istry in the ever-changing chemistry curriculum of the current importance of analytical chemistry. The contributors discuss quantitative analysis of amounts in the range of lo-' grams, and less; in some cases, the amounts treated consist of only a few molecules. Clearly, we cannot now treat these matters in detail in an undergraduate course in analytical chemistry; but as more information is made available, these topica will be discussed in any curriculum which pretends to he up to date. This book marks a. milestone in our progress. Every professor of chemistry will profit from a glance at its contents, and many will find their interest sufficiently stimulated to read every ward. It appears to this reviewer to be the first significant indication of an important topic that will soon he famed upon us, demanding inclusion in our teaching. In his preface, the editor states that "the discussions. . .will aid those working in the [field] and provide guideposts to those entering it." He has assessed accurately. Details are not given, except briefly; but the remarkable things that can be done are described by the contributors. A complete list is beyond the scope of this review, but by way of examples: Using the photosynthetic flagellate, Ezlgelena granlis, as a "microbiologioal transducer-amplifier," the trace of vitamin BIr in a fingerprint can be messured; using luminous bacteria, individual molecules of oxygen can, almost, be counted; single fiber electrophoresis is now a crude technique, electrophoresis in thin films on polished glass can detect, and measure, as little as pg (picogram, 10-'= gram) of some cations; melting points of 0.1 ng (nanogram, gram) of material can be measured 1 or 2°C; quantitative evalwithin uations of impurities in material assayed a t 99.9999999% purity can be carried out; X-ray diffraction patterns of 10 ng of material are now possible; gas chromatographic separstion, and estimation of the quantities, can be performed on 0.1 ng of petroleum ether. The hook itself is an exeeptiondly well-edited version of a conference by twenty-nine invited pitrtioipants, May 15 to 18, 1960, sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council and the U. S. Army Chemical Corps. Eighteen papers were presented, and the discussions which follow have been transcribed following each paper. This book should be in the library of every college, and students from the freshman level up should be encouraged to study its contents. The references cited a t the end of each paper will lead advanced students further into topios which interest them. A companion volume on miorochemical techniques is promised, and this should he helpful to those who wish to pursue finer details. Dr. Henry Eyring summarized the contributions, "I have never attended a more exciting symposium. Each talk in turn has been provocative." It must have indeed been stimulating, and
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Journal of Chemical Education
99.9999999% of thia stimulation has come through in the printed pages.
JAY A. Y o u ~ o King's College Wilkes-Barre, Pennsyluania
Name Reactions in Organic Chemistry
Alezander R. Surrey, Sterling-Wmthrop Research Institute, Rensselrter, New York. 2nd ed. Academic Press, Inc., 278 pp. New York, 1961. x Figures. 16 X 23.5 cm. $8.
In summary, apart from the interesting biographical notes, there is comparatively little informstion in this hook which is not easily found elsewhere in leading textbooks and reviews or in standard reference works on synthetic organic chemistry. Judged on this basis, and also in view of the purposely limited number of reactions treated, this volume can he recommended only with reservation.
ALBERTW. B U R G S T A H ~ R The University of Kansas Lawrence
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For brevity and simplicity the t i m e honored preotioe among chemists of citing various organic reactions and procedures simply by the names of the workers who discovered or developed them has much to recommend itself. Still, without additional generic defining terms, it is a device which can slso be confusing as well as annoying, and for this reason a book of this type probably has considerable appeal for a wide circle of readers, especially among graduate students. In fact, at least two other similar compilations, both more extensive in coverage hut leas encompassing in detail (and also lacking the biographical entries which distinguish the present volume), have appeared recently: "Name Index of Organic Reactions," 2nd Edition, by J. E. Gowan and T. S. Wheeler (Longmans, 1960, reviewed by L. 0. Smith in .I. CHEM.Eouc., 38, 588 :1961]) and "Namenrcaktionen der organisohen Chemie," by H. Kraucb and W. Kunz (Alfred Hiithig, Heidelberg, 1961). ..\ppm~i~w~rdy fmy-live per vrtlt lnn!?r than the, first wlirion pul~lisl.cd ir. 1954. this "n.viur.d : a d ~nlrirgccl"zerond edirim of Dr. Surrey% book discusses about 130 organic "name" reactions, from the "Arndt-Eistort Synthesis" to the "WurtzFittig Reaction." For perspective and interesting historical background, each entry begins with a short biographical sketch of the "name" author or authors. This is fallowed by a brief description of the reaction and the conditions involved in its use, along with a rksumk of its scope and oertain of its limitations. For manv of the reactions, mechanistic interpretations are s,lm provided, togpther with some mention of applioations in synthetic work. Finally, a short list of leading references, especially to more recent papers, is included with each entry. Although a different selection of reactions might be preferred (cf. review of the first edition by F. G. Bordwell, J. CKEM. EDUC.,32, 339 [19551), those presented here constitute on the whole a rather useful and widely applied group. On the other hand, though readably written, this book is by no means an authoritative or critioal account of the material it covers, nor is it always a reliable guide to the literature. For example, the mechanism shown on page 207 for the Reissert (aldehyde synthesis) reaction is no longer considered correct; in fact, the currently accepted meohanism is contained in one of the references cited. In addition, the reference lists are frequently marred by miaspelled or incomplete citations of authors' names or initials.
Smith's College Chemistry
Edited by William F. Ehret, New York University. 7th ed. Appleton-CenturyCrafts, Inc., Xew York, 1960. viii 944 pp. Figs. and tables. 16.5 X 24 cm. $7.75.
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The latest edition of this ndl-knonn text has been rewritten and reorganized to modernize its approach. This has involved earlier introduction of atomic structure, treatment of theoretical concepts in the first half of the text and a study of the elements by periodic groups in the second half, and specialized topics (electrochemistry, organic chemistry, transmutation) st the end of the book. This arrangement permits students to undertake qualitative andysis in the laboratory during the latter half of the course. Much greater emphasis has been placed upon the correlation between chemical properties and atomic structure. Many new illustrations stress the structural features of atoms, molecules, and crystals. There is 8. plentiful supply of exercises accompanying each chapter, many of them numeriertl. Some of these have answers included. The appendix includes lop: tables and s. section on significant figures. Each major subdivision of a chapter has been given a section number to permit assignment of specific sections, thus enhancing the flexibility of the text. Some chapters have summary or review sections. The reviewer aould have preferred that the sections on Rate of Reaction be included with the chapter on Chemical Equilibrium instead of with Hydrogen, and that the Liquid State be discussed in s chapter separate from Tater and Hydrogen Peroxide. The text is well written and its format is pleasing. For an otherwise modern approach, perhaps too much emphasis is placed on the la^ of conservation of mass, combining and multiple proportions, etc. While these eonrepta are of historical importance, they heoome rather obvious in the light of our present knosledge of the atom. Considering the recent column on textbook errors (J. CHEM.EDEC., 38, 480 [1961]) the interpretation of the paddlewheel Crookes tube (p. 44) should be revised or removed. Otherwise, the treatment of atomic structure is excellent. Oxidation-reduction receives its deserved emphasis throughout the hook. (Continued on page A494)
BOOK REVIEWS However, the text does not make a clear diatinction between valence and oxidation number or oxidation state. The system of nomenclature recommended by the IUPAC and by Chemical Abstracts has been adopted. The discussion of the gas laws and kinetic theory is lucid. Its only flaw is the solution of gas law problems by substitution in a. formula rather than by the "common sense" method of setting up the pressure or temperature ratios to give the results predioted by Boyle's or Charles' Law. The chapters on the elements are interesting and authoritative. The t r e a t ment of a few topics deeerves special commendation, e.g., the disoussion of the electrolysis of water is especially good; the information on the Haber process is particularly helpful in applying Le Chatelier's principle; and the explanation of semioondurtors and their use in transistors is simply but effectively done. I n summary, this is a. text to be highly recommended for students of average or better background and ability in a traditional college chemistry course. Although i t is too long to be covered completely in mast courses, its arrangement is such that flexibility in ohoioe of topics is readily permitted. Even in cases where it is not chosen as a textbook, thia volume belongs on the reference shelf of every general chemistry instructor. ALBERTINE KROHN Uninersity of Toledo Toledo, Ohio Russian-English Chemical Dictionary Eurene A. Carpovich and Vera V. C a p oich. Technical Dictionaries Co., New York, 1961. 352 pp. 20.5 X 13.5 cm. $14. The Carpovioh team bas produced another Russian-English dictionary which is not a mere clerical job of reversing an English-Russian dictionary. Presenting about 29,000 terms (publisher's count) in 352 double-column pages, i t contributes more t,han a mere alphabetid sequence became cross-references frequently guide aearchers t o congeners, synonyms, ant* nyms, borrowed words rtnd their Russian equivalents, ete. Theoretical and applied chemistry receive apparently impartial attention; "applied" is interpreted broadly enough to include many engineering terms from the ohemical process industries. Since Russian literature freely uses Western trade names and trivial names, their entries here are helpful, espeoially since the borrowed name is not always identical with the original when transliterated back into English. Abbreviations formed from component letters of a name are tricky enough in the original language; when Russianized, sometimes from the borrowed English name rtnd sometimes from a native equivalent, readers need the aid given by this dictionary. Many abbreviations of more conventional character are also entered.
A494
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Journal of Chemicol Education
There are occrtsiond errors in nomenclature which should have been caught in editing; thus, benzilamin is no more equivalent to toluidin in Russian than are benzylamine and toluidine in English (p.30). There are oceilsional, but not frequent, misprints in both languages, e.g., backetrap for blackstrap (p. 152), and adenatin for adenozin (p. 11). There are even a. few lapses from good English usage, e.g., vehicle-motor for motor vehicle (p. 10). But these minor defects will not distract any alert reader from effective reference use of this dictionary as a supplement t o general vocabulary dictionaries and the dictionaries of other arts and sciences. Presumably such wrinkles will be ironed out in a later edition. Amerioan chemists who are not within easy reach of an academio oourse in Russian oan begin reading current Russian chemical literature earlier in their selfstudy if they will make judioious use of a good dictionary like this along with their guides to the essence of the language.
JULIAN F. SMITE hoir-Rhyne College Hickory, North Carolina
Radical Polymerization John C. Beuingtm, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England. Academic Press, Ino., New York, 1961. 188 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 x viii 24cm. $6.
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Although this book is a. rather slim one as modern chemistry books go, it is one whioh is well worth reading. The author has selected homogeneous free radical vinyl polymerization as a. type of reaction whioh has been most intensively studied and one which ran, therefore, be understood in mare detail than many free radical reactions. From this understanding one can gain insight into these other less well explored areas. The aim of the book is t o present a coherent survey of what i8 known (up to mid-1960) about the mechanism of eaoh step in the polymerization of the typical vinyl monomer, and to point out the variations caused in this typical pattern by chemical differences in the case of individual monomers, transfer agents, eto. The unit steps, such as initiation, growth, transfer, termination, etc., are oonsidered in good detail with plentiful literature references in separate chapters. This approach allows the presentation of many side reactions and secondary effects in their relation t o the main reaction. The effect of experimentally variable conditions is also seen for eaoh step. For example, the chapter on growth reactions covers the effects of: Temperature and pressure (with appropriate thermodynamio discussion for each), viscosity, and nature of reacting species. This lest includes headto-tail, head-to-head, etc., modes of addition, as well as polymerization of ionized and unionized species. From a discussion of copolymerization the effects of the polar nature of the monomer and radical, and steric factors are presented. Finally, systems of multiple double bonds offer
further evidence on orientation and resonance effects during the chemical reaction which is the growth step. The comhination of several such chapters gives a wellknit, technically accurate book which is a pleasure to read. In order to keep the hook within its selected limits some topics such as the determination of absolute rate constants and the presentation of much formal kinetic development have been omitted. These may be found elsewhere, e.g., in "The Kinetics of Vinyl Polymerization by Radical Mechanism" bv Brtmford. Barb. Jenkins and Onyon (Academic o re is, N& York [19581). The book assumes ss B background some knowledge of the chemistry of free radicals and of the formation of high polymers. Thus it will be of interest to some college seniors and more advanced readen in these fields. I t should be especially useful for a. teacher who wishes to include some discussion of t,hese topics in an advanced course and needs a comprehensive survey of a rapidly growing field. THOMAS E.FERINOTON, W . R. Grace & Co. ClmksviJb, Maryland
Pharmaceutical Analysis Edited hy Takeru Higuchi, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Einar Bmehmann-Hanssen, University of California, San Franoisco. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New Pork, 1961. ix + 854 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 cm. 528.50. This hook combines in a well-planned and accurately executed form the theories and practices of modem drug assay. I t contains workable procedures which are in use today in our large pharmaceutical laboratories. Special adaptations of classical analytioal procedures are given in detail so that the active components of drug pmduots may be determined in the presence of interfering drugs, vehicles and diluents, as well as in the presence of certain degradation product,^. The classification used is a chemical one except where the antipyretic bases, the antibiotics and the vitamins are considered. A chapter of particular interest is that on the metal-containing organic compounds. Seventeen specialist authors have contributed to this treatise thereby assuring the accuracy and current nature of the contents. The book ie printed on good paper, not glossy, the type is clear, the tables are well organized and clearly presented. The proceduree are easy to read and easy to fall on^. This text should find aide use in the pharmaceuticd industry and also sewe as a reference book in most analytical laboratories where new or improved product control procedures are being developed College of Pharmacy Liniumsity of Houston Houston, Tezan (Continued on page A496)
