Chemical Processing Corrosion Chart. 1 page. Tothill Press Ltd., 33 Tothill St., London S.W.I., England. 1963. 75 cents.
BOOKS
Some Views of the Chemical Industry T h e Chemical
Industry:
and Perspectives.
Viewpoints
CONRAD BEREN-
SON. x + 4 2 6 p a g e s . I n t e r s c i e n c e Publishers, I n c . , 6 0 5 T h i r d A v e . , N e w York 1 6 , N . Y . 1 9 6 3 . $ 1 0 . R e v i e w e d b y H a l G. J o h n s o n . Mr. Johnson is vice president of marketing at Southwest Potash Corp. T h e p u r p o s e of this book is l a u d a b l e and, as a first a t t e m p t t o set d o w n these c o n c e p t s for t h e c h e m i c a l i n d u s try, n o d o u b t will serve a useful p u r pose. P e r h a p s t h e collection of m a terial is m o r e o r i e n t e d t o w a r d t h e student—an educator's approachr a t h e r t h a n t h e p e o p l e w o r k i n g in t h e industry. Most certainly t h e i d e a of not m e r e l y setting d o w n "so-called" basic principles b u t actually i n t e g r a t ing t h e m into a p e r s p e c t i v e is excellent. H o w e v e r , h e r e t h e r e v i e w e r a n d t h e a u t h o r a r e n o t in accord. I t is felt t h a t some of t h e selections d o n o t give a full t r e a t m e n t ; i.e., t h e original w r i t e r is b i a s e d o r gives a v i e w p o i n t t h a t is " t h e o r e t i c a l " or "idealistic" r a t h e r t h a n factual a n d t h e editor d o e s n o t p o i n t out t h e s e o t h e r v i e w p o i n t s in either an i n t r o d u c t i o n or a conclusion. I n a classroom, of course, it is a s s u m e d such points w o u l d b e b r o u g h t o u t a n d emphasized. S o m e of t h e illustrations a r e very good a n d t h e t r e a t m e n t of all p h a s e s of t h e subject in t h o s e cases, w i t h t h e possible exception of t h e scope of some research a n d d e v e l o p m e n t p r o b l e m s , is excellent. T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e of P a r t T w o , T h e G r o w t h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t of t h e C h e m i c a l E n t e r p r i s e . C h a p t e r s b y T . Sheets, Jr., W . S. Fedor, a n d b y G. T. Borcherdt are well w o r t h r e a d i n g , a n d t h e t w o c h a p ters covering C a r b i d e a n d D u P o n t are excellent. Part Three, T h e H u m a n Resources of t h e C h e m i c a l O r g a n i z a t i o n , is p e r h a p s t h e least c o m m u n i c a t i v e t o t h e reader. Admittedly, things dealing w i t h h u m a n relations a r e t h e m o s t difficult t o w r i t e a b o u t as well as u n d e r s t a n d . M o s t of t h e s e selections are classical i n t h a t t h e y r e p r e s e n t w h a t is customarily said a n d d o n e b u t d o n o t reveal h o w a n d w h a t usually happens. P e r h a p s this reviewer's criticism h i g h l i g h t s t h e n e e d for b e t t e r literature, m o r e factual as o p p o s e d t o
64
C&EN
MAR. 2, 1964
r o m a n t i c idealism, r a t h e r t h a n t h e failure of t h e editor t o amplify t h e s e n e e d s . T h e c h a p t e r o n t h e StaufferVictor m e r g e r is well d o n e a n d t h e p r o b l e m s h i g h l i g h t e d in t h e c h a p t e r b y Alan D . S t a c k p o l e c o n c e r n i n g " T h e Linde Strike" are truly educational. O t h e r c h a p t e r s a r e d a t e d b e c a u s e of w h a t h a s since h a p p e n e d . Not that t h e logic isn't a p p l i c a b l e t o a good case s t u d y b u t n o r e s u m e follows t o u p d a t e t h e projection. P a r t F o u r on M a r k e t i n g Policies in t h e C h e m i c a l Process I n d u s t r i e s is very good a n d shows t h e editor's proficiency in his chosen field. All or m o s t of t h e problems are presented except some of t h e m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g e x a m p l e s of " t r a d e r e l a t i o n s " or " s w a p - o u t s " t h a t influence a c o n s i d e r a b l e p r o p o r t i o n of p r e s e n t - d a y expansion in o n e w a y or a n o t h e r . Various p r i c i n g policies a r e discussed, b u t n o t all t h e ramifications a r e covered—a t r e m e n d o u s u n d e r t a k ing for o n e section of a book. O n e c a n n o t h e l p b u t realize t h a t t h e c h e m ical i n d u s t r y is i n d e e d complex. P e r h a p s some of t h e s q u e e z e on profits h a s c o m e a b o u t b e c a u s e t h e p r i c i n g policy h a s b e e n d e l e g a t e d d o w n t o o far. A l t h o u g h t h e o l d s a w is t r u e t h a t "all k n o w l e d g e originates at t h e b e n c h , " n o t all over-all policy c a n b e d e c i d e d a t this level. P e r h a p s , too, t h e invasion of t h e c h e m i c a l ind u s t r y b y less s o p h i s t i c a t e d industries h a s in p a r t b e e n r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e d e l e g a t i o n d o w n of s o m e complex d e cisions t h a t ordinarily w o u l d h a v e b e e n w e i g h e d m o r e t h o u g h t f u l l y in over-all effects in a c h e m i c a l corporation. I n a n y e v e n t t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of t h e b o o k p r e s e n t s a different a p p r o a c h t o t h e C P I , albeit m o r e h e a v i l y w e i g h t e d in t h e m a r k e t i n g a n d m a n a g e m e n t concepts.
NEW BOOKS Paperbound Analytical Chemistry.
Vol. 3, Parts 5-7.
C A R L E . C R O U T H A M E L , editor,
vii 4-
102 pages. Macmillan Co., 60 Fifth Ave., New York 11, N.Y. 1963. $3.50. Carbon-14: A Comprehensive Annual Bibliography of Applications in Chemistry, Biology, and Medicine. Vol. 1, January-December, 1962. R. S. SCHARFFENBERG, JOHN K. POLLARD, JR. 140 pages. Calbioohem, 3625 Medford St.. Los Angeles 6 3 , Calif. 1963. Library ed. $7.00; commercial ed. free.
Crystallographic
on Metal and
Data
Alloy Structures.
A. TAYLOR, BRENDA
J. KAGLE. 263 pages. Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick St., New York 14, N.Y. 1963. $2.25. ELIZABETH A. Crystals and Light. WOOD, viii -f 160 pages. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 120 Alexander St., Princeton, N J . 1964. $1.95. Directory of Industrial Research, Development and Testing Laboratories JOHN
R. HART,
JESSE T. N O B L E , compilers,
in North
Carolina.
vi -+- 144
pages. Industrial Extension Service, School of Engineering, North Carolina State of the University of North Carolina at Raleigh, N.C. 1963. $2.00. The Discovery of t h e Electron. L. ANDERSON,
DAVID
vi -f 138 pages.
D,
Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 120 Alexander St., Princeton, N.J. 1964. $1.50. Elementary Particles.
DAVID H. FRISCH,
A L A N M. THORNDIKE.
vi +
153 pages.
D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., 120 Alexander St., Princeton, N.J. 1964. $1.75. Experimental Spectroscopy. RALPH A. SAWYER, X -f 358 pages. Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick St., New York 14, N.Y. 1963. $2.00. Mathematical Crystallography and the Theory of Groups of Movements. HAROLD
HILTON,
xii
+
262
pages.
Dover Publications, Inc., 180 Varick St., New York 14, N.Y. 1963. $2.00. Morphology of Polymers. T. G. ROCHOW, editor, v + 164 pages. Interscience Publishers, Inc., 605 Third Ave., New York 16, N.Y. 1963. $6.75. Problems in Organic Chemistry. ed.
2nd
R A L P H D A N I E L S , LUDWIG BAUER,
viii -j- 220 pages. F . A. Davis Co., 1914 Cherry St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103. 1964. $3.75. Review of Coal Tar Technology. January-June 1963. Vol. XV Part L 77 pages. Coal Tar Research Association, Oxford Road, Gomersal, Leeds, England. 1964. £ 1 10s per vol. to nonmembers of CTRA. Smoking and Health. Public Health Service, xvii -f- 387 pages. Supt. of Documents, U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. 1964. $1.25. Specifications for Identity and Purity of Food Additives. Vol. I. Antimicrobial Preservatives and Antioxidants; Vol. I I . Food Colors. Vol. I, vi + 116 pages; Vol. I I , vi -j- 136 pages. Columbia University Press, International Documents Service, 2960 Broadway, New York 27, N.Y. 1983. Vol. I, $1.75; Vol. II, $1.75. Water Quality Criteria. 2nd ed. JACK E. MCKEE,
HAROLD
W.
WOLF,
editors,
xiv + 548 pages. Dept. of General Services, Office of Procurement—Stores, Documents Section, P. O. Box 1612, Sacramento, Calif. 95807. 1963. $6.50 ( + 2 6 cents sales tax for California addresses.)
