RECENT BOOKS ANNUAL SURVEY OP A ~ R I C ACXEMISTRY, N VOLUMEVIII, 1933. Edited hy Clarnce I. West. Published for the National Research Council by The Chemical Catalog Company, Inc., New York City, 1934. 403 pp. 13 X 21 cm. $4.50. The place of the "Annual Survey" in American chemical literature is so firmly established that description and criticism are alike superfluous. The subjects reviewed in the current volume and the reviewers are as follows: Theories of Solutians-Martin Kilpatrick Kinetics of Homogeneous Gas R e a c t i o l l ~ L a u i sS. Kassel Subatomic Phenomena-Joseph E. Mayer and Donald H. Andrews Thermodynamics and Thermochemistry-George S. Parks CoUoidsS. S. Kistler Contact Catalysis-Arthur F. Benton Structure Determination hy X-Ray and Electron DSractionSterling B. Hendricks Electrochemistry-D. A. MacInnes Analytical Chemistry-I. M. Kolthoff and E. B. Sandell Compressed G a s e s R . Wiebe Aliphatic CampoundsCecil E. Baord Carbocydic CompoundsReynald C. Fuson Heterocyclic CompouudsArthnr J. Hill Pharmaceutical~CliffordS. Leonard Biochemistxy-Edgar G. Miller, Jr. Ferrous Metals in 1932 and 1933-Frank T . Sisco Insecticides and Fungicid-R. C. Roark Chemistry of the SilicatesGeorge W. Morey C e r a m i c s E . Ward Tillotson Petroleum Chemistry and Technology-W. A. Gruse Cellulose and Paper--Harry F. Lewis Leather-Arthur W. Thomas P a i n t s G . G. Sward Rubber-H. L. Trumbdl Gaseous Fuels during 1932 and 1933-Wilbert J. Hnff OTTO REINKUTE POR GRADUATES AND UNDERA MANUALOP THESIS-WRITING GRADUATES. Arthur H. Cole, Professor of Business Economics, and Karl W. Bigelow, Professor of Economics, University of Bufialo. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1934. 48 pp. 2 Figs. 14 X 21.6 cm. $0.75 net. ix The book is an attempt "to offer students certain comments on the aims of scienti6c work and a convenient compilation of d e s and usages which are widely accepted among mature writers as helpful in the preparation of first-class scientific papers." This manual is perhaps the briefest and a t the same time the meatiest book covering the field of thesis-writing that has come to the attention of the reviewer. Unfortunately i t is bound in a heavy paper c o w which will suffer from hard usage. The paper within the book is of stiff heavy quality and is not notably satisfactory for marginal notations in ink. It is rather obvious from the content of the hook that the problem of thesis-writing of the student in the physical and biological sciences is not a complete duplicate of that of the student in the social sciences. A few pages are devoted t o thewchoiceofSubject," an item which is not of much concern t o the undergraduate or graduate student in chemistry, as he himself seldom chooses the actual title or the broader scope of the research problem, the results of which are t o be presented as his thesis or dissertation. The title of the baok is misleadinx - t o a student in the ahvsicd . . or biological sciences. Students in thew fields would expect the hook to he of value only in composition and form of the final paper, yet they would profit from a careful study of the first 16
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pages before arriving a t a final decision relative t o the choice of a research problem from those available. Very few graduate students are familiar with proofreader's marks, hence the samples of "proofing" are timely. Ample reference to more extensive volumes on the subject are included. Also, the authors wisely refer the student to the current issues of the journals in his own particular field of endeavor, as t o accepted practices in composition and form. Perhaps a few minor improvements in the content would be worth while. (1) On page 7, no suggestions are included as t o a recommended form for handling bibliographic material secured from abstract journals. Occasionally an original paper appears in a journal or in a language which is not easily accessible to an investigator and the abstract only is a t his disposal. (2) On p. 13, the use of abbreviations could be extended in sample "B." (3) On p. 15, something should be included covering the form of experimental notes which are to be used as the basis of probable patents. (4) On p. 38 is a paragraph on the numbering of tables and of charts. Chemical iournals in America a ~ ~ a r e n t lrefer v Roman numerals for tables and Arabic numeralr for charts and ~r.whs. (5) On p. 44, proofreader's marks for ddele and boldfocr tyPe should be added. Every graduate student should be familiar with this volume. JESSE E. DAY Tes Omo Sram UNmeaslru
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SCIENTIPIC ORGANIZATIONS IN SEVENTEENTR CENTURY FRAN~ (1620-1680). Horcozcrt Brown,M.A., Toronto, Ph.D.. Columbia. The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1934. (History 306 of Science Society Publications. New Series V.) xxii pp. 13.8 X 20.4 cm. $3.00.
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The learned societies of the present time had their beginnings in clubs or small groups of men impelled by their passionate curiosity t o gather together and discuss the matters of scholarship and experimental science in which they were interested. "The character of these assmiatious," writes Brown, "the membership, and the nature of the programs, depended of course on the circumstances under which the particular academy began its sessions. A Datron of letters or the arts.. a mince of church or state, a merchant of great wealth, would dmw thc murc agreeable of the teachers or other professional men of his entourage into n mom or lcss regularly estahlishcd society; constant asociation gave a certain set of habits, sooner or later t o be set down as laws and regulations governing activities, ceremonial, and membership. In their meetings the wit of those who knew each other's habits of mind, temper, and prejudice, mingles with an esoteric lore derived from common readine and education: the vulaar idiom becomes a badge of liberty, of racial integrity, of freedom from thc tyranny of the School, and of unity in a civilization which begins to regard itself as national. Together, thcse men of learning treat each other as persons apart from and above the common run; when separated, their letters reflect the interests and philosophy of their group. These remarks hold in a very striking degree for the character and corporate activities of the academicians and journalists of the middle, and even of the end. of the seventeenth century in France." The book contains eleven chapters, on Peiresc and the Cab'met of the Brothers Dupuy, on Renaudot and Mersenne, Mersenne and England, The Montmor Academy Begins, The Montmor Academy and England. The End of the Montmor Academy. La Cmfiognie des Sciences et des Arts, The Conferences of Henry Justel, Science and the Press (the Journal des Savants and the Philosophical Transactions),The Academies of the Provinces. The Academy of the AbbC Bourdelot, and a finalchapter entitled Fluctlrot nec mergitur (the motto of the city of Paris) which discusses
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some of the earlv vicissitudes of the Acadkmie des Sciences. It -~ contains appendices and hiblingrnphics The author concludes that his bwk "isan caploration rather than a chart of aeventrenthcentury France" the net result of which is "that we have found in seventeenth-century France the characteristics of other nations of Europe of that time,-Bacon's devotion to the laborious collection of facts and methods of research, Leibniz' faith in the progressive building of civilization under the protection of the state, Huygens' resignation of the powers of the individual reason t o the realities of the natural world. At least we have had a glimpse of the France of Mersenne, Pascal, and Justel, not the France of court historians, learned ladies, and princely generals, but a nation whose erudition was the envy of Europe, whose architecture and gardens set the fashion for a hundred years, whose philosophers brought us from the middle ages, in short the France which perhaps best merits the admiration of the modem world." The book is written in a narrative style. The reader, if he is not confused by multiplicity of detail, by the documentation and the apparatus of scholarship, will improve his knowledge of the hackground against which the history of science has manifested itself. But he will not learn much of the history of science. And the student of the history of chemistry will find in the book very little which seems necessary or desirable for him to remember. TENNEYL. DAVIS ~
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M A S S I C W S ~ SI N S T I TOF ~B TBC~NOLDOY C*~~BRIDW, M*ss.
VOLUMETRIC ANALYSIS.H. P. Starck, M.A. The Technical College, Kingston-on-Thames. Wm. Wood & Co., Baltimore, 1934. viii 228 31 pp. 11 Figs. 13 X 20 cm. $3.00.
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This bwk is stated to be "a complete manual of volumetric analysis for pharmaceutical, medical, and other students of chemistry." Section I contains a brief introductory chapter on volumetric methods and apparatus. followed by an elementary discussion of neutralization indicators. Sections 11, 111, and IV are devoted respectively to neutralization, oxidation-reduction, and precipitation methods of analysis, directions being given for the preparation of the commonly used standard solutions and for their use in typical analyses. Section V presents the application of volumetric methods for the determination of the canstituents in a number of binary mixtures. The appendix includes, in addition to certain tables and information about indicators. some thirty pages devoted to general inorganic qualitative analysis and the detection of the elements commonly found in organic compounds. Directions are given for more than two hundred separate determinations. Some of these represent essentially a repetition; seven, for example, being devoted to the estimation of acetic acid in different preparations. About one hundred problems illustrate typical volumetric calculations. Equations for the chemical reactions are given for most of the determinations, and also the hydrogen equivalent of the constituent to be determined. Little, of the theory underlying volumetric processes is given. The brief discussions and the directions for the procedures are concisely written, the latter approaching in this respect "cookbook" or nharmaconoeial stvle. The nrintinn.. is e w d and typogrnphical errors are scarce. The pharmaceutical names are given for many cumpounrl.;. A graphical method is suggested for calculntiug the t w o constituents in each of several Linary mixtures. Users of some of the better American texts on quantitative analysis would question a number of points, examples of which may be noted. Gravimetric and volumetric procedures are said to be the two methqds available for estimating substances. No mention is made of the molar system for standard solutions, and attention is not directed to the fact that the normality of a solution may depend upon the chemical reaction involved. Except in one figure the abbreviation C.C.is used to designate onethousandth of the metric unit of capacity, the liter. It is stated to be "sufficiently accurate if all weighing, calculations, etc., be
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using atomic conducted to the nearest third decimal place, weights which approximate to the nearer half or whole number." Some of the sample calculations are carried only to two significant figures and buret readings are given to one decimal place. The standard solution specified is frequently 1 N.; however, large samples are used. The equivalent weights of various compounds, such as potassium permanganate, are calculated from their "available" oxygen atoms. One is led to the conclusion that, when the standard solutions do not have an exact normality, time is saved by using a normality factor rather than by calmlating a t once the equivalence (titer) of the solution in terms of the desired constituent. Sodium carbonate, sodium oaalate, and potassium acid phthalate are not mentioned as primary standards. Litmus and cochineal are recommended as indicators. To the reviewer the hook seems of value c h i d y for the variety of determinations sueeested. Instructors in nharmaceutical work may find it valu%le. Some students wilifeel more contented if they determine calcium in calcii carbonas rather than in calcium carbonate.
ENGLISH FOR ENGINEERS. S. A . Harbarger, Assistant Professor of English, The Ohio State University. Third edition. McGraw-Hill Bwk Co., Inc.. New York City, 1934. xvi 314 pp. 13 X 20 cm. 8.00.
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I n the first edition of "English for Engineers." which appeared in 1923, Professor Harbarger stated these purposes: "to make the study of English definite for the engineering student; to stimulate his interest in a brief m e y of the uses to which English may be put by the engineer; and to acquaint him with the sources of English study both for professional and cultural needs and interests." The present edition has followed these general lines, hut has been revised in the light of changing conditions, and the collateral reading is largely restricted to material appearing within the past five years. This bwk presupposes the fundamental training in English which is given in high school and the limited amount usually available in college to students of the applied sciences. It is intended primarily for the senior and the recent graduate, but it may be read with profit by those of more maturity and experience. The lamer " .Dart of the book is devoted to verv nractical tonics. ~ - Aftw outlining thc relationship between professional prrstige and Fnrlish, surveying the resources of reading and convcrration, emphasizing the need for careful preliminary umlysis, and stating the familiar essentials of clearness, conciseness, and emphasis, the author discusses in some detail letters of application, telegrams, order, inquiry, instruction, and sales letters, dictation, explanations, abstracts, summaries, book reviews, editorials, technical articles, reports, and professional society papers. Emphasis is laid on the "you" attitude, which means that the writer must put himself in the place of the reader. While most of this material is plain common sense, it contains much that is often overlooked in everyday writing. The chapter on "English for Non-Technical Uses" lifts the engineer from the plane of the immediate and practical t o that of a broad cultural development. This chapter is not only a strong and sensible plea for good reading, but is also a most excellent euide to what is best in literature. While thiq book was written primarily for mginrers, it can be used with great value by all scirntific worker,, particulxly those who have to do with modem industry. W. T. REAU
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Nsw Bauwswrcx. N. J.
THE CHEMISTRY OF THE HORDIONES. Benjamin Harrow, Ph.D., Associate Prof. of Chemistry, The City College of The College of the City of New York, and Carl P. Sherwin. D.Sc., M.D., Dr.P.H., St. Vincent's Hospital and French Hospital. New York City. The Williams & Wilkius Co., Baltimore, 1934. vii 227 pp. 23 X 15cm. $2.50.
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