the several biological series. Titles in the latter include "Hormones and Sexual Behavior," in the "Animal Behavior" series, "Anhydrohiosis" ("Biological Concepts"), "Contraeeption" ("Human Physiology"), and "Microbial Metabolism" PMicrohiology"). The extent to which these series will prove useful to the educator and research chemist will depend largely on the expertise and judgment of the editors involved. James E. Huheey Southern Illinois University Carbondale. iilimb 62901 (On leave fromme University of Maryland. College Park)
Organometalllc Chemistry of Tltanlum, Zirconium, and Hafnium
P. C.
Waites, R. S. P. Coutts, H. Weigold, CSIRO, Melbourne, Australia. Aca302 demic Press, New York, 1974. x pp. Fig. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $29.50.
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If you are considering a research program in the area of the organometallic chemistry of titanium, zirconium, and hafnium, this book is the place to start. The authors present, in a well organized and highly condensed style, the results of almost 900 publications which cover the period from the inception of work in this area to December 1973. The properties of a large number of campounds are presented in tabular form and structural formulas are displayed for the significant compounds. The 261 pages of text are divided into eight chapters. After a brief introduction t o establish a perspective for the chemical and physical properties of the cyclopentadienyl derivatives, chapters follow on: the alkyl and aryltitanium (IV) compounds; *-bonded derivatives of titanium(lV); arganometallic compounds of zirconium(1V) and hafnium(1V); complexes of titanium and aluminum (including related systems); organometallic compounds of titanium(II1) and zirconium(III), organometallic com~ o u n d sof titanium(II), zirconium(I1) and hafnium(l1); and finally the reactions of dinitrogen with titanium (and zirconium) compounds. I t may not be a book to go t o bed with, but i t should be available to every serious research worker in this field. Edwin M. LarJen Uniwrsny of Wisronsin-Madison Madison. 53706
ElectrochemicalData. Part 1. Volume A
Louis Meites and Peter Zuman (with others), Clarkson College of Technology. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1974. xi 727 pp. Figs. and tables. 18.5 X 26 cm. $35.95.
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The user of this reference hook who plunges into the table of eleetrochemieal data after a glance a t the list of abbreviations will immediately learn two things: (1) T h e volume is rich in information which is relatively easy to decode and (2) One should read the preface first.
Within the restrictions, which are clearly stated in the preface, the authors have produced a most useful work. The most hothersome limitation in the reviewer's opinion is that of the number of carbon atoms (only compounds with 11 and fewer carbons are included) and this prohlem will be largely alleviated by the publication in 1975 of Volume B of Part 1of the series. The heart of the book is Table I-Electrochemical Data-which contains essential polarographic (in the hroader sense) information on 2015 compounds and covers 480 of the volume's 727 pages. Nine other tables are included which are either supplements or indexes t o Table I. Any attempt to adequately describe the information that is contained in the 28 columns of Table I would unduly lengthen this review. A particularly useful feature is a column headed CIM (course and mechanism). An entry for a compound in this column refers to Table 111 which gives equations for half reactions and coupled chemical processes along with rate and equilibrium constants where available. About onethird of the compounds have an entry in this column. Entry to Table I for most users will be through Table IV, an alphabetical listing of com~oundsfollowed hv code numbers. Frequent use is made of common names. A second index groups compaunds by classes. Organometallics (many ferrocenes made the 11carbon cut) are listed by metal. Table VII which is an index by technique allows one to locate (or just count) studies reporting use of any of the some 50 teehniques included in the survey. Similar indexes are by solvent and by indicating electrode. Finally a key t o literature cited grouped by journal and an author index are included. A minor criticism is the extremely small size of the print employed in the keys to use of the tables. Larger print is, fortunately, used in the tables. In the course of using the book two errors in the author index were noted and one class of compaunds was found listed in the index for which there were no entries. One case of mis-numbering was found in the C/M column although the correct mechanism was on the same page of Table 111 and easily found. The authors have done a masterful iob of rnnkin hook numbers for -~the ~ - usable. ~ - Code . the compounds are placed in both the first and last columns of Table I t o facilitate following the lines. Abbreviations are chosen so as to make sense and to maximize the information conveyed. Lists of abbreviations are provided inside the front and hack covers and on a separate unbound page. This book will prove useful to anyone interested in obtaining a clear and concise picture of the electrochemistry of a compound or a group of compounds. In many, if not most, cases sufficient hard information is available to obviate the necessity of seeking the original literature reference. This ~- is after all the difference between a useful reference vulume and a l ~ s tof e m pounds with hterature references. ~
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Robert H. Philp. Jr. University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina 29208
(Continued on page A5641 Volume 52, Number 12, December 1975 / A563
