book reviews chemistry, nuclear chemistry, and some descriptive inorganic chemistry. There are several attractive features about this hook. A short summary a t the beginning of each chapter outlines the basic objective of the chapter while a set of key terms a t the end indicates the specific concepts which should he understood. The problems for each chapter are not extensive, hut are clearly formulated and appropriate to the material; answers are supplied for all numerical problems. Especially helpful to the student is the large number of sample problems carefully worked out in the text. The hook is well written in a clear concise ntvle. Illustrations are aoorooriate .~.. . and well done; indeed, the hook is very attractively ~ r o d u c e dand relatively free of errors. As might be expected in a book which devotes nearly half its pages to organic and biochemistry, the deficiencies tend t o he in the area of omission. For example, acid base chemistry receives only six pages with no mention of buffers or problems on pH; this seems inadequate when a major portion of the students for this text will came from nursing and allied health programs. Similarly, the treatments of chemical equilibria and chemical energy are exceedingly brief. The emphasis on organic and hiachem. istry seems appropriate, however, for a terminal chemistry course. Not only are these topics of particular interest to the
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students for whom such a hook would be used, they also reflect the balance of topics which a chemistry major would experience in a modern four-year curriculum. Arthur W. Herriott
Florida international University Miami. Fiorida 33144
IntroductionTo Chemistry
Arthur L. Williams, Harland D. Embree, and Harold J DeBey, California State University, San Jose. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc., Reading, Mass. 01867, 1973. xvi 774 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 x 24 cm. $12.50.
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The authors cite rapid advance in all areas of science, suggested changes from users of the first edition of this book, and continued demand as reasons for revising it. The major difference between this edition and the first is the addition of a ehapter specifically devoted to the chemistry of the environment which appears as the last chapter in the book. The placement of this particular topic a t the end of the hook is in keeping with the author's successful attempt a t presenting the material in a lagical fashion which was a strong point of the earlier edition. The environment serves as a n illustration of a n everyday concern of man which involves the three major areas of chemistry into which the authors had
previously divided their subject matter; namely, Inorganic, Organic, and Biochemistry. The division of the text into these three major areas of ehemistry is a carryover from the first edition. New material was added t o each of the three major sections in the revised edition. In the Inorganic section discussion of orbitals, oxidation-reduction equations, heats of reaction and formation, dialysis, Dalton's law of partial pressures, the basic oxygen furnace, and the Brmnsted-Lowry concept of acids and bases were added. The idea of p H was expanded and prohlems concerning molality and concentrations of solutions calculated as percentage by weight were included. In the Organic chemistry section discussions of amines, aldehydes, and ketones were expanded which allowed for the addition of more material concerning the chemistry of carbohydrates, amino acids, and proteins. New material on protein synthesis, the prostaglandins, and the significance of cyclic adenosine monophosphate were added to the biochemistry section. On the whole the additional material, the revision in the presentation of certain topics as well as the updating of the material has resulted in a n improvement of the quality of the new edition over the first without appreciably increasing the number of pages. In fact part of this increase can be attributed to the use of a smaller page size in the revised edition. The authors and publishers are to be commended for updating the material in the text as the maintenance of chemistry as a vital subject requires such action from time t o time. (Continued on page A5481
book reviews As was the case with the first edition, the second will serve as a very suitable text for a one-year terminal course in chemistry such as the kind that is offered in nursing, health science, or medical technology programs, because it does not presuppose any previous background in chemistry on the part of the student and assumes only a limited facility in mathematics. However it cannot be recommended for chemistry courses that are intended for liberal arts or business majors because the presentation of the subject matter is aimed a t an attainment of its understanding rather than the appreciation of the subject itself. Raymond P. Borkawski ~ i n g ' sCollege
Wiikes-Bane, Pennsyivania
Polymer Chemistry
Bruno Vollmert, University of Karlsruhe. Springer-Verlag. 175 Fifth Avenue, New Yark, 10010, 1973. xv + 652 pp. Figs. and Tables. 15.5 X 24 em. $29.50. According t o the dust cover, "This book gives a comprehensive coverage of the synthesis of polymers and their reactions, structure, and properties. The treatment
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of the reactions used in the preparation of macromolecules and their transformation into eross-linked materials is particularly detailed and complete. The book also gives a n up-to-date presentation of other important topics, such as enzymatic and protein svnthesis. solution ~rooertiesof macramolerulrs. polymer rr)ptallmtiun, and properties nl polymers in the i d i d d a t r " This is afair assessment. Following a brief introduction and discussion of structural principles, a long (300 pages) chapter is devoted to the "Synthesis and Reactions of Macromolecular Compounds." The important distinction between step-growth and chain-growth polymerization is illustrated with well-crnceived figures. Then follows a detailed discussion of free radical polymerization, including copolymerization and emulsion polymerization. The concepts of initiation, propagation, termination, and transfer are first introduced qualitatively with lavish use of structural formulas (this makes for "busy" pages hut should he greatly appreciated by students meeting these concepts for the first time) and only then are the kinetics developed. Vollmert has deliherately and consistently kept the mathematical detail throughout this chapter a t a sophomore's level. None of "It can readily be shown" or "It then fallows"; equations are developed step-by-step and the final results are often illustrated by excellent graphs and figures. A background of organic chemistry and introductory calculus and physical chemistry (freshman level) is adequate preparation for this chapter and most of the book. Homogeneous ionic polymerization is
. .
treated comparatively hriefly and heterogeneous polymerization (Ziegler-Natta catalysis) receives a rather cursory-and outdated-discussion. Thus, the principal reference is to Patat and Sinn's 1958 paper; Cosee and Arlman's work is mentioned only in passing and out of context. The chapter concludes with discussions of step-growth and ring-opening polymerizations, hiasyntheses, graft and block copolymers, and, finally, degradative reactions. This half of the book (less comprehensive, of course, than Lenz's "Organic Chemistry of Synthetic High Polymers" hut mare comprehensive if not as readable as Odian's "Principles of Polymerization") is a good compromise between overwhelming detail and a qualitative overview. Chapter 3 (150 pages) treats "The Properties of the Individual Macromolecule" such as molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, and molecular size and shape. The physical nature of the phenomena and some of the underlying theoretical bases are discussed qualitatively; final equations are then presented without derivation and their applicability is illustrated. Here, as throughout the entire hook, the lack of specific references is a great handicap. Vallmert's many references are only to authors, without specification of journals or even a date. Appropriately, the only exception I found was a specific reference to Staudinger's 1926 paper espousing the macromalecular hypothesis! Thus, even though I knew what I was looking for, it required a ten minute search of Chemical Abstracts to find the work referred to cryptically in Figure 345 (Continued on poge A5501
