BOOK REVIEWS
ways remember," in connection with de Broglie's work, that "for one correct guess there are innumerable wrong ones, generally made by people wishing t o teach without bothering to learn." The author presents a judicious, forward-looking view of quantum mechanics. Sprinkled through his pages are such remarks as "Quantum mechanics is completely analogous in one respect to classical mechanics: it studies laws of motion wit,hout concerning itself with what it is that moves," and "Quantum mechanics cannot answer a t all the question of what an electron is or what is its structure," and "When a theory of elementary particles is finally developed, it will no doubt change and extend the present-day concept of motion in quantum mechanics." The discossion of chemical bonding, like such discossions in most (all ?) hooks on ouantum mechanics. is not of immediate.
of panturn mechanics os a ~esullof the applications of an approximate method; it does no1 oeeu~in the ezael equations. I t seems possible that many students and teachers of chemistry would find owning and reading a copy of Kompmeyets int,roduction to quantum mechanics zn
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Journal of Chemical Education
illuminating, if not an unq~~estionahly profitable, experience. But the smell, slim volume would be expenswe s t half the price. HENRYA. BENT Uniuwsitu of Minnesota Mmneapolis
V d e n c e mnd the Structure of Atoms and Molecules
G. N . Ledis. With s. new Introduct,ion by Kenneth S. Pitrcr. Dover Publieations Inc., New York, 1966. 172 pp. Figs. and tables. 13.5 X 21.5 cm. Paperbound. $1.50.
G. N. Lewis was asked to write this book as an ACS monograph probably for two reasons; in 1923 he wa? t,he foremost authority on valence and the chemical bond and he was an outstanding lecturer and writer. After 40 years his book still presents the bmio concepts of the shared electron pair in an especially clew and concise way. This unaltered reprint of Lewis' classic monograph d l enable present day students of chemistry and physics to study the early development of valence theory and follow its progress to the present time.
J.ANETB. VANDOREN College of Wooster Wooster, Ohio
