RECENT BOOKS INORGANIC CHEMISTRY FOR COLLEGES. Wi&3m Foster, Ph.D.. Russell Wellman Moore Professor of Chemistry, Princeton University. Second edition. D. Van Nostrand Co., New York City, 1936. x f 925 pp. 216 6gs. 13.5 X 21.5 cm.
$3.90. This new edition follows the general plan of the previous one. but many portions have been rewritten so as t o include new developments in the science. An entire chapter has been devoted to atomic structure, including a. modified Bohr-Thomsen periodic table, the electron theory of valence, heavy hydrogen and heavy water, transmutation of the elements, and a brief statement of the quantum theory. The chapters on ionization have been modernized, and the new defiuitions of acid and base are given. New problems have been introduced, and the reading references a t the ends of the chapters have hem extended I.ikc thc Grsr edition, this book will appeal particularly to the studenr in chemistry r h o is interested in n reference hook which covers the whole science in an introductory way. J. H. REEDY
TO ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. Aluandcr Lowy, AN INTRODUCTION Ph.D., Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, and Bnjemin Harrow, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Chemistry, College of the City of New York. Fourth edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York City, 1936. xiv f 429 pp.
15 X 23 cm. $3.00. The authors and publishers of this text, apparently in their desire to keep the contents abreast of c m n t developments in the field of organic chemistry, have consistently revised this volume every four years since its first appearance in 1924. This new fourth edition includes "besides cmsiderable additional material, the more important recent advances in the Geld of organic chemistry, a t least, such of them as are suitable for an elementary text," according to the authors. "The nomenclature has been revised, wherever necessary," to conform to present usage. A new chart, summarizing many of the important reactions of acetylene and products derived from it, has been added. The reading references a t the end of each chapter and the additional reference hooks a t the end have been brought up t o date. The authors have attempted to emhody in this text the wellrecognized basic principles of organic chemistry, its recent developments and important applications. Illustrative material has been selected extensively from the fields of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, agriculture, and other biological sciences. As a result, chapters dealing with lipoids, nucleaproteins, foodstuffs and their changes in the hody, plant and animal pigments, enzymes, vitamins, hormones, and s i m i k topics have been included. The authors consider i t suitable for se in connection with a lecture course meeting two hours a wee aver a period of two semesters. The major criticism of this text, in the opinion of thereviewer, is that the treatment of subject matter may be too brief and inadequate a t times, particularly for the student with the chemistry major. The topics are well-organized, clear, and logical, but almost assume outline form at times where a more extensive discussion would be better. However, this difficulty can be largely overcome by the student who will read extensively from the numerous references a t the end of each chapter, or by the well-informed instructor who can read between the lines and will supplement the brief treatment in the text with additional material and detail during the lecture period. While many new topics have been added or expanded, such as the tetrahedral carbon atom, phenol from chlorobenzene, etc., many instructors will still wish that the treatment mixht have been more extensive.
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Other topics such as kelation, rotenone, etc., have been entirely omitted, but these, perhaps, are beyond the scope of this volume and belong essentially in advanced or graduate courses. Practically ail equations are written structurally, greatly simplifying their interpretation by the student. A large amount of useful information is neatly arranged in table and outline form. This volume contains many commendable features to mcommend it to both students and instructors. The style is unusually clear and logical. Relationships between the various organic types are more clearly shown than in most similar volumes. The last chapter deals with nomenclature (American practice) and is so located that it is readily available for reference use. Numerous tables and charts (some in two colors) add a large amount of supplementary information. Reading references are extensive, up to date, and of a type that should be readily available in most college and university libraries. Sufficient material on recent organic advances has been added to this fourth edition to make a distinct improvement over the previous edition. Biological topics, such as vitamins, enzymes and hormones, proteins and foodstuffs in the hody, etc., have been extended. Many instructors will welcome the inclusion of several portraits of prominent organic chemists, including four living Americans. The hook is neatly and substantially bound. I t is remarkably free from typographical errors. Reading is easy, and is improved by the pleasing arrangement and extensive use of structural formulas and charts. The volume should be a valuable reference book on any organic chemist's desk, and should continue t o be a leader among texts for two-semester courses in introductory organic chemistry. R ~ P E. H DUNBAR DAXOTI, WBS~YANUNWBRSITY MITCHBLL, SOUTYD*KOTA
PHYSIC^ CHEMISTRYPOR COLLEGES.A Course of Instruction Based upon the Fundamental Laws o f Chemistry. E. B. Millord, Professor of Physical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fourth edition. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York-City, 1936. ix 4- 524 pp. 14 X 20.4 cm. $3.75.
This excellent textbook, now inits fourth edition, first appeared in 1921. The author states in the preface: "The acquisition of a chemical education may be represented figuratively by progress along a spiral path about a perpendicular erected a t the common intersection of these fields [inorganic,,organic, analytical, and physecall, and the utmost capacity of an undergraduate student will not represent more than two revolutions of such a spiral. Thus he passes over each field twice, and it would be an extravagance to claim, or t o allow him t o believe, that he has mastered a broad field by so doing. . The author has endeavored to adjust the pitch of the spiral so that the student will he stimulated without being discouraged." I n this aim the author has succeeded in an unusml degree, and the widely diverse subdivisions of the subject have been correlated so as to give the student a unified working knowledge. The present edition presents a considerable number of improvements in the subject matter. The chapter on "Physical Properties and Molecular Structure" has been entirely deleted, and a chapter an "Free Energy and Chemical Change" added. The laws of thermodynamics have been elaborated and stated, though briefly, in mathematical terins. The chapter on "Solid Substances" has been extensively revised, giving a more detailed discussion of powder photograms, unit cells of various space lattices, and the crystal structure of compounds. Particularly noticeable throughout the book is the attitude of conservatism adopted by the author. For example, on page 75 of the third edition the statement is made: "The cause of molecular attraction is not ful2y understood." In the present edition, on page 81, the author is not willing to concede even a partial knowledge of the phenomenon, stating that "the cause
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