Chemical Publications: and Ura
Their Nature
M . G. Mellon, Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. 4th ed. McGrawHill Book Co., New York, 1965. xi 324pp. 16 X 23.5 om. $9.50.
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This fourth edition of the well-known classic in chemical literature follows the plan of the third edition with the intention of presenting the current status of chemical literature and chemical documents, tian. Professor Mellon first discusses the kinds of questions taken to a chemical library; second, descrihes the different kinds of pnblicstions; third, explains methods of making literature searches; and fourth, offers problems to give the student practical experience in using these publications. Although the s i ~ eand arrangement continue the same as in the previous edition, this edition has been revised to include new publications in both theoretical and applied chemistry and related fields such as molecular biology and physics. The three types of publications described are primary, secondary, and tertiary sources. The primary sources discussed include periodicah; institutional pnhlica tions consisting of public documents, federal, foreign, the United Nations, state, and report.? of nongovernmental institutions; patents; and miscellaneous contributions of dissertations and manufacturer's technical publications. Chapters covering the secondary sources describe periodicals and serials including index serials, abstracting jomnals, and review serials; bibliographies; works of reference consisting of formula indexes, tabular compilations, dictionaries and encyelopedias, formularies and treatises, and monographs and t,extbooks. The tertiary soirces are guides and directories composed of general guides, biographical works, scientific and technical societies, book lists, languttge dictionaries, laboratory planning and administration, directories and trade catalogues, and financial data. Among the changes in this edition which make the book easier to use are the improvements in the format and the change to numbering the footnotes consecutively in each chapter rather than by et~chpage. I n the chapters covering primary sources, the section on government puhlications has been revised to include new titles and a list of Regional Technical Report Centers. A description of the United States patent syst,em has been brought up-to-date with useful informs tion on how to make a patent search and with a new section on mechanized searching. Primary sources in the section discussing dissertations and manufacturer's technical publicatioos have been expended to contain house organs, brochures, pamphlets, symposia, and preprints. Secondary and tertiary sources have been revised. Additional titles of guides and directories have been included, and works dealing with laboratory planning and sources for obtaining financial data. are new features of this edition. Making Searches in the Chemical Literatwe. a c b a ~ t e rindicatine the location of chkmieal publications &d how to find and use them in a library, is especially
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beneficial to the research chemist and student making either a brief or extensive search of t,he literature. The nineteen problems in the last chapter are designed to give the student valuable experience in using the literature. The 2500 assignments for these problems are new and are among the most outstanding features of the fourth edition. For a hihliographieal type of work, the hook is remarkahly free of errors in dates and titles. I n the opinion of this reviewer, i t is an outstmding reference work as well as an up-to-date textbook. RUTHT . POWER University pf Illinois u~bana
The Mystery of MaWer
Edited by Louise B. Young. Oxford University Press, New York, 1965. xiii 712 pp. Prepared by the American Foundation for Continuing Education. Figs. and tsblc?. 16 X 23.5 em. 87.50.
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Louise B. Young has brought together effectively a classical gronp of previously published articles on matter, energy, biology, and society's attitudes concerning these. The book is divided into eleven parts. The early parts provide haekground material of a descriptive and expository nature; later parts provide responses to the subject matter and furnish religious, ph~losophical, and social views of the pressures put on society by teehnological achievements. Each part is concluded with a small group of provocative questions as well as suggestions for further reading. Biographies of authors, a well-composed glossary, and an adequate index complete the volume. Included are: Csn matter he measured?; Is matter infinitely divisible?; I s matter substance or form?; What is the secret of atomic energy?; I s the universe asymmetric?; What iis the origin of living m a 6 ter?; I s living matter immortal?; Does order arise from disorder?; What is life?; Will fallout affect the course of evolution?; Is science destroyer or creator? Contributions derive from writings of Ashford, h i m o v , Bacon, Beeker, Bergson, Bronowski, Costes, Compton, Conant, Curie, Dalton, Daniels, Dsnteig, Dubos, Einstein, Eiseley, Evans, Farrell, Gamow, Gray, Hddane, Hardin, Hecht, Heisenberg, Hoden, Holtan, Huxley (J.), Infeld, Jeans, Krutch, Latter, Leewenhoek, Lueretius, Mason, Mendel, MendelCeff, Miller, Moore, Morgenthau, Morrison, Muller, Murchie, Nash (Ogden), Oparin, Ovenden, Paoling, PaincarC, Pope, Rabinowitch, Romer, Schrodinger, Simpson, Singer, Sinnott, Smith, Spencer, Teller, Wald, Weisskopf, Wells (G. P.), Wells (H. G.) and Weyl. There is also a wntrihution by Charles Addms. The articles were selected by the editor to solidify the idea that "all aspects of reality [i.e., life and non-lifel-are part of a single continuous process." Attainment of this goal is attempted through a
synthesin and distillation of unifying concepts in the fields of physics, chemistry, and biology. I t is my opinion that there is still unfractionated material in this philosophical alembic. Do not fail to read Loren Eiseley's The Secret of Life wherein we find " .when the slime of the laboratory for the first time crawls under man's direction. the men who have become gods will pose austerely before the popping flashbulbs of news photogrs, phers, and there will be few to consider -so deep is the mind-set of a n agewhether the desire to link life to matter may not have blinded ns to the more remarkable characteristics of both" (p.
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334). ~~~
A typographical error appears on p. 374 where far "Darwin's experiments," one should read, "Mendel's experiments." I liked the discussion and examples by Holden and Singer d only one kind of disorder but many kinds of order (p. 227). But this is a t variance with the discussion by Gamow where he uses the term "more disorderly" (p. 426). Since entropy values are quantitat,ive measures of disorder, there mast be a multiplicity of kinds (or degrees) of disorder, and not just one kind of disorder. The problem is a semantic one, I hope. I recommend this hook to that considerable number of individuals, scientists and non-scientists alike, who need a mature philosophical orientation to the Nuclear and Nucleie Acid Age of Man. This is the kind of hook one would expect a liberal arts college to use in the science and humanit,ies portion of their curriculum. AY find note, the controversy between Pauling and Teller (with A. Latter) concerning atomic bomb testing is presented through their own writings. The principal aspect of d l this is really whether or not future generations will be injured (through genetic damage). The evolutionary trip has been tdrtuous. Eons, ions, pions, good-bye-ons! Let us he sane. Let us not start all over again.
JR. G. W. BROWN, University of Tezm Medical Branch Galveston Evolving Genes and Proteins
Edited by Vernon B r y s a and Henry J. Vogel, both of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Academic Press, Inc., New York, 1966. u i 629 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. 819.50.
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This volume is the most recent in a distinguished series of forward-looking symposia of the Institute of Microbiology of Rutgers University. It assembles new information relating to the evolution of proteins and of genes. The bookis dividedinto an introduction, two sessions on Evolution of (Metabolic) Pathways, three sessions on Evolution of Proteins, an evening lecture on degeneracy of the genetic code, and three sessions on Evolution of Genes. An idea of the contents may be obtained by brief extracts of the articles. Tatum's introduction on Evolution and Molecular Biology traces the history of (Catinued on page A646)
