Energy: Resource. Slave, Pollutant
book reviews Energy
Gerard M . Crowley, Michigan State University. MacMillan Publishing Company, inc.. New York, 1975. xiii 337 pp. Figs. and tables. 24 X 19 cm. $10.95.
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This is one of the first of what will doubtless be a new wave of textbooks related to the energy crisis. The author is a physicist and consequently the approach t o the topic tends to emphasize physical principles as opposed to strictly chemical ones. In the first part of the book the author makes an effort to be quantitative in his treatment of energy, power, work, etc. Although students for which this book is intended may find the mathematics a bit difficult, i t is in fact quite direct and straightforward. Also in this part the fundamental scientific background is explored with chapters devoted to atomic theory, energy relationships, thermodynamics, and the energy balance sheet for earth. From here the discussion moves into an historical analysis of energy consumption which provides the hasis for extraoolations into the future. These extrapolations are meaningless without answering the questions of energy resources and reserves which are treated in the subsequent section. Then problems associated with energy transportation, storage, and consumption are considered. Finally, the author addresses questions of energy conservation, economies, and policy. The book is interesting and well-written, though it is a bit difficult to understand where it might fit into a typical chemistry curriculum. The topic may provide a very enlightening and relevant application of the principles introduced in general chemistry courses, but few instructors will be willing to spend the time on the topic that this book requires-especially in view of the added cost t o the student. On the other hand more rigor can he expected of stu~
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R. S . Rouse and R. 0.Smith, Monmouth College. MacMillan Publishing Company, Inc., New York, 1975. vii + 520 pp. Figs. and tables. 24 X 19 cm. $12.95.
dents in a majors' course than this book will supply. It may find application in a nonscienee majors course, but here instructors will find the lack of chemistry t o be a serious deficiency. In,the foreseeable future books written an the energy crisis are likely t o suffer from "datedness" because of the rapidly changing nature of this area. This book is no exception, because a number of statements already seem old-fashioned; for example, even by mid-1975 AEC no longer exists and the breeder reactor program has been slowed dramatically. By and large, however, the material is good, well-chosen, and resented in a clear, concise manner that avoids a strident warning without minimizing the difficulties the world faces with respect to energy supplies. The fact that the author is a physicist is evident not only in the absence of an extensive and regular introduction of chemical perspectives, but also in a few errors such as the statement that there are 92 naturally occurring elements and the identification of an r-particle a3 :He instead of $He2+. The text suffers from the lack of a glossary and from a rather limited index. As one erample, the term "nuclide" is used without definition in the text and it does not appear in the index. The use of the first-person singular pronoun provides an informal and chatty format but its use has a tendency t o be somewhat excessive. The drawbacks mentioned above are fairly minor and do not substantially detract from a good, factual, and readable book. The book is produced in an attractive package with generally clear and simple illustrations (most of which are reproduced from various other articles and reports) and it is relatively free from typographical errors. Edward A. Walters University01 New Mexico Albuquerque. New Mexico 87131
Although we very probably face an energy shortage as a nation, there is no shortage of writing on the subject. This book takes up this popular theme, and attempts to engage the intellect, imagination, and will of the interested layman. The book is designed as a one semester physical science text, integrated around the concept of energy and its manifold ramifications. Of a book which sets out to integrate a field around s central theme, one can ask several questions. First, does the inherent importance or value of the central theme justify the attempted integration? In the present case, the answer can surely be affirmative. The importance of the laws of thermodynamics within the physical sciences is very great, and the prospect of possible energy shortage has a t least begun to sink into our national consciousness as a problem of serious proportions. Second, has the desired integration been achieved? The authors have indeed succeeded very well in organizing their material coherently around the central theme: energy. The book opens with a short disc-sion of science and technology, leading up to the production of electric power as an example of technology which is of great interest throughout the book. There fallows a brief consideration of astronomy, which illustrates the use of models in science, and sets out the context of the term "spaceship earth." Major sections of the book are then devoted to informative discussion of sources of energy, energy transformation, entropy, nuclear energy, pollution in relation to energy production and utilization, and finally prospects for the future. In general the chapters flow smoothly from one to the next, and relationships of material to the central concept of energy are kept in the foremound. The one ooint in the book at which a rraniitim swm. mchw nhrupt IS in Chapter I:'. w h m intrudwe. the pc.llution problcm. There is no douht that there are important connections between energy end pollution, but the addition of a few more transitional paragraphs a t the beginning of this chapter could have helped a reader to see this more quickly. On the (Continued on page A2301
-Reviewed in this Issue Gerard M Crowley, Energy
Reuiewer Edward A. Walters
. . . A229
R. S . Rouse and R. 0. Smith, Energy: Resource, Slave, Pollutant
Arlen Viste
. . . A229
Robert L. Osburn, Essential Mathematics for General Chemistry
Edmund C. Shearer
. . . A230
Joseph X . Khym, Analytical Ion Exchange Procedures in Chemistry and
Jerome W. O'Laughlin
. . . A234
John F. Wehmiller
. . . A236
Biology. Theory, Equipment, and Techniques
Keith A Kuenuolden, editor, Geochemistry and the Origin of Life New Volumes in Continuing Series
. . . A238 Volume 53, Number 4, April 1976 / A229
