basis for all attempts a t mineral classification in classical and medieval times. I t is thus of interest not only to the historian of science, hut to all who wonder how the scientific mind can operate when the basic factual knowledge is scanty. The present edition is extremely well done. The Greek text is short, and so both text and translation occupy only H small part of the book. The commentary makes up the main portion and discusses in detail the many prohlems which puzzle s modern reader. It is here that a picture of the knowledge of the Greek scientist is actually obtained. Both a. Greek and an English indcx complete a valuable seholarly work. HENRY 11. LEICESTER C O G L Eor ~ EP x ~ s ~ c ~ *rsaosS u n c m ~ s S*N FR*NCIBCO, CILIIORNI*.
SIXTH SYMPOSIUM (INTERNATIONAL) ON COMBUSTION The Combustion Institute. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 1957. xxv 943 pp. Many figs. and tables. 18 X 26 cm. $28.
+
A NECES~ITY for the researcher, this book belongs in s n g library guaranteeing to supply timely reference material to the professor or ~ t u d e n t . I t reports papers bg 216 authors from 10 countries. Flamr phenomena provide clues to both the kinetics and thcrmodynnmics of high temperature -reactions. Analytical techniques which have been devised to investigate such problems and direct applications of combustion studies have implicstions for all fields of chemical research. Good figures and photographs complement the well-edited t ~ x t , . W.F.K.
THROUGH ALCHEMY TO CHEMISTRY The Macrnillan Ca., New York, 1957. x i 206 pp. 49 figs. 13 X 19 om. $3.75.
John Reod.
+
PROFESSOR Read is well known for his readable texts on organic chemistry and for his historical studies on the humanistic aspects of alchemy and ehemistry. I n this small volume he deals with the development of chemical ideas from the beginnings of alchemy through the development of s t r u c t ~ morganic l chemistry in the second half of the nineteenth century. The book is not m oreanized historv of early chemistry although it extensively explores the alchemical background of modern ehemistry. Eight of the 10 chapters deal with alehem," and it is here that the author's interests serve to clarify those mysteries that the casual reader finds in the dehemical literature. Professor Read has long had a great interest in alchemical symbolism, particularly as revealed in the a r t which i~ s. part of many of the early printed w x k s on the subject. He also understands the interrelationships between alchemy, phi(Continued on page Ad.94)
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
