Robin Charles BurrcU, Associate Professor ORGANIC CEEMI~TRY. of Agricultural Chemistry. The Ohio State University. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York City, 1936. 331 pp. 34figs. 14 X 20 cm. $2.75. xii
+
I n his preface the author states that this hook is designed primarily for students in home economics and that "it includes the fundamental concepts of organic chemistry." and "should be useful in many colleges and agricultural schools where a hrief course in the fundamentals of organic chemistry is desired." The subjects discussed are based upon the results of a survey (by Miss Bell a t Ohio State University) made to determine those principles of highest importance to students of nutrition. Those subjects relating to organic chemistry which this survey revealed as mast important are dealt with in the book, the emphasis on each being based upon the results of the survey. The book begins with a brief historical introduction and discussion of the "definition and scope of organic chemistry." Organic chemistry is defined as a study of hydrocarbons and of their derivatives. The author hopes by this definition (see pages 5 and 8) to rule out such substances as carbonic acid and its salts. This so-called "modern definition of organic chemistry" seems t o us t o have no advantage aver the time-honored one, and to have the disadvantage of giving the student an entirely erroneous impression of the meaning of the term "derivative," for certainly carbonic acid is as much a derivative of methane as any other acid is of the corresponding hydrocarbon. In this same chapter the terms "exact chemical composition" and "molccular structure" are used synonymously. The results of studies of composition are not expressed, as the author claims, in the form of structural formulas, hut in percentages of the various elements present. There follows a rather detailed description of the common operations of organic chemistry, in which distillation, crystallization, analytical methods, the determination of melting points, and molecular weight determinations, etc., are considered. There is far more detail in this chapter than one would expect to find outside of a hook onlaboratory methods. A chapter on structural formulas follows in which all sorts oi structural isomerism are discussed, and in which is found a hrief consideration of stereoisomerism. It seems to m nothing short of sheer folly t o attempt t o present the structural formulas of alcohols, acids, aldehydes, ethers, and the ideas of stereochemistry and uusaturation all in one brief chapter of sixteen pages. The statement (page 44) t h a t "asymmetric molecules must containone or morecarbon atoms which are attached to four different atoms or radicals" is incorrect. and the failure t o list geometric isomerism as a branch of stereoisomerism gives an erroneous impression of the scope of the latter term. A chapter on classification of organic compounds follows, in which illustrations of the various homologous series are found, and in which organic nomenclature is discussed. Inour opinion this attemot t o discuss nomenclature of oreanic comoounds " a, a whole r i l l confuse thr studrnt who has nut studicd orxanic ~,lamt.itrybrforr and wtll makr the whole s u b j ~ c tapprar ho~,elessly complex. There follow chapters on hydrocarbons (open chain and cyclic), oxy derivatives of acyclic hydrocarbons (alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones)... structural anhvdrides of acids and alcohols. lacvl . chloridrs, acid anhydrides, esters, ether%,nlkyl halides), fats and lipids, derivntircs of acyclic hydrocarbons which cormill morc than one characteristic atom or radical (including stereoisomerisrn), carbohydrates, nitragen-containing compounds, proteins, derivatives of cyclic hydrocarbons, and natural products of complex or imperfectly known molecular configuration. Unfortunately, the author uses the terms configuration and structure svnonvmouslv throuehout the hook. . . Followine is an aooendin containinea list of common terms with their pronuncintions, a icction in which the various principle%of organic chcmistry arc weighed according to the survey mentioned above, a list of names of organic substances which occur most frequently in the literature of foods and nutrition, other information concerning the survey, and a list of reference hooks. ~
-
..
.
~
~
~
There are a number of errors which should be mentioned: prolr~mitr~ isl ca1I~d ~ ethyl nitrile (P. 115). and a similar error orcurs on tht. next page where the term 'hexyl nitrile" is used. thr delinition of rcfm,dvt. mdex (page 131) is incorrect; ergot is afungus which grows on rye, not barley; the formula of cystine (p. 213) is incorrect; and there is a typographical error in the name of alanine in Figure 27; synthetic proteins (p. 233) have not been prepared as stated (p. 233); and the inference that all vat dyes yield colorless reduced soluble forms (p. 258, line 29) is incorrect. The sections on fats, carbohydrates, nitragen-containing derivatives, and natural substances are by far the best chapters in the hook and possess real merit; the other chapters are so hrief as t o he almost sketchy. One would naturally expect particular emphasis on subjects related to the chemistry of nutrition. hut it seems to us t h a t for a thorough understanding of the relatively complex substances in this field a more adequate consideration of simpler compounds would he desirable. After a careful reading of the text the writer is of the opinion that Dr. Burrell has been too much influenced by the results of Miss Bell's survey and has devoted too little attention t o a n accurate, logical, and teachable development of his subject. The result is a volume which contains chapters of a high degree of excellence, and others which are distinctly mediocre, all combined in a n arrangement which leaves a great deal to he desired. Print, paper. and binding are excellent L. DRAKE NATHAN UNIVERSITY OP MABYLAND COLLPIOE P*RY. M*.YL*ND
ELEcTRoLYTrc OXIDATION A N 0 REDUCTION: INORGANIC AND ORGANIC.S.Glasstone. Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, University of Sheffield, and A. Hidling, Assistant Lecturer in Chemistry, University College, Leicester. Vol. I X of a series of Monographs on Applied Chemistry. D. Van Nostrand Co.. Inc.. New York City, 1936. ix 420 pp. 31 figs. 14 X 21.5 cm. $9.50.
+
During the past decade there has been a revival of interest in electrolytic axidation-reduction processes for industrial purposes. This field was actively investigated thirty or forty years ago, but by no means exhausted. Judging by the papers published and patents registered, scientific interest is somewhat revived. Venerable topics, like overvoltage, are acquiring the new dress of ouantum theorv. This monoanph rrrats inorganic and organic reactions in their technical and scicntilic azpecti; a seriou. nttcmpt is madc to
