book reviews serve the purpose-to demonstrate the variety of techniques available to characterize polymers and the information provided by each method. The coverage is broad and contemporary: Gel permeation chromatography, DTA, vapor pressure and automatic membrane osmometry, nmr characterization of tacticity, for example, are included. The last third of the text is devoted to hulk properties with chapters entitled "The Crystalline State," "The Amorphous State," "Mechanical Properties," "The Elastomeric State." and finally an excellent summarizing chapter, "StructureProperty Relations." Again, the background and interests of the students will dictate the depth of treatment: Traditional chemistry majors find most of the material entirely new and need introductory supplemental material. The general reading references in these chapters are usually a t too advanced a level and I have found myself doing a lot of handwaving here, but that need not always be a bad thing. A unifying theme throughout this section is the dependence of the polymer's physical properties on the nature of the manamer(s). Chain stiffness and chain regularity (packing) are related to melting points, T,,viscoelastic behavior, etc. It has been my experience that students need not know-or even be exposed to-the details of e.g., the statistical theory of rubber elasticity or free-volume theories of viscoelastic response in order to gain meaning-
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ful, qualitative insights into the relation of polymer structure and macroscopic behavior. Cowie's treatment is excellent in this respect. The book is attractive: the print is easy an the eyes, the figures are sharp and clear, and Cowie's style is concise and smooth. Numerous tables provide a great deal of comparative quantitative information. SI units are used consistently. There are a few minor errors (the captions of Figs. 13.8 and 13.9 are reversed: the contractile force of a random coil is due to entropieolly less favored conformations (p. 175)) but Ifound no substantive errors. Compared to Cowie's book, Billmeyer's "Textbook of Polymer Science" and Rodriquez's "Principles of Polymer Systems" are both so much broader in scope, and consequently so lacking in detail, that students find them more useful as hibliograhies than texts. Vollmert's "Polymer Chemistry," more detailed than Cowie in some aspects (polymerization and characterization), suffers from a lack of references and its steep price. Flory's "Principles of Polymer Chemistry," still the authoritative standard against which all others are judged, is more restricted in scope than Cowie, now out-dated in some aspects, and rugged going for undergraduates in many places. Cowie (preface) hoped "that this book will provide a reasonably broad coverage at the undergraduate level . . thereby providing a foundation on which a graduate may subsequent-
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ly build." His hope has been fully realized. I plan to adapt his book as the text in my course and I strongly recommend it to you. Walter Dannhauser State University ot New York a t Buffalo Buffalo, New York 14214
Free-Radical Chemistry
D. C. Nonhebel, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and J C. Walton, University of St. Andrews. Cambridge University Press, New York, 10022, 1974. xv 572 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 x 23.5 em. $35
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Free radicals are the most ubiquitous species among reactive intermediates in organic chemistry, since they can readily participate in reactions occurring in the gaseous, liquid, or solid states. Furthermore, homolysis can be induced thermally as well as by various types of radiation, and the possibility oi radical chain reactions allows for a variety of rapid chemical processes t o occur. Obviously, all facets oi iree radicals are difficult to encompass in one book, and the problem lies in haw to organize the varied material for presentation. "Free-Radical Chemistry," by Nonhebel and Walton is primarily concerned with the structure of iree radicals and the mechanism of iree-radical reactions. In(Continued on page A.5541
book reviews sight into their organization of the subject matter is best obtained by listing the table of contents: methods of production, physical methods of detection, shapes and stabilities of free radicals, comparison of reactions in the gas phase and in solution, reactions of atoms, alkyl, substitutedalkyl, and heteroatomic radicals, oxidation and reduction, aromatic substitution, fragmentations, rearrangements, eyclizations, and displacementsof freeradicals. Thermochemistry and kinetics receive minimal treatment, although relevant rate constants are listed for a number of bimolecular reactions. Examples of radical chain processes are presented throughout. but not treated explicitly in a quantitative manner. Overall the emphasis lies in a qualitative or semi-quantitative treatment of free radicals, and the hook is especially strong in presenting a varied and broad scope to the myriad of interesting and useful reactions available by free-radical routes. "Free-Radical Chemistry" covers the literature up-to-date and is a worthy successor to Walling's classic treatment, now more than 15 years old. It should stimulate further interest in free radicals for synthetic purposes, since it makes for interesting reading to chemists already somewhat familiar with the subject and provides a suitable textbook for advanced undergraduates and first-year graduate students. Jay K. Kochi Indiana University Bioomington, ind;ana 47401
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A Chemical Background for the Paramedical Sciences. Second Edition
Gerald F Grillot, Syracuse University, Harper & Row, New York, 1974. x + 551 pages. 15.5 X 24 cm. $10.95. The second edition of this introductory text for students preparing for careers in the health sciences, particularly nursing could have been greatly improved by more careful attention in the revision which should have modernized the chapters on general and organic chemistry. This text is intended for use in either a one- or two-semester course in chemistry for health science students. Enough introductory material has been provided so that it may be used by students who have had no high school chemistry. The strength of the hook lies in a number of chapters where a n attempt is made t o discuss the chemical reactions and campounds in the various physiological systems of the body, and in the extensive number of exercises a t the end of each chapter. Unfortunately, the chapters on general chemistry and introductory organic chemistry are largely uninteresting because they contain no hints as to the later importance of their concepts, contain eatraneous material, or contain either wrong or badly outdated concepts. Chapter 1, which the author admits he deletes from his course, would be deleted from mine as well; so why include it? The historical points are too brief to be interesting and the lengthy table of "important dates" will not be appreciated by most students.
On page 20, a compound is defined as having "definite and fixed" composition whlch as a very broad simplistic view may be accepted, but to then use a well-known non-stoichiometric compound, FeS, as an illustration is wrong. In the few pages that follow, space is wasted discussing the obsolete oxygen system of atomic weights and, while it is true that the -om and -ic methods of inorganic nomenclature are still in commercial use, not enough emphasis is placed on the IUPAC-accepted systems. Chapter 5 has been revised by adding a section a t the end on atomic orbitals when it should have been completely rewritten. A very workable, non-sophisticated presentation of atomic structure has been done by a number of other authors, and is very useful for the prediction of compound formation. There are some important omissions from this hook. For students who may ultimately he involved in respiration therapy, there is no mention of the ideal gas law! The kinetic molecular theory is presented very briefly but could have been used quite effectively in later discussions. Colligative properties and their effects should have been given more space, especially the cause and magnitude of osmotic pressure. In chapter 11 on important nonmetals, the role of fluoride in reducing dental carries is mentioned, hut the reason why is not explained; more time is spent and a n illustrstion (Fig. 32.1) given on the mottling effects of excess fluoride. The chapter on radiochemistry has most of the classical history of this subject with the (Continued on page A5561
