RECENT BOOKS M o m w~ Youn MONEY. H. Bennett. F.A.I.C. Chemical Publishing Company of New York, Inc., New York City, 1937. xii 251 pp. 15 X 22.5 cm. 52.75. Although directed toward the protection of the consumer this bwk differs from those terror books by professional reformers, with which the country has been deluged in recent years. Instead of being merely destructive, this author attempts to tell not only what may be wrong with what we buy, but what to do about it.
+
In thirty-nine chapters, he gives. fist, some general precautions to be observed in the purchase of anything, and then specific information about pitfalls for the unwary in the purchasing of such widely differing substances and commodities as foods. drugs, cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, electrical equipment, household cleansers, kitchen utensils, motor cars, furniture, bedding, clothing, furs, textiles, luggage. office supplies, jewelry, e t c - e v e n to apartments, insurance, and education-by-mail.
.
Most of the information is taken onenlv oublica. from eovemment tions, or the brochures of the Household Finance Corporation. of Chicago, Illinois. The chapter on cosmetics-for which there is so great a need and so genuine a demand for constructive information, especially in schools, is pathetically inadequate. I n contrast t o the fairly complete, factual presentations on many of the other classes of products, the information here is meager, and i t vapors off into such generalities as "...organic ingredients of a highly toxic nature" (in deodorants: no names. no tests): and ". . .trulv , horrible and pitiful consequrnces" (of the antiquated metallic hair dyes; rcfutcd repeatedly by competent and reputable authorities). It also furthers the fiction that the medical brethren and the professional crusaders constitute the best sources of information on cosmetics-fhe implication being that with their published laboratory findings, which may be scientific and correct enough, both educators and the public should swallow their free-lance deductions and inferences. which are freauentlv both unsci. entific and incorrect. Of decidedly doubtful vnluc, if not patentially dan~erous,is another impliration that the patch test (for the determination of allergic substances) can be utilized with equal success for cosmetic substances in general. I t is a t least singular t o see this myopic and distorted view vf a vast industry, t o which the author, in another personal manifestation, would like t o sell large quantities of proprietary raw materials. Any chemist should know certain tests which are better than many of those described throughout this bwk, and almost anyone with some technical knowledge should be able t o circumvent the nou-debatable errors; but i t would probably be di5cnlt for consumers themselves to follow these directions for their own protection unless they are withm easy reach of a fairly good supply of chemicals. Of considerable value would be an appendix listing all the chemicals mentioned in the tests, with the proper concentrations and the average amounts required, and the approximate cost of assembling such a collection. MOD *.OR YOURMONEYis a nice looking book, but i t would be better reading if it were edited in just one idiom. Predominantly American in presentation, yet printed in England, the resultant conglomeration of the customary variations in spelling, the pointless quotation marks, and the occasional colloquialisms (obviously thrown in as a sap t o British readers), ranges all the way from merely incongruous t o downright funny. However, it marks a t least a gaod step in the right direction, and those that know bow t o use it--esneciallv teachers of chemistrv. .. "renerd science, and home economics, who are intrrcsted in furthering t h education ~ of consumers-will find this book a valuable compendium to keep at hand and c o n d t frequently.
..
~~~
~~
.
sections have been revised and rewritten t o a considerable ~. extent, thusaddingsumecighty-eight pages to thir ncmer volume. A new supplcm:nt of four chapters, dsignated as Part 11, by Ilugh Graham deals wlth scveral biological s p m t s of organic chemistry. The 6rst part of this volume contains the following chapters: Organic Chemistry in the Twentieth C e n t m . Some Carbohydrate ~oustitutions,The Sesquiterpene ~ r & ~ The p , Diterpenes and Triterpenes, Rubber, Recent Work on the Alkaloids, The Anthocyanins, The Chlorophyll Problem, The Depsides, Some Theories of the Natural Syntheses of Vital Products, Some Cases of Isomerism in Cyclic Compounds. The Dipheuyl Problem. New Organo-Alkali Compounds, Other Cases of Abnormal Valency. Structural Formulae and Their Failings. Some Applications of Electronics t o Organic Chemistry, and Some Unsolved Problems. The second part, by Hugh Graham, dealing with biological subjects contains the following chapters: The Bile Acids and Sterols, The Cardiac Aglucones, The Hormones, and The Vitamins. Separate name and subject indexes are provided for thir supplement. Dr. Graham has given a judiciously selective account of the important advances in the field of the topics covered, and one which shows how spectacular the achievement has been. The several chapters are written mostly as independent units. There is a hannv ... balance between tooics of constitution and theory. Frequent, yet limited and wellchosen, rcferenccs to the literature arc included as an aid to those desiring to delvc further into thc topics treated. The volume shows a remarkably broad acquaintance with recent developments in organic chemistry, and a clear insight into their interpretation. I t is not t o be expected that a volume of this size can adequately and completely cover all of the recent and important developments in organic chemistry. Progress during the past few years in this domain has outstripped the most sanguine anticipations of the last decade, but the very nature and contents of this book makes it of particular importance in an understanding of a t least a portion of this progress. One of the chief functions of such a volume is t o guide and direct students in a further study of the several topics treated. In this respect the authors have succeeded t o a remarkable extent. This volume should be of particular value t o graduate students for honors and readmg courses, t o busy organic chemists, and t o chemists in eeneral who wish a brief.. reliable. and vet , r~presentativeand comprehcnsivc survey of developments outside of their own specinltics. This volume maintains the high standards of prcvious editions and should find a hparty welcome among progressive chemists. ~
-
~
~~
~
~~~.
~~
RECENT ADVANCESIN ORDANIC CAEMSTRY. Volume 11. Alfred W. Stnuart, D.Sc., Professor of Chemistry in the Queen's University of Belfast. Sixth edition. Reissue with additional Reader in Organic Chemistry chapters by Hugh Grakum. D.Sc., in the Queen's University of Belfast. Longmans, Green and Co., New York City, London and Toronto. 1936. aiv 519 pp. 2 plates. I table. 14 X 21.5 cm. $8.50.
+
This advanced and comprehensive treatise in organic chemistry, first published in 1908, has undergone numerous periodic revisions until 1927when the fifth edition, in two volumes, made its appearance. The 6rst volume contained essentially that type of fundamental material concerning which there seemed t o be general agreement among organic chemists. The second volume was devoted t o newer and indefinite topics where developments and investigations were in progress, promising additional and significant information. The sixth edition of Volume I1 appeared in 1931. This. as well as the present reissue of ~ o l u & 11, contains considerable new material devoted t o the diteroenes and triteroenes. . . the problems presented by the decalins and other fnsed-ring systems and the peculiar isomerism of the diphenyl derivatives. Other
C A E ~ S T Roa YFOODAND NUTRITION. Henry C. Sherman, Mitchill Professor of Chemistm. Columbii Universitv. Fifth edition. The Macmillan Co., New York City. 193f. x 614 38 figs. 13 X 20 cm. 8.00.
+
pi.
The purpose of this hook is "to present the principles of the chemistry of food and nutrition as an integral part of the study of chemistry and with reference t o the food requirements of man, and the considerations which should underlie our judgment of the nutritive values of foods and the choice and use of food for the advancement of nasitive health." The favorable rcccption whiclt former editions hare received and the fact that a fifth edition has become nrcpsrary are ample proofs that the author has succeeded in accomplishing his purpose. The general plan which characterized the fourth ,edition has been adhered t o in the present edition, with the exception that the number of chapters has been increased from twenty-four t o twentv-seven. Chanter I X of the former edition.. entitled "Conditions Governing Energy 3letabalism and Total Food Requiremmts." hns been expnndcd into two chapters in the new ~~
