VOL.8, NO. 11
RECENT BOOKS
certain that they will wish t o do so after they have availed themselves of this opportunity to become familiar with Scheele's own account of his remarkable activities. RALPHE. OESPER U N I V B R S ~ ~OF Y C~NCINNATI CINcrNrrArr, Omlo
Lavoisier. J. A. COCHRANE.Constable and Co. Ltd., London, Eng., 1931. xiii 264 pp. 20 X 30 cm. 7s. 6d.
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This book is an accurate and entertaining account of the life and work of the famous French chemist. Lavoisier. I t traces his career from the early days, through his association with the French Academy of Sciences and the Ferme Gknkrole, to the troublous period of the Revolution, which finally led to his tragic death. Much material found only in inaccessible books is included in s condensed form. A careful examination of the book confirms the statement of the publisher that the author "has brought into prominence the event3 in the life of the great Frenchman, and has rescued from obscurity incidents that strike deep into the foundations of European history." The author is just, though somewhat severe, in evaluating the relation of Lavoisier's experimental work t o the discoveries of Priestley and Cavendish. The record of this work is unusually complete and due credit is given the French chemist for his logical treatment of discoveries, his own as well as others, which led to fundamental generalizations, particularly the interpretation of the rhle of oxygen in combustion and respiration. Lavoisier's ability in the fields of geology, agriculture, finance, economics, literature, education and politics are adequately set forth in language which is lucid and often witty. We are shown vividly the ceaseless activity of Lavoisier in a life marked by generosity, versatility, and usefulness. It is clearly demonstrated that while Lavoisier was an aristocrat by birth, training, and association, he was actually and dynamically a rare combina-
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tion of aristocracy and democracy, living and working among the Clite but coincidentally planning and striving for the good of the common people, be they the unfortunate peasants on his own estate or the potential mobs in the cities. The suppression of the Academy that was so dear to Lavoisier, the arrest, imprisonment, trial, and execution are depicted in appropriate words, and Mme. Lavoisier's devotion during the last days is described, perhaps t w briefly, in a way that shows she was a keen appraiser of her husband's worth and his country's infamy. We are fortunate in having in this book an adequate, reliable, and balanced story of the man who is often called "the founder of modern chemistry." LYMANC. NEWELL BOSTON UNIYBRS~IY BOSTON,MASSACXUSBTTS
Physical Chemistry for Colleges. E. B. MILLARD.Professor of Physical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (International Chemical Series. James F. Norris, Ph.D., Consulting Editor.) Third edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 370 Seventh Avenue, New York City, 1931. viii 522 pp. 87 Figs. 13.8 X 20.2 cm. 83.75.
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This book is a revision of the Second Edition, published in 1927, the original having made its appearance in 1921. The author's aim in writing the book was expressed in the preface to the first edition, namely "to bring before college students certain of the mare important aspects of physical chemistry, together with modem data which illustrate the applicability of its laws t o the phenomena observed in the laboratory." The prerequisites to an intelligent use of the book by the student are: general inorganic chemistry, quantitative analysis, college physics, and the simple processes of the calculus. The text proposes not only to emphasize "the limitations of the orthodox laws of physical chemistry," hut also t o impart "an appreciation' of the fact that i t is an unfinished and growing
