BOOK
REVIEWS
Experimental Organic Chemistry John Baldwin, University of Illinois, Urhana. McGraw-Hill Book Co., New 183 pp. Figs. and York; 1965. v tables. 17.5 X 25 cm. Paperbound. $6.50.
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This laboratory manual for undergraduale urganie chemistry represents a marked and deliberate departure from "the traditional organization [and contents, I may add] of elementary orgrtnlc laboratory texts-geared as these are to the preparation of representative compounds of certain functional group classepin favor of one based on techniques and types of reactions." This manual utilizes the newer meohanistic approaches to the presentation of organic theory. Even the titles of the experiments reflect its character. For example, Chapter 15 is titled Nucleophilie Addition to Unsaturated Carbon, rather than Isohorneol, Benzalacetaphenone, and B-Anilino-B-phenylpmiophenone, the compaunds prepared, or Reactions of Ketones, the functional group involved, or Reduction, Condensation, and Michael Addition of Ketones, the three tvnes of reactions illustrated.
takes into consideration the practicd limitations of time, equipment, siace, and funds. The experiments use semi-micro quantities of mrtterials, and most of the
experiments described within a. chapter can be oompleted within one threehour laboratory period, and nearly all in two periods. The experimental procedures are clearly described and the book has good illnstrrttions of even the simplest techniques. Each chapter contains a full discussion of the principles and mechsnismq involved and has well-conceived problems whioh clarify and exemplify these principles. Approximately onefifth of the hook is devoted to special methods such as the determination of reaction kinetics and equilibria by titration, distillrttian under reduced pressure, and reactions in en inert atmosphere. The important tools of I R and NMR spectroscopy, qualitative anslytical tests, and chromatographic techniques (vapor phase, thin layer, and ion-exchange) are introduced early. These techniques are used constantly in subsequent experiments so that the student is &en a full oieture The increasing important role of stereochemistry is shown by the dlotment of more than twa-fifths of the chapters to experiments which involve reactions, properties, or interconversions of strncturd and optical isomers. There am two appendices and an index. Appendix 1 gives the infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of 39 of the compaunds encountered in the manual, arranged in the order of increasing carbon
crmtlnl of llle indceuiw. 'llle spcmm are arranged 3, that both rhc I R and NIiIt spectra of each compound are printed on the same page. This arrangement gives the student opportunity to make useful comparisons of the values of these two tools. Appendix 2 lists the chemicals and equipment for each student locker-the estimated cost per locker is $86. This manual, presenting a sharp depsrture from the traditional manual, will find its best use probably in a course which departs fmm the traditional order in favor of the newer mechanistic approach. An undesirable feature was the use of the paperback cover. The informetion contained in this book will make it a desirable part of the permanent library of many students and teachers, and it is regrettable that its unusual shape and paperback cover may limit its utility. The book is well-mitten and is worthy addition to the literature of organic chemistry. All teachers who are using or planning to use the newer mechanistic approach and who are seeking 8. new and appropriate laboratory manual would do well to consider Professor Baldwin's book. Undergraduate teachers could use it with profit as a reference laboratory manual.
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P. MMLSS~E SAMUEL United Stales Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland
Instrumental Melhods of Analysis Hobart H. Willonl, emeritus of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Lynne L. Mem'tt, JT., Indiana University, Bloomington, and John A. Dean, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 4th ed. D. Van Nwtrand Co., Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, 1965. xviii 784 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. 510.75.
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-Reviewed
in this Issue
John Baldwin, Experimental Organic Chemistry Hobart H. Willard, Lynne L. Meritt, Jr., and John A . Dean, Instrumental Methods of Analysis D. W . Mathieson, editor, Interpretation of Organic Spectra. Nelson W . Hooey and Alhertine K~ohn,Qualitative Analysis William Horwitz, editorial chairman, Official Methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists Ya. G . Dorfman, Diamagnetism and the Chemical Bond David S. Schonland, Molecular Symmetry: An Introduction to Group Theory and Its Uses in Chemistry E. H.E . Pietsch and the Gmelin Institute, editors, Gmelins Handhuch der Anorganischen Chemie. 8. Adage, System Number 60, Kupfer. Teil B, Lieferung 3, Verbindungen KupfecLithium his Kupfer-Eisen. Reaktionen der Kupfer Ionen R. D. Peacock, The Chemistry of Technetium and Rhenium R. CoUon, The Chemistry of Rhenium and Technetium Walter Br&, Fundamentalls of Chemical Reaotion Engineering W . E. Dasent, Nonexistent Compounds: Compounds of Low Stability T. A . Turney, Oxidation Mechanisms Pierre Bipuard, FddBric Joliot-Curie: The Man and His Theories Nobel Lectures in Chemistry. Volume 2, 1922-1941
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Journal of Chemical Education
A rather careful examination of one segment of the latest edition of this wellknown book will illustrate how extensive have been the revisions in organization and content. Of Chapters 1, 2, 4, and 5 (116 pp.) of the third edition dealing with various aspects of ultraviolet and visible "colorimetry" and spectrophotometry, one (Turbidimetry and Nephelometry) has disappeared completely. A critical selection of the subject matter of the other three chapters has been made, and this material has been reorganized and blended with much that is new to form fourth edition Chapters 3 and 4, Ultraviolet and Visible Absorption Instrumentation and Methods (88 pp.). The result is a somewhat more informative and comprehensive treatment of fundamentals, although a few topics have been so abridged that some students, depending upon their interests and backgrounds, may wish to consult supplemental sources. Part of the reduction in the number of pagm now devoted to ultraviolet and visible ahsorption spectrwcopy has been brought about, not by sacrificing useful
