414
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
FEBRUARY. 1931
the text all the more valuable for student and teacher. The latter part of the book contains much helpful information about the production, composition, and nutritive value of certain fwds, such as milk, hutter, cheese, meats, cereals, vegetables, and fruits. There is woven into the book the scientific background necessary for a complete understanding of the chemical principles Tne J a m s H o ~ x l U ~N s IVBRS~Y HOMEWOOD, B ~ ~ I T S O R MD. B, underlying foods and nutrition. The author has fulfilled his . uurwse of "bring. . Nutrition and Food Chemistry. BARN- ing together accurate information about m n S. BEONSON,State College for foods and simplifying and interpreting i t Teachers, Albany, N. Y. First edi- in such a way as to make the best modem tion, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., t h o u ~ h tavailable and com~rehensihle." New Y a k City, 1930. viii 467 pp. he book would he most helpful either as a 34 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $3.75. reference or teat for classes of home While being written primarily for class- economics students in foods and nutrition. N. M. N A ~ R room teaching, the book is quite readable IOWA STATECOLLBOB for others interested in the field of nuA ~ e s low* , trition. It presumes a background of elementary chemistry, but when a knowl- Textbook of Quantitative Analysis. edge of organic and quantitative chemWILLm o b u s HALL, Associate istry is needed, it is woven into the textProfeof Analytical Chemistry. hwk discussion. Several chapters deal Massachusetts Institute of Technology. with the chemical composition of the John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York major kinds of foods, fats, carbohydrates, 279 pp. 42 figs. City. 1930. vii and proteins. This section gives clearly 15 X 23 cm. $2.50. and concisely that part of organic The preface states that the book reprechemistry most useful for a thorough understanding of the composition of foods. sents a two-semester course in analytical The classifications of carbohydrates and chemistry as given at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to chemical of proteins are made especially clear. Considerable quantitative chemistry. engineering students. The contents inincluding a section on the significance of clude, in addition to the usual general pH determinations, is given in the chapter matter, procedures for about forty-two on acid-base balance. The excellent volumetric determinationsand twenty-two With the exception discussion of the inorganic constituents of gravimetric ones. foods contains much recent information of the Kjeldahl method these exercises and is quite complete in its r o p e of are all devoted to the analysis of inorganic material. Not least important are the substances. There is a chapter of suggestions given to help one in planning 6fteen pages on patentiometric titration, a diet which has the correct acid-base including the use of the quinhydrone electrode. B d e r solutions are briefly balance. The chapter on the vitamins and mentioned but not discussed. The potentiometric method for determining pH deficiency diseases is very condensed but accurate and up-to-date in its information. values is Liven. and as suecial features Here. as all throueh - the book. the complete: there shozd b e mentioned-the tpq pages lists of hibliographical references make on the properties of logarithms and the
who wishes to keep up with the latest phases in our knowledge of the physical world. Aside from the value of the information, the book is inspiring in the very striking and unexpected nature of the results it presents. One is left with the feeling that we never know what undreamed-of possibilities may be awaiting us a t every turn in the road to science. DONALD H. ANDREWS
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