book reviews Amos Turk, Jonathan Turk, Janet T . Wittes, and Robert Wittes. W. B. Saunders Company, Philadelphia, 1974. xiii 563 pp. Figs. and tables. 20 X 27 em. $12.95.
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The wide scope of this textbook is surorisinelv ... unified bv the iournalistic skill and the perception of the authors. This hook includes, maide one cover. an array of topics ranging from biolom and physical science to suhject matter associated with social science. An instructor's manual is provided t o suggest curricula for the above mentioned areas. Study problems are titled and computational problems are supplied with numerical answers. The instructor's manual provides complete solutions for discussion and mathemntreal problems. Although this particular text does not fit neatly into most traditional programs, i t does point up the emergence of a discipline which is somewhat descriptive, somewhat mathematical, and all environmental. A considerable wealth of natural science is packaged together with environmental concerns. Relevant theory is presented in small doses as needed and blended in with environmental problems, case histories, and opposing views on how to best cope with present and future crises. A large number of one-semester courses interested in the survival of various forms of life (including man) may find suitahle material in this hook. The first four chapters deal with ecology and adaption of species with special attention to the growth of human population. Population changes are extensively surveyed in tabular, mathematical, and graphical form in the section on demography. Arguments are presented pro and con in regard to population stahilization and many technical terms are clearly illustrated. The well worn Malthusian projections of gloom and despair for mankind are depicted in simple mathematical and tabular form by representing population growth as a geo-
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metric progression and food increase as a simple arithmetic progression. The moral solution t o the dilemma is stated by a direct quotation from the essay of Thomas Malthus which was written in 1798. The logical progression of the authors to energy resources and related consumption problems in chapter five sets the stage for the remaining chapters of this hook. Some aspects of the energy situation are borrowed from earlier monographs on the subject by the same authors but the descriptions of the "First and Second Laws" of thermodvnamics are eertainlv. aoorooriate fur moat college courses whirh consider the enerm problem. The suggested conrermtion of waste heat by warming sod f m crops is well documented and presented as just one of many alternatives which are listed in the summary to this chapter. Conservationists will find a wealth of material in chapter sin which deals with agricultural systems. The historical portion of this chapter focuses mainly on severe disruptions and failures which have possibly been caused by lack of diversification in land usage. The destruction of forest land in the Sind province of India as well as forests in areas such as Armenia are cited as possible reasons for poor productivity 4000 years after the disruption occurred. The over-plowing and over-fanning of North Africa and the 1924 Dust Bowl in Oklahoma are depicted as examples of mismanagement of land on a major scale. The increasing reliance of food producers upon technology and increasing amounts of energy provides a n opportunity to build upon the previously expressed natural restraints t o population growth. This chapter also deals with the chemical aspects of soil fertilization in a lucid and concise manner. The arguments pertaining t o "organic" versus chemical fertilization are relatively complete and unbiased. The hazards of overeaploitetion of edible species from the sea and the possible advances in aquaculture are not overlooked by the authors. The survival of large fish and ocean mammals is impressively demonstrated t o he important
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from both economic and aesthetic viewpoints. A brief survey of the work of food chemists concludes this ehapter. Chapters seven through twelve outline in detail all of the common environmental problems facing contemporary society. These problems include pesticides, specific pollution concerns such as radioactive materials, air and water contamination. and noise. The table of contents is structured in such detail t h a t i t is possible t o refer readily t o chemical, physical, social, and ecological aspects of the earth's environment. The final chapter attempts to grapple with what the authors describe as the social, legal, and economic aspects of environmental degradation. Perhaps this could have been stated more succinctly as the political side of the question. In any ease, this chapter serves as a convenient conclusion to 563 oaees of reliable information and provoeatrw oprnion This book will certarnly serve as n source hook for many more streamlined approaches to the same subject material and i t should effectively bridge the gap between a number of disciplines.
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R. Max Ferguron Eartern Connecticut Stete Mllegs Williimantic, Connecticut 06226
Pradlcal lnorganlc Chemlatry Geoffrey Pass and Haydn Sutcliffe, University of Salford. Chapman & Hall, London (John Wiley & Sons, New York), 1974. m i 239 pp. Figs. and tables. 14 X 22 cm. $7.95.
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This hook is a synthetic inorganic chemist's delight. There are many useful preparations presented in a simple hut complete manner. Physical chemistry is nicely blended with synthetic and descriptive chemistry. The book starts off with the theory of ionic size effects and their relationship t o chemical stability of compounds. Colors of inorganic molecules are discussed in terms of charge transfer effects and electronic spectra. In another part of the book ultraviolet and visible spectra of metals are discussed a t greater length. A more detailed oicture is eiven without sufferine throueh meaningless discourse and boring detalls. I'lenty uf references are given throughout thc hook so that more rigorous treatments on various topics can be pursued by the student. A section treating high temperature methods is accompanied by discussions of reaction rate theory and thermodynamics. The section on transition metal ehemistry list, a numher oi simple experiments that may he applied to each metal. Experiments involve determinations of the most stable oxidation states for each element as well as reactivity of these states t o acids, bases, oxidizing agents, and reducing agents. The hook also covers coordination chemistry, homogeneous catalysis, non-aqueous solvents, polymers, high vacuum techniques, and inert atmosphere operations. In each area several compounds must be prepared and identified. Identification makes use of infrared spectra, electronic (Continued onpageA434)
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Amos Turk, Jonathan Turk, Janet T. Wittes, and Robert Wittes, Environ. . . .A433 mental Science . . .A433 Geoffrey Pass and Haydn Sutcliffe, Practical Inorganic Chemistry Stuart Warren. Chemistn. of the Carbanyl Group: A Proflammed Ap. . .A434 proach t o Organic Reaciion ~ e e h a n i s m s Douid P Shoemaker, Carl W. Garland, and Jeffrey I. Steinfeld, Experi. . .A434 ments in Phvsical Chemistrv. 3rd Edition Edward G. ~ a r u r s ,~ r a p h i ; Representations of the Periodic System . . .A436 During One Hundred Years Ralph G. Wilkins. The Study of Kinetics and Mechanisms of Reactions of . . .A436 of Transition Metal Complexes . . .A437 New Volumes in Continuing Series
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Volume 52, Number 9, September 1975 / A433
