book reviews remarkably clear and unequivocal in describing presentday ideas ahout the solid state of matter. Well chosen photographs are interspersed with excellent diagrams to avoid oversimplification. This paperback is s. welcome addition to the supplemental literature for the s t w dent in an introductorv course. Crvstals, phenomena of crystal growt,h, liquids, polymers and even eryst,allinity in living matter are treated. WFK
My Life and My Views
Maz Born (With an Introduction by I. Bernard Cohen, Harvard University) Charles Scrihner's Sons. New York. 1968. No illustrations. ' 216 pp. 14 X 21 em. $4.95. Max Born, the German-British physicist and philosopher, left Nazi Germany in 1933 and became a British subject in 1939. He hss been professor a t G6ttingen and Edinburgh, and has been associated with the Cavendish Laboratory a t Cambridge as lecturer. Now an old man (born in 1882 a t Breslau) he lives in retirement in Tyrol. He has known intimately and taught numerous eminent physicists; he has published widely and often and has excellent books to his credit. He is skilled in the popular presentation of scientifie topics. This competence is exhibited
~ 9 8 8/ Journol of Chemical Education
in the essays included in the present volume. He received a thorough and broad edncation and has never relinquished his interest in subjects not directly associated with his specialty. ITe has cogitated and come to conclusions about numerous subjects and accordingly these essays reflect clearly the wealth of his knowledge and experiences. Tholrgh they read easily for the most part, they should be digested during periods of quiet reflection. The reviewer of a collection of essays is confront,ed by a dilemma: dissect and comment a t length, or state the t,itles and allow the reader to discover for himself the merits of the feast set before him. Since bhis column is wl itte I for chemistry teaehern and students primarily and also because the available space is limited this reviewer has choseu the second course. The book is not expensive and belongs in every school library. Dr. Cahen's exeellent Intraductio~~ gives the reader a. goad idea of the content of the essays and their wealth of worthwhile conclusions. The first two essays bear the titles Now I Became a Physicist and What I Did as a Physicist. The third essay, Reflections, deals with Born's estimate of the meaning of science to him and society. The big question The Development arid Essence of The Atomic Age and Man and the Atom is taken np in the next two essays. He discusses Europe and Science and The Blessines and Evils of Snace Travel in the snc&ding essays. ~ y h b o l and Rea1ity.i~the only really philosophical
discussion in the volume; it may bore and confuse some of the readers. The concluding essay Whst is Left to Hope For? more or less sums up what has gone before. Barn is much concerned with the future. He deplores what the humen race is doing to the physical environment: extinction of animals and plants; pollution of air and water; the waste of wars and preparation for wars; the use of needed fonds on space exploration, a field that he regards as merely a. camouflage for military expenditures; the improper employment of the frnits of science such a s Napalm, the atom bomb, etc. He had no direct part in the development of these bombs but regrets that his students participated. He points out the depletion of minerals and fossil fuels. The list of orimes is lengthy. The concluding essay deals with a. method of escaping from this fate that will destroy civilized man. Born's solution is to see to it that those governing the world undergo s. radical reform and comprehend the significance of their actions before i t is too late. Born was one of the founders of quantummechanicsand in 1954 was awarded the Nobel Prize. As one of the elder statesmen of science, his words shodd be read with all respect and consideration.
RALPH E . O E ~ P E R University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio (Continued on page A990)
