General, Organic and Biochemistry William H Brown and Elizabeth Rogers, Willard Grant, Boston, MA, 1980. iii 720 pp. Figs. and tables. 26.0 X 18.4 cm.
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This book is directed toward students interested in life sciences, particularly those planning careers in the health profession. This is illustrated by the use of biological topics as examples. The text consists of 26 chapters with the first eight covering general chemistry. Organic chemistry and biochemistry are about equally divided between the remaining chapters. The section on general chemistry covers the fundamentals quite well although some topics may require elaboration. For example, molality, normality, and equivalent weight are not covered and there is very little detailed discussion about the chemical properties of the elements. The organic section begins with a review of covalent bonding and then introduces the more common functional groups. Hybridized orbitals and structural isomerism are also introduced. A detailed discussion of strucganic chemistry. The organic chapters usually begin with an introduction to the functional group being considered. There follows a brief coverare . of the nomenclature and physical properties. The reactions of the functional group had to be selective and reaction mechanisms are discussed in varying degrees of detail. For example, free radical mechanisms are not covered while the mechanism for electrophilic additions to earbon-carbon double bonds is quite detailed. It might be noted that the authors M e carbocation instead of carbanium ion.
Aromatic compounds are not covered in a separate chapter but are briefly mentioned a t the end of chapter 11on unsaturated hydrocarbons. No reactions are given. Phenols are included in the chapter on alcohols and ethers (chapter 13) and then only the acidity of phenols is covered. The chapter on unsaturated hydrocarbons is followed by a chapter on stereoisomerism and optical activity. The treatment is traditional and relatively complete. The symbols (+) and (-1 are used t o indicate rotation of polarized light hut D and L-notation is not introduced far another six chapters, under carbohydrates. The R- and S-notation is not mentmned. The remaining chapters cover alcohols, phenols, and ethers; aldehydes and ketones; earboxylic acids; functional derivatives of earboxylic acids, and amines. Heterocyclic compounds are not covered. A chapter on cell structure would have been useful to the biochemistrv section.
cussed very briefly &four pages in the chapter an nucleic acids. The last three chapters cover metabolism, beginning with glucose metabolism. Only glycolysis is discussed in detail; glyeogenesis, glycagenalysis, gluconeogenesis, and the heaose monophosphate shunt are mentioned only briefly with no reactions or intermediates listed. The Krebs evele is resented bv mentioned, but the sequence is not given. Fatty acid metabolism outlines the reactions of beta oxidation but leaves out the enzymes, and fatty acid biosynthesis is treated in the same manner.
The last chapter covers amino acid metabolism with regard to degradation only. The urea cycle is covered to illustrate the fate of the nitrogen and only the carbon skeleton from d i n e and glyeine are considered in any detail. Photosynthesis is not covered. Several typographical errors were noted. For example, on page 357 the structure of 1,1,2,2-ktrabromop10pane is missing a bromine; on page 527, table 18.2, D-allose is given as an alternate name for D-psicose when Dallulase was probably meant; on page 532 the hydrogen on the C-5 carbon on the chair conformation of a-D-glucopyranose is missing; on page 574, figure 20.2 illustrates the titration of glyeine hydrochloride, hut the legend states that i t is glycine. The teat is easy to read with example problems worked in detailed and fully explained steps. These problems are very helpful in illustrating the concepts covered in the chapter. Unworked problems within the text are answered in the appendix, and selected problems a t the end of the chapters are answered in a student manual. In addition to the usual topics, the text contains twelve mini-essays scattered throughout the book. These are well-written and informative additions which relate the text material to daily living. The weakest section appears to he the organic chemistry section, but with a little added coverage by the instructor the text should serve quite well as a one-year course for the health profession, and i t should receive serious consideration for adoption. William L. Haaa
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Appalachian State University Baone, NC 28608
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-Reviewed in this Issue William H. Brown and Elizabeth Rogers, General, Organic and Biochemistry Stanley H. Pine, James B. Hendrickson, Donald J. Cram, and George S. Hammond, Organic Chemistry, 4th Edition S. Bance, Handbook of Practical Organic Microanalysis K. Jeffrey Johnson, Numerical Methods in Chemistry Jonathan Turk, Introduction to Environmental Studies Thomas G. Spiro and William M Stlgliani, Environmental Science in Perspective Malcolm Dixon and Edwln C. Webb, Enzymes Joseph H. Keenan, Jing Chao and Joseph Kaye, Gas Tables. Thermodynamic Properties of Air, Properties of Combustion and Component Gases, Compressible Flow Functions Walter Jennings, Gas Chromatography with Glass Capillary Columns Patricia Byrd, Carol A. Drum and Barbara J. Wittkopf, Guide to Academic Libraries in the United States, for Students of English as a Second Language New Volumes in Continuing Series Titles of interest
A64
Journal of Chemical Education
Reviewer William L. Haag Carl D. Slater Peter T. Kissinger J. Emory Howell J. Michael Conner David L. Dean Debra DunawayMariano Truman Storvick
R. J. Laub A. E. Skinner
