SEPTEMBER, 1954
501
and R. L. Hardin in Chapter 14. Attention is directed mainly to hemoglobin and its derivatives, although other respiratory proteins are not omitted. W. E. Van Heyningen writes Chapter 15 on the action of toxic proteins found in snake venoms and elaborated by certain plants and bacteria. In Chapter 16 the proteins in milk are discussed bv ~" T. L. McMeekin and in Chanter 17 the methods of nrevaration, composition, and properti& of egg proteins are p&ented by R. C. Warner. The late work on seed proteins, that has fallowed the classical investigationa of Osborne, is renewed by 6. Brohult and E. Sandegren (Chapter 18). The title of Chapter 19 is, "Proteins and protein metabolism in plants." I n this chapter F. C. Steward and J. F. Thompson disouss protein synthesis in the growing plant and the relationship between protein-N, carbohydrates, and nonprotein constituents, particularly asparagine and glntamine, during various phases of plant cell activity. The effect of the mineral supply on pr* k i n formation in plants is also considered. The final chapter (Chapter 20) by C. H. Li summarizes in excellent fashion the present knowledge of the protein hormones. The format of this volume is similar to that of the earlier members of this series. Extensive literature references, many as late as 1953, appear as footnotes. There seem to be few typographical errors, though this reviewer noted some on page 547 and page 642. The reference on page 650 to Kendall's isolation of thyroxin should be 1919, not 1951. The high quality of the contents of these volumes and their obvious value to anyone interested in the proteins should place them on the shelves of all workers in biochemistry. Unfortunately, this will not happen. Their high cost will he beyond the means of many. F. A. CAJORI
S ~ v LARE r CITT.UTAH
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IMIDAZOLE AND ITS DERIVATIVES. PART I
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THE COLLECTED PAPERS OF PETER 1. W. DEBYE
Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, 1954. xxi 4- 700 pp. 21 X 28.5 cm. Illustrated. $9.SO.
IN1939 a statue was erected in the town of Maastricht in Holland in honor of its famous son, Peter J. W. Dehye. On the occasion of his seventieth birthday on March 24, 1954, Debye's pupils, friends, and publishers have erected a monument more durable than bronze by printing a volume containing a selection of his classical papers. The selection has been made by the author himself, and the wide scope of these fundamentally important papers bear8 witness of the versatility of one of the greatest physical chemists of our time. The articles have been arranged in subject groups, uiz., X-ray Scattering, Electrolytes, Dipole Moments, Light Scattering, and Miscellaneous. Those originally published in German and Dutch have been translated into English. To place the papers in the proper context and to indicate some of the developments they initiated, a brief survey accompanies each one of the first four groups (authors: R. M. Fuoss, H. Mark, and C. P. Smyth).
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HENRY EYRING U ~ l r i l F c a Or l~~
Klaus Hofmann, Professor of Biochemistry, Medical School, University of Pittsburgh. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, 1953. xviii 447 pages. 6 figs. 32 tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. Single volume price, $13.50. Subscription price, $12.25.
U m v ~ n a ~OF m COLORADO SCROOLOF M E D ~ N E DenvEa. Comnmo
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surfaces. I t eives the work of 19 author8 in 14 cba~terswith the rrqvtious uf 45 disrusssnrs. A brief diseuasion of tlac problems prescntcd by surfnces by Dr. 1'. 1'. Ewahl is followel by Dr. Conrers Herring, irr which he corrsidem such matters as mrface tension, neck growth, surface volume equilibrium, etc. He emphasizes the macroscopic ft~ctors that driven system toward equilibrium rather than the moleculi~r nature of the rate processes themselves. Ewald and Juretsche then discuss the atomic theorv of surface enerw .., in fundamental terns. Weyl empharirer the importanre of pohrirahility of surfare ions in detprmininr the a ~ t r i n g o aurfnw; f and, through that, n ~ r imyrurr:mt y ymprrtiw of the lnrterial. "'l'l~c k4l~eziurrof solids," by Iloudrrr and T h x , revonl. a variety of inrrrmting crpcrinicnts. llow molceular strurture influenrrk vrystnl strurture is inwrrstingly told i n a chapter by Wells. Buckles sers little connection 1wtu.een thc rnaerorco~ie crystal spirals &d screw dislocations. He opens up a varietiof interesting questions concerning crystal growth. "Enitoxv" hv Seiffert: "Adsorotion" bv Emmett and bv Whc&, ; ' ~ a t b ~ y s iby'noudilrt,' s~~ '.\dsorl;tion" I n Hill, a& "Spinal Catnlysis" hy Sehrvnbb, ltoth, Crintzu, ~ n d hvrnki~ are 311 chapters which the surfwe chrmia~will pnrfit In. nnJ nil1 enjoy. This book deserves careful study.
STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF SOLID SURFACES
Edited by Robert Gomer and Cyril Stanley Smith. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1953. mi 491 pp. 192 figs. 21 tables. 14.5 X 22 cm. $8.50.
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Tars book is the report of a conference organized by the Committee on Solids of the National Research Council. It presents an impressive effort to get a t the fundamentals of the theory of
THIS monommh is the sixth of a ~roiectedseries of annroximately thirtyiaiumes concerned with'vaiious topics in thd h e m istry of heterocyclic compounds. The present volume is Part 1 of a. two-volume set concerned with the five-membered heterocyclic ring system containing two nitrogen atoms and known as imidazole. Part I1 is not yet available and it ie the intention of the publisher that Part I1 cover imidazole~condensed with ring systems other than the benzene ring. The material in the present volume (Part I ) is arranged in two main sections. Section 1 contains 324 pages and discusses in eight chapters the following topics: general properties and structure of the imidazoles; the alkyl- and arylimidasoles; the oxyand bydroxyimidazoles and their sulfur analogues; the halogenoimidazoles; the nitro-, srylaeo-, and rtminaimidszoles; the imidazolecarhoxylicand snlfonic acids; the imidazolines, 2-imidazolidones, 2-imidazolidinethiones, 2-iminoimidaeolidines, and imidazolidincs; and the benzimidazoles. The first of these chapters is concerned largely with an interpretation of the physical and chemical properties of the imidazole ring in terms of the molecular structure of the ring. The seven chapters which follow are conoerned with the methods of synthesis and the properties of the types of compounds indicated. The author bas discussed rather carefully and critically the soape and relative value of the various synthetic methods. A thorough command of the imidaeale literature is apparent here. The properties and chemical reactions of each group of imidasole derivatives are also adequately discussed. Theauthor has chosen tointerpret many of the reactions of imidazoles in terms of resonance structures, transition states, and electron migrations. The thoughtful reader will, of course, be cautious about the acceptance of these interpretat i o n ~ss anything more than useful ideas and will continue to make a careful distinction between the experimental fact that a substance has a particular observable property or undergoes a particular reaction and an explanation of that fact. The mechanistic concepts used in this book have already proven to be
502
JOURNAL O F CHEMICAL EDUCATION
rather useful in aliphatic and aromatic organic chemistry and application of these concepts to heterocyclic chemistry is welcome and should he encouraged. The author has pointed out in his preface, however, that his interpretations are for the most part speculative and ". . .are given with the aim of stimulating inquiry into the theoretical aspects of imidazole chemistry." The text is abundantly illustrated with equations usiug structurd formulas. These formulasin most cases have been orientated on the page in such a manner that it is relatively simple to relate particular atoms of the starting products with the corresponding atoms of the final product. The typography of the structural formulas is excellent. Several groups of naturally occurring substances of considerable physiological or pharmacologicalimportmce contain an imidazole or reduced imidaeole ring as part of their structure. One major group, the purines, does not come within the scope of this volume, and purines are mentioned only when these are the result of a. reaction of a substituted imidazole. Discussion of the growth factor, hiotin, has been excluded, apparently far 8. similar reason. Several napes have been devoted to desthiobiotin, which contains only a substituted imidazolidone ring and is an important degradation product of biotin. Members of another group, the "Jaborandi" alkaloids present in various Pilocwpus species, contain an imidaeole nucleus and might properly be included in this volume. For unstate3 reasons, however, the author has chosen to exclude this group. The author has presented rather lengthy discussions totaling 47 pages concerning the important amino acid, histidine, and the related substance, histamine. These discussions are informative and well written but inclusion of such details as isolation, quantitative estimation, and distribution of histidine and histamme in nature seems out of place in a volume urimarilv devoted otherwise to the or~anic - chemistry of imidseoles. Rention 2 of this monoerauh consists of 95 uaws and is entitled
neriad. This section seems of dubious value to anv but those
Abstracts. The 27-page index contains page references only to Section 1 and the general headings of Section 2. Source references in Section 1 have been collected a t the end of each chapter and are listed in the order of mention within the chapters. This hihliographical arrangedent seems no less convenient then the other common method of la cine the references a t the bottom of the . first page on which they are mentioned and a somewhat neater page appearance has resulted. This volume fulfills in every respect what should be the twofold aim of such a monograph: to inform and to stimulate further research. The author has made an important and valuable coutributian to the chemistry of heterocyclic compouuds and to the general field of organic chemistry. ~
The volume now under review deals with the application of dislocation theory to the explanation of phenomena of crystal growth, especially the spiral growth patterns which have been observed on the surfaces of many crystals during the last few years. Mauy h e photographs of such patterns are included, also good descriptions of the various techniques which have been found useful in studvine . crvstal surfaces. Thir I,mk van 'he w~~nmmendrrl t o all intrrwtrrl in It.? prrsrut stntusof r h r . ~ ~ r ! . n n r l r x l r n . ~ nin~ rIllis ~ ~ t licld.
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MAURICE L. HUGGINS E*BTM*NKOD*KCOXP*NT ROCHE~TER, N . , " YORK
THE STORY OF SPICES John W. Parry. Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1953. vii 208 pp. 14.5 X 22 em. $4.50.
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SPICEShave been in use by man for so long that a history of the spice trade is almost a history of the wodd. Unfortunately, Mr. Parry has tried to make it one; his work would have been better had it been more selective. Nevertheless, he has written a fascinating story of the uses of ~pices(Pliny recommended the use of the smell of garlic to drive away serpents and scorpions), the superstitions concerning them, and the effect of the search for spices and new routes to the spice lauds on world history. There is an excellent appendix describing many of the herbs and spices; best of all iis the oollection of ancient prescriptions using spices to cure everything from heartburn to epilepsy. Scnr~paIN~TITUTION OP O C E A N O ~ R A P X T
CONCERNING THE NATURE OF THINGS Sir William Bragg, Fullerian Professor, Royal Institute, London, England. Reissue. Dover Publications, New York, 1954. xi 232 pp. 32 plates. 57 figs. 13.5 X 20.5 cm. Cloth, $2.75. Paper, 51.25.
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T m s reprint of lectures given thirty years ago is still full of apt suggestions on the nature of atoms, gases, liquids, and solids. Mauy demonstrations and vivld teachlng analogies are included, particularly for the physicist or physical science survey teacher. J. A. CAMPBELL
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EARL C. SPAETH UlYlvnns~TY08 CONNBCTICUT STORRB. CONNECTICOF
GRAPHICS IN ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
A. S. Levenn, Professor of Engineering Design, University of California, Berkeley, California. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New 696 pp. 17.5 X 25 em. $7. York, 1954. viii
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. .- .
CRYSTAL GROWTH AND DISLOCATIONS Ajit Ram Verma, Lecturer in Physics, University of Delhi; I.C.I. Research Fellow, Royal Holloway College, University of London. Aoademic Press Inc., New York, 1953. xii 182 pp. 76 figs. 14 X 22 cm. $5.
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A BOOK ou "Dislocations in Crvstals." bv W. T. Read. Jr.. was EDOC.,31,389 (1954)). recently reviewed in these pages 0.
CAM.
G. G. SHOR
The first section puts more emphasis on orthogonal projection than is usual in a beginning text in engineering drafting. Section three presents elementary mathematics through calculus by graphical methods. Some of the topics covered are functional scales, empirical equations, nomography, graphic statics, grayhical calculus (both differentiation and integration), and gmaphm in research (particulssly prosthetic devices). An amnle au~endixaives tabulated data, manhical wmbols. and drafting r&m pra&e.
