"There are two main additions t o the subject matter this year. Several tables of chemical symbols and abbreviations have been added: these symbols were recently published a s British Standards, and are based on a report of a Joint Committee of the Chemical Society, the Faraday Society, and the Physical Society. Last year, a dictionary of Raw Materials for the Paint and Allied Industries was introduced; this has been substantially augmented, and new products included. "There is included an index to the whole subject-matter of the book; the improved form of 'thnmb-index' t o the sections has been retained, as i t has proved entirely successfnl. "The inclusion of a Table of Physical Constants of Inorganic and Organic Compounds, an entirely new section of new matter specially compiled for CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES, andnever previously published as one, and the bringing of the indexes to the front of the book, including (1) the firms whose advertisements extend and complement the editorial information, and (2) the products made by these firms. were new features in 1937. "A considerable amount of care has been devoted t o the classification of the contents. The book is divided into ten sections, each one dealing with some particular phase of plant construction or manufacturing process. Thus, for example. Section I gives an account of the various materials used in plant construction, their mechanical and chemical properties, and data regarding methods of working and resistance to corrosion; whilst Section IV deals with size reduction and mixing and blending of solids, and outlines briefly the principles underlying these operations and their application as illustrated by wellknown forms of mills and mixers. . Wherever possible, quantitative relationships have been expressed in the form of simple equations or relevant tabulated data. "Owing to limitations of spsce the treatment of fundamental processes such as grinding, filtering, and evaporating has necessarily had to be condensed. I t is hoped, however, that the information given will be valuable in indicating the type of plant heat suited to carrvinr" out anv oneration and the . narticular . important points to look for when p u r r h n h g plant. Sumeruus rcfcrrncrs to current litcmture arr givrr~in the text and 3 c o n yletr bibliography of technolo~icalworks is also inrludcd.. . "
compaunds (twenty-three p a p s ) , and finally fivechaptersonspecia1 topics (ninety-eight pages). Electronic formulas are used mare freely than in the first edition, but only when it is sound pedogogy to do so. An excellent exposition of the concept of resonance is given in connection with the structure of guanidinium salts. The non-existence of electronic isomers, the shortened internuclear distances between atoms and energy relationships are used to give an experimental approach t o an understanding of the concept of resonance only in those particular cases where it is really important and useful. The chapters an special topics give the beginning student the essential information concerning vitamins, sterols, sex hormones, synthetic drugs, proteins, plant and animal pigments, and stereochemical tooics. An excellent index is orovided. The book is designed for use in a full year's course in organic chernisrryand fullill. its purpose. The textual mntter is not only well mitten technically but the prercntntion is interesting and attractive t o the student. ~~
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U - B B ~ ~ T YOR ILLINOIS URBAN&1~1.1~01s
TEXTBOOK on ORGANICCHEMISTRY.E. Werthcim. P. Blakiston's Son & Co., Inc.. Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. 1939. xiv 830 pp. 15 X 23 cm. "This baok presents material for a two-semester course in the theory of organic chemistry. I t is intended t o serve the needs of students who will major in chemistry or specialize in organic chemistry, also of those who are enrolled in premedical or chemical engineering coursesm-from the author's Preface. This book has much t o commend i t as a textbook of elementary organic chemistry. I n the first place, having appeared in two previous editions (in mimeographed form) which were widely used aver a period of many years, it has behind it the test of actual use. I n hook form the value of the work is greatly enhanced by greater readability, abundant illustrations and the more liberal use of graphic formulas, and by some expansion of the material covered. Attention may be drawn particularly to the large number of half-page portraits of leading organic chemists of the past and present. Extensive use is made'bf reaction charts t o indicate inter-relationships of compounds and of diagrams t o illustrate stereochemical points. At the end of each chapter are James Bryant Con- given review questions and a short bibliography of recent literaM CHEMISTRY OF ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. ant, President of Harvard University, formerly Sheldon ture, the Latter including for the most part only articles published Emery Professor of Organic Chemistry. Revised with the as- in the journals of the American Chemical Society. I n order t o sistance of Max Tirhler, Research Chemist, Merck and Com- make the subject as attractive as possible t q students whose inpany. The Matmillan Company. New York City, 1939. terest in orpanic chemistrv is not for its o w n h k e h-eonent referRevised Edition. x 658 pp. 14 X 21.3 c r q W.00. a c t . is made to the newer dcvclopmcntr in industrial processes The revised edition of this excellent textbook will be welcomed and products and to cornpounds of chieEy biological or medical by all teachers of organic chemistry. It is an up-to-date treatise interest. The arrangement of subject matter is orthodox, that is to say, which will be very useful. The authors have altered the treatment of certain subjects and condensed the space devoted to a few the author begins a t once with the paraffin hydrocarbons and topics in order t o make room for recent developments in organic deals systematically with the common aliphatic types, thereafter chemistry. By this means new material on valence, resonance with aromatic types, and finally with-special types (dyes, pro~.and so forth). The onlv deviations from the arraneement and energy relationships as well as the chemistry of hormones, teins. vitamins, sugars, proteins, and other biochemical compounds have by structural types nrc that thc Grigmrd and Friedel-Crafts rebeen included without making the book unbalanced or unwieldy action~are dealt with in a separate chapter and the suhject of and with an increase of only thirty-one pages of text over the optical activity is discurscd in a w r y brief c h r p t ~ rwhich scrvcs as an introduction t o the chapter on carbohydrates. Noteearlier edition. The general order of treatment in the first half of the book is worthy additions to the usual subject content are the chapter on unchanged. Basic principles are stressed, and the experimental the identification of organic compaunds and a lengthy, but valubasis of structural formulas emphasized. The alcohols are taken able, appendix which contains among other things, industrial up first, followed by alkyl halides, esters, ethers, hydrocarbons, flow sheets, a chronological table, notes on nomenclature, and a acids, aldehydes and ketones, polyhalogen compounds, deriva- table of physical constants. The book is uncommonly lengthy for an introductory text. tives of ammonia, and polyfunctional compounds. Anidea of the general distribution of subject matter is indicated by the fact that This is partly a consequence of the wider variety of reactions this material constitutes about one-half of the baok (three hnn- dealt with, and partly a consequence of the more detailed treatdred nineteen pages out of six hundred twenty-five pages of ac- ment of the reactions. It is almost inevitable that in treating tual text) and orovides a sound foundation of reactions and svn- these reactions in more detail than usual the book should occathrses. T h e chemistry of nromatic compound.i is takcn up ncxt sionally rise above the elementary level. Thus, for example, in (one hundred forty-sevcn pages) followal by alicyclic compound> connection with the formation of primary amines by the Hafmann including terpcnes and sterols (thirty-right pager), heterocyclic degradation of amides it is pointed out (footnote, page 291), for ~
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