book reviews
of British chemistry and a. man of considerable influence. He had taken secondclass honors in mathematicties in Balliol llomey pvesents a short background of the College in 1838, dabbled in law in his what,, why, and how of Schwab's "invitauncle's chambers in London, then studied tions," and then invites the teacher himchemistry with Liehig a t Giessen. His self to prepare and try out the technique. work on beeswax established the existence Part I1 is a seleotion of readings from of solid dclcohols homologous with the professional science education journals known fluid alcohols. In his private labwhich have s, deliberate bias toward oratory in London he taught chemistry learning science by discovery. The readand initiated research on peroxides which, ings are grouped topically; they reflect in 1863 a t Oxford, culminated in the the best current thinking by recognized discovery of explosive organic peroxides. experts. Brodie was n. believer in atoms during Romey states in the preface that the the early part of his career but by the hook can he used by. undergraduates, time chemists were applying Avogadro's graduate students, and by practicing hypothesis and making an effort to create teachers. The undergraduate will benefit a structural chemistry Brodie had serious least from the book, due mainly to the misgivings about the place of the atomic lack of classroom experience. The gradtheory in chemistry. In 1866 he puhuate student, often a practicing teacher, lished the first part of his "Calculus of can derive great benefit by attempting Chemical Operations," a subject which he some of the activities to extend his techamplified during the next decade. Alnique and style repertory. though his philosophical positivism cansed The mzin message of the book urges the him to reject atoms, he could not deny science teacher to broaden his effectivethe importance of equivalent weights. ness, to take advvantage of the attitude He sought to dwelop s. mathematical that brought him into science and science treatment for ohemical operations, reteaching: to ezperiment! jecting chemical symbols but creating a JOSEPHS. SCHMVCKLEB mathem&ctical symbolism of his own. Brodie, like other anti-atomists, felt that Departmat of Seiaee Education mathematical laws should thke the place Temple University of causal explanations. There was dso a. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania lack of faith in entities which are unobservable. The CHEM Study Story This book, consisting of two papers, The Atomic Debates by Brock and I). M. Richard J . Mewill and David W . RidgKnight, and The Chemical Caleuhm of way, both of the University of CaliforSir Benjamin nrodie by D. M. 1)allm; nia, Berkeley. Foreword by Glenn T. Seaborg, U.S.A.E.C. W. H. Freeman and 162 Co., San Francisco, 1969. xi pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24 cm. $2.50.
phis a collection of letter8 between Brock and, among others, Odling, Williamson, JohnHershel, Hofmann, and Crum Brown; and an appendix by Brack on Comte, Williamson and Brodie, is a perceptive case study of a eul de sac in the history of chemistry. Despite the fact that Brodie's chemical calculus proved unfruitful in the development of chemistry, this study is a worthy one for i t helps to reveal the true nature of science. All too often students gain the impression that science is a glorious series of success stories. Occasionally looking a t the failures helps to reveal the way in which understanding of science really develops. This study shows Brodie not to be a fool hut quite sound in the position he espoused at the time.
J. IHDE AARON University of Wisconsin Madison
Dictionary of Organic Compounds, Fourlh Supplement, 1968
Edited by R. Skuens. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, New York, 1968. 248pp. 20.5 X 27 cm. $24. The Fourth Supplement incorporates new material published in and before 1967 with the majority of entries being derived from papers published in 1967. The nomenclature used for lipids and for modified and synthetic polypeptides con-
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Seldom is a project a worthy subject for a biography. The magnitude of the CHEM Study effort would almost he a sufficientlyvalid reason for miting such a book. The subseqnent effect of the program on secondary education confirms the value of this record of how the project was accomplished. It is an "inside" story, hut told with candor and restraint. Though some may object to the number of times the adjective "enthusiastic" appears, any who were involved know how truly it can be applied. The reader will find both anecdotes and facts. Almost half the volume is devoted to appendixes, much of it tabular information. The many individuals who contributed portions of their professional lives to the creation of CHEM Study will be eager readers. Any who contemplate a participation in a similar curriculum revision ought to he.
The Atomic Debater. Brodie and the Rejection of the Atomic Theory
Edited by W. H. Broek, University of Leicester, England. Leicester Uni186 pp. 14.5 versity Press, 1967. ix X 22 cm. $4.90.
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As Professor of Chemistry s t Oxford from 1855 to 1872, Benjamin Collins Brodie (1817-80) wa? in the mainstream Volume 46, Number 9, September 1969
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