the brief summary of the main ideas which the author provides a t the end of each chapter. Emest M. Loebl Polytechnic institute of New Yo* Brooklyn. NY 11201 Hazards in t h e Chemical Laboratory, Third Edition L. Bretherick, (Editor), The Royal Society of Chemistry, Burlington House, London WIV OBN, 1981. XXI 568 pp. Tables. 21.6 X 15.7 cm. $39.50.
which differs from ours will he noticed, e.g., fume cupboards for exhaust h o d s , but these translate easily. The safety message comes through loud and clear. The book is available from ACS-Special Issue Sales a t 1155 Sixteenth St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. The Royal Society also offers copies directly a t f 15.00 sterling from their Distribution Centre, Blackhorse Road, Letchworth, Herfordshire SG6 IHN, Great Britain. Malcolm M. Renfrew University of Idaho Moscow, ID 83643
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This is an updated and improved version of a well-established, superior guide t o safe practices in the chemistry laboratory. In this country, awareness of the earlier editions, edited by G. D. Muir, was slow t o develop. The present volume surely warrants prompt acceptance. All chemistry departments will benefit from having a t Least one copy a t hand for quick reference and continuing study. The book provides a n excellent chapter on safety planning and management appropriate for academic, governmental, and industrial laboratories. Also competently handled are chapters a n fire protection, hazardous chemical reactions. toxicoloev. ~...health care. ~. and precautions niainsr mdiation. Hut the major cmrribution togood laboratory prartice is made "m the yellow pages." a chapter on hazardous chemicals which includes monographs describing five hundred flammable, explosive, corrosive single subslances or groups of suhstances commonly found in chemical laboratories. First Aid and fire fi~htingproc~dtmsfor roping wirh accidrnu, are covered. 'l'hose materials known to he (and also those suspect) carcinogens are identified. The useful information whieh is presented compactly for these problem materials is helpfully augmented by cross-referencing t o the second edition of editor Bretherick's monumental "Handhook of Reactive Chemical Hazards" (Butterwortha, 1919). Nomenclature is hased on that currently recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Threshold Limit Values (TLV) accepted by the American Conference of Governmental Hygienists (1980) for exposure to same 700 volatile or dusty hazardous chemicals have been listed. In the text, capital letters are used t o draw attention immediately to the main risks associated with a described material. The book is hound attractively with a pliable plastic cover whieh promises durability in field use. There evidently has been careful proofreading. The index provides quick leads ta topics in the book except for the section on hazardous chemicals, where substances are listed alphabetically. Readers in this country will regret that citations of legal statutes largely relate t o the British Health and Safety Act of 1974 rather than to our equivalent legislation. There is, however, some recognition of the American scene.. and orudenee in the chemistrv, laboratory calls for hnawally rhe snmr practices wherever the loratiun. Bntrah word usngc ~~
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A148
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Journal of Chemical Education
T h e Infrared S p e c t r a of Complex Molecules L. J. Bellamy, Chapman & Hall. New York, NY, 1980. xi 299 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. 535.00.
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For the investigator who is serious about usine molecular soectroseoov and infrared assignments in their studies, thereare about twenrv rcrrs rhnr nrr nwr.snryorquicr Weful, and Hrllnmy'a two volmnes nrr among them. "The Infrared Spectra of Complex Molecules," Volumes 1and 2, are not meantto he useful as teaching texts hut, rather, useful as giving basic references to the assignments of the group frequencies of many types of molecules possessing many different functional groups. Volume 2 deals specifically with alkanes, alkenes, double and triple bond systems as well as X=H, C=O, N=O, P=O, and XOz systems. Bellamy's "Infrared Spectra of Complex Molecules" was one of the first reference books on infrared group freauencv , interoalations ouhlished in the ~ n r l y19f,O's and a,, wna n must I'm the nnalytiral and organic chemist as wdl as spectroscopists who were interested in infrared assignments. If the reader has the last edition hut needs the latest references with respectto the systems being studied, the new edition will assist the search. Much of the written text material nnd many of rhr ~ ~ h l hme e s nor r h ~ n ~ e d inl,smtmlly. 90.rf the render plamu, trre the text as one reference along with others in the study, the lntrst editmn will nor add a great deal except thp l n t ~ hihlmgrilphy. t The atrthor indicates in the prefak that approximately one-third of the text has been rewritten and that he has added some 450 new references to the 1118 already in the first edition which was puhlished in 1968 under the title of "Advances in Infrared Group Frequencies." If one looks a t Chapter 1,for example, the text mnrrrml has remnrned es*entially unchanged The list uf references from I 70 are identical: 71 100are added as updated bibliography. This can also he said for Chanters 2-4 where the text is aeain essentially unchanged. hut many refrrencei haw been added IS, the rxist:ng biblit~raphy. This reviewer did note that there were several revisions in the teat material in Chapter 5 on the carhonyl frequencies as well as in Chapters 6-8. The "Infrared Spectra of Complex Molecules" are eood reference books. This reviewer would certainly recommend them t o the research chemist who does not have them
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on his or he~lihraryshelf. Joseph L. Walter University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556 Electron-Molecule Scattering Sanborn C Brown, (Editor). John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1979. xii 196 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23 cm.
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"Electran-Molecule Scattering," edited by Sanborn C. Brown, is a memorial volume t o George J. Schulz who pioneered many modern developments in electron-molecule scattering. The book conveys the importance of electron-molecule interactions in applications ranging from atmospheric processes t o magneto-hydrodynamics and laser plasmas. The initial chapter isareprint of en article on electron impact excitation of moleeular vibrations whieh Professor Schulz prepared just prior t o his death. I t is a partieularly interesting and clear review which introduces the reader t o the role of resonances in vibrational excitation in electron-molecule collisions. Indeed, the figure showing the "famous vibrational excitation cross sections" of NPfirst measured by Sehulz is a unifying aspect of the book which reappears in several chapters. A chapter by M. A. Biondi traces the development of work on atomic processes in planetary atmospheres and particularly illustrates the connection of laboratorv astromolecule scattering t o atmospheric physics, magneto-hydrodynamics, and lasers in a chapter whieh reviews the current understanding of several phenomena and applications to technological problems. Chapter 4 by Fritz Linder describes state-of-the-art experimental techniques in electron energy resolution and the scattering resonances which they can detect. A review of electronmolecule seattering theory and recent applications by Neal Lane and, finally, a brief preview of the possibilities in electron molecule collision studies by H. S. W. Massey are the last two chapters. This volume was designed as an introduction of new workers to the field and is appropriately written for such an audience. However, the reader does need to have some background in scattering phenomena and atomic and molecular physics to use the material effectively. The subject index t o the volume is somewhat sparse, as is often the case in collections, but the level and tone of all the contributions are surprisingly eonsistent. This book gives the reader a glimpse of the scope of electron-molecule scattering and clearly shows the major role of George J. Schulz in its development.
F. Fleming Crim University of Wisconsin Madison, WI 53706 Electronic Interpretation of Organic Chemistrv. A Problem Oriented Text Fredric M. Menger and Leon Mandell, Plenum Press. New York. 1980. vii 216 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23 cm. $12.50.
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Advertised as a supplemental text for graduate and undergraduate students,
"Kltctr~m. l n t e r p r v t . ~ t ~ ~I.~ + n "? q q x ~to d pr e t ~ d eb,wI~.trityn n h the p r i w ~ ~ gd we .~ ert~ilnl:ur:snic rwctiuty. The t,,rmnr c ~ i t h e four chapters is primarily problem oriented. Chapter One, prerup,,uling nn understanding of the haric p r ~ n r ~ p l eufs organic chernisrrv as iound i n nn intnductorv text. reviews in a useful manner resonance structures, redox reactions, and aeiditylbasicity. In Chapter Two electron-pushing mechanisms are presented for the most common organic reactions. All of this material is usually found scattered in most basic texts, hut in this chapter brief explanations concentrating on the salient points of each mechanism provide for systematic coverage of the maior mechanistic classes. The streneth of the h w k is its dppntnch t u electron pu~hing. Although the authors pn,pur;t. to rmphnsrre "why"
