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the Br6nsted model are emphasized. Precinitation reactions are also investigated. 'chapter 16 uses the properties o?oxygen as an entry to molecular orbital theory and also as an entry tooxidation-reduction reactions. The "large molecule" chapters now follow: Chapter 11-Proteins; Chapter 18Carbohydrates; Chapter 19-DNA and RNA; Chapter %Lipids and Membranes; and Chanter 21-Svnthetic Polvmers. These areintended tdanolv the chimistrv developed m the previous chapters to top~cs of current Interest The author's uses of these chapters were pointed out above. Chapter 22 on nuclear reactions is presented as one approach the authors would try if they were to include this topic in their course. A comoanion volume. Notes to Teachers. is available and will prove useful It presents the author's philosophy and ideas on the course for which the book is des~gned.Some suggestions on testing and grading are included. Especially valuable are the materials from the laboratory portion of the author's course. Adopters are free t o use these materiala in any way including duplicating them. In the review copy I spotled about 18 typographical errors and one factual error, none of which is likely to Lead the reader too far astray. For some inexplicable reason, the conversion constant from OC to K is given on page 14 four times and again on oaee 16 as 273.16 (the triple point tekperat&e?or HzO) rather than thecorrect 273.15 which is used later on page 237. In some ways this hook is unconventional and possibly unique. For example, the authora do not hesitate to use scientific terms in context hefore they are defined or discussed in detail. In fact, thev state that this is their intent. I suspect tgt the approach taken will be more of a "prohlem" for prospective adopters than for their students. Thisbmk is qualitative rather than quantitative, but it is not so qualitative that it becomes trivial. The type course for which the hook is intended is a challenge to both student and instructor. This challenge will remain regardless of the textbook used. However, I would recommend this book be given serious consideration as one that could make it a rewarding challenge. B. F. Walker Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX 75962
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Gmelins Handbuch der theoretischen Chemle. Jubillumsausgabe LeopoM Gmelin. 2nd faithful facsimile reprint of the 1st edition 1817-1819. 3 vols. in slipcase. Springer-Verlag: Berlin. Heidelberg, New York. 1988. xxiv 1088 pp. 11.8 X 19.8 cm. DM 118: $39.00.
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The bicentenary of the birth of Leopold Gmelin (1788-1853), the first chemist to evaluate and uiticallv analvze the results published in the primary chemical literature, wascommemorated in 1988 by various activities designed to publicize this 19th-
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century scientist's pioneering achievements. On July 14,1988, the Deutsche Bundespost issued an 80-pfennig special postage stamp hearing Gmelin's portrait and signature. On August 2,1988, the 200th anniversary of Gmelin's b i i h , the Gesellschaft Deutacher Chemiker and the Gmelin Institut fih anorganische Chemie met to lay a funeral wreath on his tomb in Heidelberg. From September 21 to October 26,1988, an exhibition of his life and work, organized by the Gmelin Institut was held in the Stadtund UniversitAtshihliothek of Frankfort am Main. The exhibition's opening was also the premiere of the Institute%English-language videotape on Gmelin and his celebrated Handbuch, its compilation, organizatiori, and relevance to today's pure and applied chemistry. (The demonstration vidsoeassette, designed to acquaint students with the Handbuch and featuring Nobel laureates E. 0. Fischer, Glenn T. Seaborg, Henry Tauhe, and Alexander Todd, is available free of charge for rent, or for a nominal charee t o keen from Sorineer-Verlae). Handbuch der anorgoni.sehen Chemre."one of the most valuable biblrographic research tools for workers in such fields as crystallography, geochemistry, and metallurgy," released during the summer of 1988 a second facsimile reprint, on handmade Ingres paper, of thebmk that started it all-Gmelin's three-volume Hondbuch der theoretischen Chemie. (The first reprint was published by Verlag Chemie in 1961on the occasion of the sesquicentennial of the puhlication of the fust two volumes of the original, and it received only avery brief review (Ihde, A. J. J. Chem. Educ. 1970.47, A316). The third volume of the original, scheduled for late 1811, did not appear until 1819.) Gmelin's Handbuch (Vols. 1 and 2) was originally published by Franz Varrentrapp a t Frankfurt am Main in 1811, when Gmelin was a 29-year-old Ausserordentlicher Professor, the first to hold the chair in chemistry, a t the UniversitAt Heidelberg. The bmk, fust developed from Gmelin's lecture notes and written for his students, opened the oath to modem chemical documentation and renew, since in it Gmelin not only collected the results of the literature of his time but also critically evaluated and analyzed them and placed them in a pertinent order. These principles, which Gmelin was the first to apply, as well as his aims have remained constant throughout the 110 years and eight editions of the Handbuch, which now comprises some 510 volumes, descrihing some 250,000 compounds and occupying some 50 feet of shelf space: Since 1982 the Handbueh has been puhlished in English, the scientific lingua franca of the late 20th century. Since 1986this "authoritative work of reference in inorganic, organometallic, and physical chemistry" has been transferred to an electronic data base (the Gmelin Formula Index, GFI), available online from STN International (Scientific & Technical Information Network, c/o Royal Society of Chemistry, The University, Nottingham, NGI 2RD, UK). Volume 1, the shortest of the three (rv pp. 1-354), contains an autographed portrait of Gmelin as a frontispiece and deals with cohesion and adhesion. affinitv in eenera& gases, and inorganic compounds of 10 nonmetals. It is prefaced with a foreword written (April 1988) for the second reprint
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bv Diredor of -,Ekkehard Fluek. the oresent ---theGmelin Inatitut,and one written (March 1967) for the rust reprint by E. H. Erich Pietnch, the former Director, which outlines the genesis, development, and puhlication history of the Handbuch. Vol. 2 (iv pp. 355-934) deals with the 38 metals then known, divided into light and heavy met&, each metal and its compounds being described in a separate chapter. Vol. 3, the longest of the three (viii + pp. 93&1588), deals with organic compounds. The organic portion was discontinued, beginning with the sixth (1871-1886) edition, edited by Karl Kraut and renamed the Handbueh der anorganischen Chemie. (The first volume of Beilstein's Handbuch der organischen Chemie appeared in 1880.) Volume 3 concludes with a 30-page Register (index). The fourth edition of what was then calledGme1insHandbuch der Chemie (1843-1870) was translated into English by Henry Watts and published as Gmelin's Handbook of Chemistry for the Cavendish Society (19 vols., London, 184-1872). Despite popular belief, Gmelin was not an inorganic chemist hut rather a physiological chemist, whose doctoral dissertation involved the black eye pigments of oxen and calves. During his research on digestion and on the biological and physiological pathways whereby nutrients and other substances enter the blood, he identified bilirubin, a biliary pigment, in the urine of persons suffering from jaundice. The identification procedure, later called the Gmelin test, was used for decades in medical diagnosis. In inorganic chemistry, he synthesized potassium ferrocyanide (Gmelin's salt), and in organic chemistry, he prepared uoconic acid from carbon monoxide and potassium three vears before Friedrich W6hler synthesized &ea. These contributions notwithstanding, Gmelin's name will live forever in the annals of chemistry for his celebrated Handbuch, which is continued today by the 130 memhers of the Gmelin Institut staff, 80 of whom possess doctorates in chemistry. This inexpensively priced facsimile reprint, hound in imitation of the first edition. is a "must" for historians of science. chemisk with an interest in the history of their subject, or anyone with a penchant for holding history in his or her hands. George 6. Kauffman California State Universiiy. Fresno Fresno. CA 93740 ~
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Effecllve Writing Stretegies-For Engineers and Scientists Donald C. Wwlston, Patricia A. Robinson, and Gisele Kutzbach. Lewis Publishers. Chelsea. Mi. 1988. m I81 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $24.95. This small hook can teach chemists and engineers how to write better in every respect: more quickly, more dearly, more convincingly. This is no mean task since engineers and scientists have had the reputation of being inherently bad writers, often taking pride in their ineptness. Here we have skillful motivation for improvement and wellpresented, short demonstrations of how to proeeed. The authors draw on their suwessful classroom experience teaching technical writing in the University of WisconsinMadison College of Engineering. The real world has been updated in this text with chapters an "Computers in Writ-
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ing" and on "Visual Displays", including "desk-top publishing". A chapter on "Legal Issues in Writing" stresses the importance of clarity in expression for the proteetion of professionals and their employers in this suing society. A short appendix covers common errors in writing, a second deals with equations and abbreviations, and another treats documentation. College departments desirably should maintain, as a more complete chemical reference on these topics, the ACS STYLE GUIDE-A Manual for Authors and Editors, American Chemical Society, 1986. Malcolm M. Renfrew University of Idaho MOICOW. ID 83843
Guldellnes for Laboratory Deslgn: Health and Safety Conslderetlons Louis DiBerardinis. Janet S. Baum. Melvin W. First, Gari T. Gahvwd, Edward F. G-e den, and AnandK. Seth. Wiley: New York, NY. 1987. x 285 pp. Flgs. and tables. 16
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X 23.5 cm. $34.95.
We may assume that major universities when constructing new laboratories or refurbishing old ones always have access to large mhitectural fums including up-todate specialists in the design of such facilities. Smaller colleges and state universities where politics may dictate the choice of architect are likely to place a larger burden on faculty members in setting specifications. The present hook will he greatly useful to all those who have to work with architects and builders in the construction of laboratories (large college or small). The book first treats the common elements of lahoratonr desien. then looks a t the .,---~
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alytical, hiosafely, etc.), and next ta!& up the administrative procedures involved in bidding and final acceptance. There are appendixes on safety codes and safety gear. This is a more useful hook than the same publisher has provided in Brayhrooke's Design for Research: Principles of Laboratory Architecture. 1986. It ia less camdete on ventdat~on system than is MeDermott's Handbook of Ventalottun for Conlamtnanl Control. 2nd ed Butterworth, 1985,hut it 1s more nearly current and will be of greater help to a nonspecialist. Anyone assigned responsibilities for new facilities will do well to request from ACS the Committee on Chemical Safety's pamphlet Design of Safe Chemical Loboratories, 1988. This Lists references for the indepth coverage of such topics as electrical systems and chemical storage. Malcolm M. Renfrew University ot Idaho Moacow. ID 83843
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Principles of Medlclnal Chernlstry, Thlrd Edition William 0.Fove. Editor. Lea 8 Febiaer: Philadelphia. ~A,'1989.xiii 925 pp. ~ygs. and tables. 19.5 X 27 cm. $49.50. The suhject of medicinal chemistry has grown so vast during the past four decades
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that it would be extremely difficult for any single author to write a textbook encompassing all of the varied areas of the subject. Against that background, the multi-author volume edited by Professor William 0. Faye, Principles of Medicinal Chemistry, hss ohviouslv been a meat success . iudnine from the successive editions and reorintin.. that the hook has seen. The latest volume under review is its third edition. One of the most alluring features of this book is that the individual chapters are written by acknowledged experts in each field from around the world while at the same time maintaining a commendably high level of uniformity in the organization of each chapter. This enables the reader to get accustomed to a set pattern of coverage of the information. Most of the chapters are essentially the same as those covered in earlier editions of the hook; however, the following new chapters have been added indicating their importance and significance in recent Literature: antilipidemic agents' hormone antaeonists. " . uhotochemothera~v . .. and moleculargraphics. Inspection of the list of references at the end of each chapter shows that the literature has been brought up to 198L1984 and occasionally to 1986. As is to he expected, in the chapter on molecular graphics all of the listed references are from 1981 to 1986. The authors have attempted to keep the review material as updated as possible. However, one would wish to see a longer and more comprehensive survey of the applications of molecular graphics. Perhaps the next edition might give greater prominence to such an analysis of receptordrug interaction modes, especially because current drug designs routinely employ such techniques. Besides the incorporation of new chapters. the hook also oravides for exnanded coverage of some of the previously surveyed topicssuch =,organ imaging agents;cardio. vascular drugs and anti-cancer drugs. However, the reference to the role of oncogenes ~ on anti-cancer ~ drugs is limit-~ in the chapter ed to one paragraph an the final page. However, a list of several monographs and treatises are included at the end as suggested readings. The chapter on agents for organ imaging is also well written with clarity in style. The number of references paat 1980, again, appear to he scanty. If any recommendation may he made for improvement in future editions of this book, it would he to attempt to update all chapters to as close to the year of publication as possible. This book is so well written that it has the unusual capacity to serve the interests of students (graduate and undergraduate), research scientists in the field of medicinal chemistry and related disciplines such as organic chemistry or biochemistry. As stated in a review of this hook in its earlier edition, "There is a Wealth of Information Packed Within the Covers of This Book and it Will he of Value to Anvone Interested in Medicinal Chemistry". f i e only additional comment that this reviewer would wish to make is that the new edition commends itself to the reader by its expanded coverage of earlier topics, incorporation of newer fertile areas of current research and maintains eminently the homogeneity and easy readability of the textual information. The hook most certainlv belones " in the shelves of all medicinal chemists and aspiring medirinal chemists, such as, graduate and undergrad-
Journal of Chemical Education
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B. 5. Thyagarajan T h University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio. TX 78285
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uate students in the field of medicinal chemistry.
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