book reviews tation, and interpretation of the signal rests on much less certain grounds, than the simpler "classical" potentiometric method (not mentioned) which is at least as precise and accurate. Another example is on p. 132, where titrimetric methods for hydrogen sulfide and sulfide ion are reviewed. Under Classical Methods the entry is "None of Importance." This will come as a. surprise to those who determined hydrogen sulfide and sulfide by iodometrio methods long before 19.50. Then on the facing page the first of the Recommended Contemporary Methods is caulometric titration with eledrogenerated iodine! Similarily, on p. 60 under Classical Methods for determining cerium (IV) one finds "None of importance," which ignores the iodometric method, or reductometric titration wit,h ferrous ion or arsenite. which were in use for several decades
by its title. However, it does make s. useful contribution by reviewing some of the more recent titrimitric methods, JAMESJ. LINGANE Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 0??158
Gel Permeation Chromatography Edited by Klaus H. Altgelt, Chevron Research Co., Richmond, California, and Leon Segal, US. Dept. of Agriculture, New Orleans. Marcel Dekker, 646 pp. Inc., New York, 1971. xvii Figs. and tables. 16.5 X 23.5 cm. s4.7.5.
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This hook is a collection of papers that were presented a t a symposium on gel permeation chromatography (gpc) at the 1970 National ACS Meeting in Houston. I t fills a gap in the literature in that few hooks have been devoted to this important analytical tool. "Gel Permeation Chromatography" will he invaluable to the practicing industrial chemist, both as a direct referenoe and as a guide to the literature. The book would $so be a good choice as a textbook for a special topics course in gpc at the graduate level or as supplementary reading for a course in chromatography. Steric exclusion chromatography has been divided rather arbitrarily into gel filtration chromatography (aqueous systems) and gel permeation chromatography (nonaqueous systems). Gel liltration deals primarily with separation problems in biological systems, but can be extended to the investigation of any water soluble sample, including inorganics. The reviewed book, as indicated by its title, deals primarily with gel permeation 8s a tool for investigating polymers and other large molecules that can be dissolved in nonaqueous systems. I t treats gel filtration and the packing materials that can he used i n squeoussystems only briefly.
A492
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Journol of Chemical Educofion
The book ia gpnerally well-wiircn and 1 collectim of free of errors. B e w u e it ~i artirles. it is not m frecflorrine, 2nd wrllorgaqizkd k would he a text written by a single author. There is some overlap and redundancy between the articles, but not a 3 much as one might expect from a collecti& of papers by individual authors. A chapter on the important topic of designing and packing a column would have q a referadded to the value of the book a ence for the beginning practitioner of gel permeation chromatography. A general discussion of sterie exclusion as a tool for fractionation of complex samples prior to detailed examination by other analytical methods would also have made the book more complete. Steric exclusion chromatography by itself m e l y gives enough analytical in'formation for the investigating chemist, but, when coupled with other techniques, it becomes a powerful method of analysis. In summary, "Gel Permeation Chromatography" is an excellent reference for the practicing industrial chemist who must solve separation problems. In addition, it could he used as a text for aspecial topics graduate level course that is devoted to this area of steric exclusion chromatography.
been published previously as papers or review articles. The reviewer finds little to recommend in this book. It will not be very useful to the expert in this field because it is not sufficiently complete. The casual reader will find the uneven presentation a severe limitation. He would do much better to consult recent reviews (e.g., R. L. Lemmon, Chemieal Reviews, 1970) or the more extensive discussions in other books dealing with the origins of life (e.g., M. Calvin, "Chemical Evolution," R. L. Kenyon and G. L. Steinman, "Biochemical Predestine tion," or J. D. Bernal, "the Origin of Life"). Finally the poor index and the uneven presentation limits its usefulness as a. stsndard reference work so that the reviewer would not recommend its purchase by s library.
JAMES P. FERRIS Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, N . Y . 18181
Chemical Modification of Proteins Galy E. Means and Robert Feeney. Holden-Day, Ine., Srtn Francisco, 1971. 300 pp. 86.95, paper. $12.50, cloth.
RICHARD A. HENRY Instrumat Produets Division To the knowledge of this reviewer, this is E. I . du Pant de Nemou~s& Co. the first monograph devoted to the chemWilminqton, Delaware i d modifiostion of proteins. It is well organized into three main parts. Part one (the first four chapters) is devoted to the Molecular Evolution I: Chemical chemistry snd chemical reactions of proteins. Part two is devoted to the Evolution and the Origin of Life chemistry and chemical reactions of Edited by R. Buvd, Laboratoire d'Ener numerous modifying reagents, and ingetique Electrochemique, Paris, and cludes information on the types of amino C. Ponnampemma, NASA Ames Reacid residues which are reactive towards search Center, Moffett Field, Calif. the individual reagents. The third part American Elsevier Publishing, Ca., Inc., takes the farm of an appendix, and con560 pp. Figs. New York, 1971. xi tains experimentzl procedures taken from and tables. 23 X 15.5 om. $25.50. the original literature, and is intended to "enable the reader to perform some of the This book contains the proceedings of a more important modification reactions." conference on the origins of life held in The book contains a large number of April, 1970 in Pont-bMousson in France. recent literature references, and for this This is not a systematic treatise but canreason it should prove a useful source for sists of abstracts of the sixty papers p r e resesrohers interested in using chemical sented at the conference. I t is subdivided modification ss a tool in protein chemistry. into eight sections: introductory, general It is well cross-referenced internally and is and theoretical, small molecules, oligomers easy to use. Finally, it is reasonably and nolvmers. nhotochemical orocesses. priced and should be a useful addition to orieins , . ~ of~hioloeical ~ structures. ~ ~ . nrimitive the personal library of anyone interested biovbemi~tryand biology, and exr,bihm. in the area of protein chemistry. 111 principle, one ihodd be nlJe I,, obtnin an overview of the whole of chemical evoluCHARLES L. BORDERS, JR. tion from the extensive coverage suggested The College of Wooster by these subdivisions. However, this Wooster, Ohio book has some severe limitations. The length and quality of the papers varies markedly. With a few exceptions, the papers consist merely of short abstracts which give only an outline of the topics Science, Man and Society that were discussed at the conference. There is a brief and not too useful subject R,,hrrt R. Fischer. California. State Col. ... . index. (A spot check revealed that many lege, Dominguea kills. W. B. Saunders ~ossibleentries were missing. Apparently 124 Co., Philtsdelphia, 1971. viii the indexer only listed those topics which pp. 22.5 x 15 cm. $2.95, Softbound. were discussed extensively.) There is no This is a book about science; it is not a author index. There is a list of conference book about o science. I t is intended to be participants; however, this is not very a supplement to the usual subject matter useful because it does not give the location textbook used in an introductory science of their particular paper in the text. course. The author hopes to correct (1) Finally it should be noted that about half the "lack of understanding of the basic of the chapters in this hook have already
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