ -
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Historically minded physicists and chemists have long awaited an extensive up-to-date treatment of the life and accomplishments of Faraday (1791-1867). (Continued on page -48s)
