APRIL, 1955
229
There is an amazing amount of information packed into this small volume, ranging from the mechanical properties of cork to an ingenious heurist,ic derivation of the Fermi distribution. Polishing of gems and the behavior of transistors, the pyroelcctric effect of tourmaline rtnd the ferroeluctrie properties of the titnnates are other typical subjects. No detailed derivations arc given; on the other hand, enough theory is included so that an interested reader knows where t o go for further information. This hook was not designed as a textbook for an elementary course in the physics of solids and naturally cannot be recommended as such. It can, however, he recommended as supplementary reading for a course in phyfiiesl or advanced inorganic chemistry, and as s. useful reference book for physical chemists, especially those who know how to compute the resonance onorgy of gmphite but do not know why graphite fail8 as a luhriesnt on eommutat,ors in d.-c. grnerators on planes at high altitudes. RAYMOND M . FUOSS Y*LE UN~VERSITI Nm" H*VEN.C O N N B ~ I C U T
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SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIAL CHEMICAL DEVELOPMENT
Edited by H. M. Corky, Armour and Companv. Chicaqo. John Wiley 6 Sons, Inc., New York, 1954. nor 374 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $7.75.
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work of a. committee and doe8 not represent the method of operation of any company.'' Herein lies both the weakness and strength of the hook. I t deals in generdities, though occasionally reference is made to the operetion of a specific company. With a corps of newly 75 co-workers, Mr. Corloy could have obtained interesting and illustrative examples galore, but aoparentlv the chapter committees did not wish to prai~iseor ridicule any company for its right and wrong oammitments. The fahle of how the Chinese learned to cook pork is discumed in connection with basic research. Are not there more appropriate euamples? Because the book is a graup effort, each chapter does include a general view of the wactice of the major chemical comoaniea. l i t h i s way u new or&nizstion can sel& that part whieh best meets its needs, or the instructor in chemical eeconomics can present a broad point of view to his students. The need for a chemical marketing research group is firmly impressed on the reader, and then, in a broad way, the boak follows the new chemical product from its inception to its bulk shioment. The prohlems of trade names, advertising, pricing, toxicology, safety, and the like are discussed from the point of vicw of the market development division. Here is s. book that will give much in chemical or chemiealengineering economics. I t is too had that the editors will not publish a. case-history book of good and bad examples to accompany this book, t o illustrate and stress the points being made. KENNETH A. KOBE U N Z V E R S01. ~Y TEXU A ~ ~ T I TexM ".
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GENERAL CHEMISTRY
W.Norton Jones,
Jr., Professor of chemist^.^, McMurry College Abilene. Texas. The Blaldston Co., Inc., New York, 1954. ix 906 pp. 6 9 tables. 16 X 2 4 cm. $6.50.
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THISfirst-year college chemi~trytextbook is "suitahle for use bv erouns comoo~edboth of strident8 who have had hick-schod
and colloid chemistry, with bits of analytical and physical chemistry interspersed. Most of the theoretical material, such as atomic structure, periodic classification of the elemen&, states of matter, chemical equilibria, and so on, is found in the first half of the book, and constant references are made to i t in the descriptive material, some chapters of whieh are interspersed in the first half of the boak. The usual procedure of studying oxygen rtnd hydrogen early in the course is not followed. Instead, sodium and chlorine, as excellent examples of a metal and a. nonmetal, are the first elements to receive consideration, Most of the elements, including oxygen, are studied as members of families, with the elements of the third period given first consideration because "these elements, besides showing periodic variations well, are of great industrial value and serve well to emphasize the practical aspects of chemistry." The author realizes that the 900 pages of material cannot be covered in one year, and so especially the last half of the baok is organized 60 that parts of chapters or whole chapters may be omitted or reordered without causing- a serious break in the continuity. The book, abundantly and excellently illustrated with drsnings and pictures, is printed on high-grade slick paper. Appended to each chapter is a list of book and periodical relerencee, and a aeries of exercises. The exercises, consisting of questions, problems, and equations, artre extensive and varied, giving the instructor a wide choice of material. This tcvt is written t o suit a variety of needs and certain1.v should he examined for class adoption by the many schools who still teaob qeneml chemistry to freshmen. If not used ss a text. it will serve as an excellent reference book for freshmen and more advanced undergraduates. H. A. MEYER
C o ~ c o n o uT ~ ~ c n z n COLLEGE r SEW*RD.N.BR*.x*
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COMPREHENSIVE INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. VOLUME 3: THE HALOGENS
Robert C. Brosted. Edited by M. Cannon Sneed, J. Lewis Maynord, and Robert C. Brosted, University of Minnesota. D. Van Nostrand Co., Ino., New York, 1954. x 250 pp. Tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $5.
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THIS book hy Professor Brasted emphasizes tho descriptivr chemistry of the halogens with no attempt a t being an exhaustive or advanced treatise. There results from the distillation of the voluminous literature on this subject a well rounded perspective of the chemical and physical behavior of the halogens. Modern structural theory is used to elucidate the often perplexing properties of this graup. The elemental properties of fluorine, chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine are initially treated, followed by chapters on the hydrohalides, the oxyeompounds, the positive halogens, the interhalogens, and polyhalide complexes. Having developed the "halide character" the author logically enters the domain of the nonhalogen-containing pseudohalogens to conclude the book. There is a liheral sprinkling of historical, geologicd, and industrial asprets of halogen chemistry which enhance the readability of the volume. The baok, like its two predecessors, will probably serve more as collateral reading in advanced undergraduate courses in inorganic chemistry than ss a reference boak on the research chemist's shelf. Nevertheless, the practicing chemist who has last contact with the halogens will be rewarded by a perusal of such topics aa the relatiotionahip of color to iodine chemistry and the properties of astatine. EDWARD D. GOLDBERO OFNOCEANORRAPHY S c m s ~ aI N B T ~ T U T ~ O L A .TOLL*. C*T.r~onrr,*
