chemistry students." Some of the chapters have been rearranged and new matei d is presented on chemical bonding, complex ion formation, coordination compounds, bond orientation and bond types. There is no reference to thermodynamic t e r n such as entropy, enthalpy or free energy. A chapter on transition elements has been addcd. The type has been reset, and some of the figures redrawn with some improvement in the appearance of the book. Perhaps a third of the exercises in the third edition have been replaced with new ones. A Bibliography replaces the Refennees of the former edition. WALTERB. KEIGHTON Szua~thmoreCollege Swarthmore, Pa.
Handbook of Analytical Chemistry
Louis Meites, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, New York. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New Yark, 1963. xv 1806 pp. Tables. 16 X 23.5 em. $47.50.
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It is not often that a new book repregents a substantial achievement in the field of chemistry. The compilation of the "Handbwd of Analytical Chemistry" by Louis Meites, however, is truly one of outstmding efforts in the recent years. This new work has some features in common with the handbooks of chemistry and physics that have been published for some time. However, this, new analvtical handbook has the unique advantage of containing short discussions of the material in each table of data. Inclusion of references and features such as the precision of difierent analytical deterrninations makes this book extremely valuable 10 I l l ? ))rh~ti~ir>g!tn:alyal. One is lurd y r e s d t o lind a n y topic of :~unlvtirnl imnortancr omitted. Illustrntion'of the scope of the reference may be seen in the treatment of topics such as the analyses of elastomers, pesticides, fertiliaers, psjnts, pharmaceuticals, plastic and resin soaps, water and sewage. This section designated "applied" analysis also has a thorough referencing of the conventionally treated subjects such as coals, mineral petroleum products and alloys. The extent of coverage, however, varies greatly from one topic to another. This is illustrated by the fact that the portion dealing with fundamental analysis has extremely large and complete sections on functional group analysis, chelometric titrations amd poltlrography. Topics such as conductometrio titrations and chronopotentiometry constitute a minor but adequate portion. This reviewer feels that Professor Meites has consolidated a library-full of references to analytical and physical data into a wellindexed and referenced volume. The one-hundred and thirty authors, including Professor Meites, who himself wrote a substantial portion of the book, deserve special recognition for s. difficult job well done. The price, $47.50, may muse many to pause before deciding whether or not to buy this book. (And unfortunately the binding is not of a quality commen-
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snrate with the mice.). I feel. however. that no chemistry library or laboratory can afford to be without this outstanding handbook. THEODDRE R. WILLIAMS College of Wwsler Wooster, Ohio
ElectrochemicalReactions: The Elertrochemical Methods of Analysis
G . Cha~lot,Facult6 des Sciences, Paris, J . Badoz-Lambling, Centre National de la Recherche Seientifique, Paris, and B. Trdmilla, &ole de Physique e t de Chimie Industrielles, Paris. American Elsevier Publishing Co., New York, 1963. ix 376 pp. Figs. and tables. 17.5 X 24 cm. $15.
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Standard Methods of Chemical Analysir. Volumes 2 A and 28, Industrial and Natural Products and Noninslrumental Methods
Edited by Frank J. Welcher, Indiana University, Bloomington. 6th ed. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, 1963. 2613 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $25 each (not sold separately). Volume 2 is divided into Parts A and B, bound separately. Part I of Part A comprises a new section of some 500 pages on apparatus, general operations, and reagents. Among chapters not included in the previous edition are qualitative analysis, separations (precipitation, extraction, chromatography, ion exchange, etc.), use of the microscope, quantitative microchemical analysis, and quantitative organic analysis. With the exception of the chapters on detection of cations and anions and on precipitation by change of hydrogen ion eoneentrrttion, which are quite out of date, tho new chapters are much more extensive and up to date than the older chapters. Altogether, the treatment of general topics in Part I of Part A is useful, but analytical chemists in general will prefer to consult more comprehensive accounts, such as monographs, that they already are likely to have a t hand. Part I1 deals with the analysis of industrial products and special mmples, including, among others, air pollutants, alloys, bituminous materials, cement and coal. There is a section on chemical analysis in clinical medicine. Methods of analysis of industrial materials are continued in Part B, with chapters on explosives, fats, fertilizers, paint, paper, pesticides, petroleum, plastics, rubber, silicates, soap, soils, vitamins, water, and other materials. Some of these chapters are new and others have been enlarged to include analytical advances in the quarter century which hsa elapsed since the 5th edition was published. A number of chapters do not offer adequate literature references, several of the new chapters are much more satisfactory in this respect and dso, in general, am more up to date than the older ones. Few modern phyaicochemical methods of analysis me described. I n spite of these limitations, anyone confronted with analysis of commercial materials will wish to consult this work and, more likely than not, follow its procedures. The strong feature of "Stdndard Methods" has been, and is, its explicit and detailed presentation of information for the analyst. The whole work is directed to the practical, technical analyst.
This text is a translation of a section of the French text "Lea MBthodes de la Chimie Analytique." Charlot has written several books on specialized subjects and then combined them into a larger work. I n 1959 he published his text "Les Electrochimiques," which was well documented to include references up to 1958. This work was combined with references on spectra. and the analysis of dements to yield a large work, "Les Methodes de la Chimie Analytique," which was published in 1961. The translation was made without any updating of the 1959 text. The approach used is to introduce general concepts of electrochemistry, making great use of eurrent-voltage diagrams and then attempting to show the relationship of this materid to the various specialized areas of electrochemistry. The material is treated in a classical, much less rigorous manner than Delahay's "Modern Methods of Electrochemistry." There are sections dealing with topics such as non-aqueous solvents, chronopotentiometry, the relationship between amperametry and potentiometry. The sections are very well referenced. Applications of electrochemistry are not treated in great detail. This should be quite useful to teachers and may be suitable far use a t the first vear maduate school level. This text merit: the attention of those persons interested in electrochemistry.
R.EWILLIAMS THE~D~H College of Wooster Wooster, Ohio Electrochemistry: Theoretical Principles and Practical Applications
Edit,ad hv Milarto. ~" fhlio ~,Instituto Superiore di Smith, Rome. Translated by P. J. Mill. American Elsevier Publishing Ca., Inc., New York, 1963. xv 708 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23cm. 520. p
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Despite the substantial increase in interest in electrochemistry as a whole throughout the United States, very few textbooks on electrochemistry have appeared in English during the psst 10 years. The English revised edition of Professor Giulio Milazzo's textbook which appeared earlier in Italian and German editions is particularly welcome a t this time. The first six chapters of the book are concerned with the mare fundamental aspects of electrochemistry. The first chapter presents a, conoise summary of thermodynamics with emphasis on those I. M. KOLTHOFP aspects which are important to the subseE. B. SANDELL quent applications of thermodynamics to electrochemistry. Electrolytes and elecUniversit?~qf Minnesota (Continued on page A821) Minneepola
BOOK REVIEWS
much beyond that foundin many of tce more complete undergraduate physical chemistry textbooks. The third chapter on galvanic cells provides a reasonably comprehensive discussion of the thermodynamics of electrochemical cclls. A well organized introduction to electrochemical kinetics is presented in the fourth chapter although very lit,tleinformation is included on experimental methods for the study of electrochemical kinetics. Chapter 5 is concerned with analytical applications and includes sections on electrolytic analysis, potcntiometry, conductance methods, and
ind then discusses some of the analyt.ic-;I and industrial applications fur clect,rohoresis and electrokinetic phenomena. With the exception of Chapter 12 on the electrochemistry of gases the remainder of the book is concerned primarily with industrial applications including electrodeposition, electrorefining, industrial electrolysis, batteries, and corrosion. The chapters on the applied aspects of electrochemistry are primarily descriptive hut, not excessively technological in nature. In most instances only a broad survey of the field of application is presented. Four of the twelve chapters in this text are co-authored by other European electrochemists. Continuity, however, has been preserved between a l h f the chapters. The book a s a whole is well organized and the presentation of complex'ideas and concepts quite easy to follow. Dr. P. J. Mill who translated this new English edition from the Italian manuscript is to be commended for his translation. Particular features of the book which are noteworthy are its numerous tables of data based on recent literature and the list of symbols and their definitions which appear in the beginning of the book. This book is intended primarily to serve the function of a teaching textbook and is suitable for an upper undergraduate or beginning graduate level course in electrochemistrv. An underzraduate course in physical chemistry emphasizing thermodynamics is a prerequisite. Since very few courses in electrochemistry are offered at any level in colleges and universities in the US. it is questionable whether the book will find wide use as a textbook for college courses in this country. Furthermore, no problems are provided in the book. For physical chemistry courses a t both the undergraduate and graduate however, this book represents worthwhile collateral reading. The recommendations of the IUPAC nomenclature commission are foilowod throughout the book relative to sign conventions as well as nomenclature. This may cause students using the book for collateral reading in courses in physical chemistry somedifficulty, since the physi:al chemistry textbooks in this country generally have not adopted the IUPAC mommendations on nomenclature in the (Continued on page A823)
Volume 40, Number 10, October 1963
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A821
BOOK REVIEWS (Continued from page AP.91) fields of thermodynamics or elec$rochemistry. ERNESTYEAGER Western Reserve Vniowsity Clareland, Ohio Textbook of Organic Chemistry
Alezander Gero, Hahnemann Medical College, Philadelphia. John Wiley and 679 Sons, Inc., New Yark, 1963. ix pp. Figs. and tables. 17.5 X 24.5 cm. $WOO
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mechanism in the elementary organic chemistry course, 8. trend with which this reviewer is wholeheartedly in favor. At least two excellent teats stressing this approach-Cram and Hammond, and Morrison and Bovd-have alreadv an-
attempts a modern approach to organic chemistry, comes off rather poorly indeed. I n fact much of its presentation of "mechanism" will give a. physical-organic chemist pause. First oi all, except for isolated spots, the hook generally ignores the most basic premise of all mechanistic eonsiderations relative to the effect of structure on rertotivity, namely, that the rats of an organic reaction is determined by the energy (or more accurately, free energy) difference between reactants and transition state. Instead it chooses to attempt to explain strudure-rate effects almost entirely on the hasia of differences in ground state energies of reactants, a procedure which is theoretically incorrect, and despite the fact it often leads fortuitously to correct predictions, is pedagogically indefensible, particularly in the elementary course, which represents the critical formative period of a, student's basic approach to organic chemistry. Second, the following peculiar statement relative t o the canonical forms of a resonance hybrid occurs on p. 64: "The course of its [a compound's1 reactions, however, may be determined more by the higherenergy canonical structures because the principal structure with its lower energy is less likely to be responsible for change than the more unstable, higher-energy cmonie d structures." This extremely questionable statement then proceeds t o attain the status of a first principle and is employed repeatedly in the remainder df'the book, as the supposed mechanistic explanation for various phenomena.. Some typical examples of the types of errors that occur throughout the book and that detract seriously from its treatment of reaction mechanisms are: On p. 81 in discussing the acidity of eyclopentadiene the statement is made that the eyelopentsi dienyl anion is more stable than cyelapentadiene. If this were literally true cyclopentadiene would have a. K, greater than unity, which, of course is not true. On p. 106 there oceufs an obvioudy incor(Continued m page A825) Volume 40, Number 10, October 1963
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