BOOK REVIEWS
J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci., Vol. 36, No. 3, 1996 619
BOOK REVIEWS Fuzzy Sets and Fuzzy Logic: Theory and Applications. By George J. Klir and Bo Yuan. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1995. 574 pp. $60.00. ISBN 0-13-101171-5. Sales e-mail:
[email protected]. Unfortunately, we are not living in a perfect world, and no data are faultless; precision always ends somewhere. Therefore there is a need for dealing with imprecise information. This is not an encouragement for broader imprecision in measurement, the book serves as a description of a precise way for dealing with uncertain information and gives a methodology for exploiting the tolerance for imprecision. Classical analytical methods require exact information; statistics and probability deal with too many variables and too high randomness. Fuzzy theory bridges this gap and, as the first author is one of the promoters and teachers of the subject nearly from its beginning, this book covers the theory thoroughly and includes recent advances in the field. Unlike its subject, the book is not fuzzy in its precise definitions and proofs at all. Moreover, nearly each treated notion and method is accompanied by examples, which enormously enhance understanding. However, for the number of formulas the book cannot be used as a light introduction to the field, though it does not require previous knowledge of fuzzy theory. There are no hidden stumble blocks in the theory, which is easy to follow, but its study needs perseverance, at least for chemists without previous knowledge of fuzzy theory. It is meant as a textbook at the graduate level (contains also exercises) as well as for self-study, aimed for people interested in acquiring a solid understanding of the foundations of fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic. It will give the reader a broad and quite deep overview over the fuzzy theory with hints to applications. It can also be very useful as a reference, since it contains glossary of key concepts, bibliography of 1700 items, bibliographical notes at the end of each chapter, and bibliographical, name, and subject indices. The book is divided into two parts, Theory and Applications. The first nine chapters deal with comparison of fuzzy and classical “crisp” sets, fuzzy operations, arithmetic, relations, possibility theory, logic, and uncertainty based information. Eight chapters of the applications part deals with practical construction of fuzzy sets and its usage in expert systems and with further fuzzified methods like neural networks, pattern recognition, clustering and image processing, databases and information retrieval, decision making, and engineering and other applications (fuzzy genetic algorithms included). However, the theoretical part is twice as large as the application one, and practical examples are chosen only as an inspiration, restricted by the size of the book. Therefore they cannot be used as ready made recipes; the first chapters dealing with theory have to be studied before going to any applications. Fuzzy theory has already proved itself to be a practical tool in many industrial applications. I believe that in chemistry, save the obvious chemical engineering, there are many other areas of possible utility of fuzzy theory, namely in chemometrics, analysis of spectra, structure elucidation, and search through databases. Thorough reading of this book can give an inventive chemist a theoretical basis for new and exciting applications.
Jirˇ´ı Pospı´chal SloVak Technical UniVersity CI950144A
Handbook of Plastic and Rubber Additives: An International Guide to More Than 13,000 Products by Trade Name, Chemical, Function and Manufacturer. Compiled by Michael Ash and Irene Ash. Gower: Aldershot, Hampshire, England. 1995. 1340 pp. $195.00. ISBN 0-566-07594-6. This work, divided into four sections, is a collection of current and essential information about 13 000 trade name and chemical additives.
Scientists and technologists who develop and market new and improved plastic and rubber products will find it indispensable. About half the book is devoted to a trade name reference of over 11 000 alphabetical entries of additives. Each entry lists the manufacturer, chemical composition, CAS registry number, EINECS (European Inventory of Existing Commercial Chemical Substances) number, general properties, applications and functions, toxicology, and compliance and regulatory information. Part II is an alphabetical listing of over 2400 additives. Each entry gives the trade name products that are equivalent to the chemical or contains that chemical as one of the trade name product’s constituents. The Functional/Cross-Reference is an alphabetical listing of over 80 major plastic and rubber additive functional categories. Each functional category entry is followed by an alphabetical listing of the trade name products and chemicals that have that functional attribute. Part IV lists names, addresses, and phone numbers for the manufacturers of the generic chemical and trade name products referenced in this source. The appendices with various cross-references and a list of discontinued trade names are useful. Essential for science and business libraries that support research and development of plastic and rubber products.
Bruce Slutsky New Jersey Institute of Technology CI950320F
Modern Conformational Analysis. Elucidating Novel Exciting Molecular Structures. Helena Dodziuk. VCH: New York. 1995. 264 pp. $99.95. ISBN 1-56081-689-9. Among other things, this book is a veritable “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not” of weird organic structures. Propellanes, rotanes, catenanes, fenestranes, prismanes, and dendrimers all make an appearance. For the sheer beauty and fascination of carbon and hydrogen assembled into hundreds of unique shapes, this is a great book. But there is more. Layered onto this are a number of excellent reviews. Chirality and the Cahn-Ingold-Prelog rules are clearly described. The pros and cons of many different experimental methods for studying conformation are compared, along with a table indicating the time-frame for each method. Various kinds of isomerism (stereoisomers, enantiomers, diastereomers, and others) are differentiated in a straightforward way. The chapter on standard structures of organic compounds is essential reading for any computational chemist who lacks a strong organic chemistry background. Oddly, the chapter on theoretical methods was uneven in its coverage of quantum methodssa thorough treatment of ab initio calculations, a too brief section on semiempirical methods, and one sentence on density functional methods. Most of the other chapters were quite balanced and consistent in the depth of their coverage. The writing style is very clear and readable. Each chapter is extensively referenced, leading the reader into more detailed discussion of every topic. There is an adequate index (6 pages). This book delivers what the title promises: it presents modern theoretical and experimental methodology for the conformational analysis of organic structures. I am pleased to have a copy on my bookshelf.
D. Eric Walters The Chicago Medical School CI960421T
