book reviews \Vhilr 1 . l ~new crliliotr nf "Chemirnl Pt.occss Ind,~stries" ~.clninsthe fol.mnt of previous edit,ions, t,here has been n major revision of the text, material. l l o s l , if not all t,he chemicd process indnstry d o scriptions incarparnle new data on nse and eosl statistics in broad fovm, show the correlstiou of unit aperntions and m i t processes, and present energy, power, and raw material reqoirements. Many of t h e flow sheets have been revised and brought, up-to-date and are easier to read than those in previous editions. Throughout the book major emphasis is placed on the chemical conversions which are basic t o the indust,ry. Literdly thousmds of references are cit,ed, many a? late 3s 1006. Few if any readers will agree completely with the author on the space given or not. given to this or that pnrticulnr industry. For example, this reviewer feels i h a t t,he twent,y-eight pages devoted to The Petrochemienl Industry is not a t all indicative of its scope or relative importance. Nevert,heless, one earl only bo impressed wit,h both qrmntitative and qunlitnt,ive aspects of Dr. Shreve's overall preaent,ation. Some chapters have been condensed and combined; new chnplers have been added on such important and growing indus1,rie xs one finds in the nuclear, agrichemicd, petrochemical, and pharmace~~t,ical businewes. All other chapters have been thoroughly revised and lipdnt,ed.
A446
/
Journal o f Chemicol Education
There is n u qnoslion but t,hat n copy of this t,hird edilion of "Chemical P~.occss 1ndui;tries" will be a worlh-while addition to the libmsy of st,rdertt, prnfessur, and cunsult,nnt. I t will not give anyono full infotmmtion about any industry hut i t gives mtich in lit,lle space-no words are wasted. Arleqrmte and up-to-date refel.. errces are given fnr those who want more dctnilcd infotmstian.
ftd dealer in chcrnical pmdurts, bnt ihc Iwo did not see eye t o eye, nnd some months Inlev the elder ITnber told his son: " C h 10 a w,iversit,y. You do not belong in l~~aines*." Aftev a sray a1 the Universit.y of Jenn, where he did not. implws his supel.im., he t t m s f e l x d t o Karlslrthe where he really began hi.; career. TIis st,udies of the elmking of oils led t,o his first bnok and habilitation as P~.ivntdnsent, ( = ~lnsalariedinsttuetor). He then took W. A. C O N N I N G H . ~11p physical chemical studies, a field in The Uniwsil?, of Texas which he was vil.tually self-taught though at Austin, 78719 eve~ltirallyhe became one of the t,wo lending physical chemisls (especially in elecThe Story of Fritz Haber trochemistry and thermodynamics) in Germany. The other was Walter Nemst, Mowis Goyan, Iloosevelt University, wibh whom he feuded until they both were Chicago. University of Oklahoma well along in yeam, when they decided t o Press, Norman, 3067. xi 212 pp. relinqnish w~chimmalure feelings. Habet. Photogr~phs. 14 X 21 em. $4.95. in time became head of the department. a t Karlsruhe and then in 1912 moved to This biography is most timely; Fritz Ilahlern, n srtbnrh of nerlin, whwc he Flabel. was horn a t Breslau on I)ecember!l, headed t,he newly created national vesenrch 1868. He was trained in chemistry at, institute. IIere he t ~ ~ r n eout d firnt-c1as.i va~.iousuniversities and in 1X!l1 t,oak his research and trained many physical doctorate 11nder Karl Liebemmnn, i.e., chemists. IIe was forced into exile in 1933 he was well grounded in organic ehemist,ry. hy t,he lliller regime and died in Swi1.mThough his thesis was excellent,, he harely land on Janmwy 20, 1934. passed the f i n d oral examination, showing This biogvaphy was written for the a vast igno~.nnee of physical rhemist,ry. genelxl public rather than fov chemists. His application t o entor Ostwsld's depart,. This is as it should he, heenne Haher wm ment a t Leipsig was inrned down. After also an ndminishatoi, soldier, eeonomi.;l, completing' his.rnilitnry service he t,ook a and poet. Ile lect,wed flnently in Freuch number of industl.inl pnsilions and also and English and was well aeqoainted with spent a semestgr. xl: Zurich where he lenmed al,out. teehvicnl chemist,ry. He (Continued on page A450) thuu went to work lov his fnthw, a sllrcess-
+
book reviews political, and academic reasons since act,ually he had not been interested either in Judaism or its related problems even as a. young man. He was a strong personality, insisting that he be recognized for his position and his accomplishments; he was a leader and organizer. His first wife, like himself 8. trained chemist, had already
stacles werevput in their way. w heirs was not a romantic attachment; he was negleetfd, and she had no desire to become a housewife. They disagreed about many things and particularly about the use of poison gas. I n a fit of depression she took her own life. Some years later, he, now 49, married a girl of nineteen. This marriage ended in divorce in 1927. There were three children in all; one, a son, by the first marriage, wished to become a. lawyer. His father urged him to become a scientist; they compromised and Hermann became a patent attorney. Haher's greatest success undoubtedly was his mceessful synthesis of ammonia from the elements. This great feat brought him not only an msored income and the Nobel Prize but also provided the farmers in all countries with a reliable source of nitrogen fertilizers and furthermore enabled Germany to continue World War I. During this great conflict Haher became head of the German Chemical Warfare service and wa3 much chagrined because the General Staff refused to give him a military rank compatible with the position. Despite the fact that Germany was a signatory of the international convention abjuring the use of poison gas in warfare, Haber planned and supervised the employment of chlorine on the battlefields of Belgium and Russia. The results actually were of little significance, but they earned far him and the Germans an intense opprobrium that he never lived down. Haber's most disappointing effort came aiter the war when he bad the idea of paying off the immense reparations demanded by the Allies with gold derived from seawater. But extensive studies showed clearly that nowhere was the concentration great enough to warrant the expense of extracting the gold. The author has discussed all these and many other points in fine readable style. He has thoughtfully provided an extensive bibliography of published work bath by Haber and abont him. The book ia highly recommended to chemists a t all grades and also to those readers who are interested in the story of a gifted man who firmly believed that scientific generaliaations m d facts discovered in the labaratory should he made the basis of advances that benefit the general public. Ramn E. OESPER Universily of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio
A450
/
...... .
Journal of Chemical Educofion
