cational facets of the program. (1) If the student suggests the presence of a particular functional group in the molecule, the program could indicate whether the choice was correct by an appropriate comment, showing the incorrect feature predicted by the student's choice. (2) For those students predicting the molecular formula from the empirical formula and molecular weight, the correct method of calculation is not presented. This could be added as an optional comment. (3) By treating the unknown as a game, with "awards" for correct guesses, student interest in use of the software might be stimulated.
Summary Spectral Interpretation is a good software package for studying the use of NMR and IR spectra for the purpose of structural determination of organic compounds. I t is fairly easy to use, and the package should stimulate interest in the subject. Sidney H. Young University of S a m Alabama Mobile. AL 36688
Organlc Buildlng Blocks OI the Chemical industry H. Harry Szmanl.Wiley-Interscience: New York. 1989. xv 716 pp. 15.4 X 23.3 cm. $75.00.
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The goals of this ingeniously organized, meticulously referenced and cross-referenced, thoroughly indexed (with a 78-page index), and up-to-date (references as Late as 1989) book are twofold. First, toanswer fundamental questions such as: What are industrial organic chemicals, and where do they come from? How are they made? Why should they he made on a commercial scale? What are the economic and other factors that affect their production levels and pricing? and what are the likely future trends in the demand and production pathways of a given material? Second, to provide a useful tool for teaching or self-learning of the organic portion of industrial chemistry in a systematic and comprehensive manner. Useful to both chemists and chemical engineers, this volume, in the case of the latter, is intended to fulfill Vladimir Haensel's recommendation that "Industrial chemistry, taught with an emphasis on why and how different processes originated, should help to develop a more complete chemical engineer" (Chem. Eng. Neus Jan. 19, 1987, 65(3),66). I t should also he of value to chemical engineers wishing to adjust to their "profession in flux" as the chemical industry shifts away "from commodity chemicals and petrochemicals and toward high-valueadded specialty chemicals" (Krieger, J. H. Chem. Ene. News Nov. 30.1987.65(48). , ~. . . . 7). This book developed from mimmgraphed handouts for s two-srm~ater,aix-crcdit course, "Industrial Aspects trf Chrmi~try," taught for a dozen years hy the author, now Adjunct Professor a t the University of Miami and a chemical consultant in Sanibel, Florida, when he was Chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineerine" at the Universitv of Detroit. The course was specifically designed to bridge the gap hetween academia and industry hy emphasizing the role that different materials play in the economy, the competitive processes by which they are produced, and (Continued on page A84) Volume 67
Number 3
March 1990
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the business aspects of the chemical and allied industries (Szmant, H. H. J. Chem. Educ. 1985, 62, 736). The book, like the course, stresses what Szmant calls the "golden triangle," which appears on the dust jacket and vividly depicts the close relationship between structures, properties, and commercial uses of materials, located at the three verticea-with a dollar sign in the middle of the triangle to symbolize the crucial importance of the unit costs of materials. Szmant's book provides a comprehensive review of the origin, use, and role in the national and international economy of the entire spectrum of today's most commonly used industrial chemicals-from commodities to fine, ultrafine, specialty, and hightech materials, including polymers. Organic building blocks derived from biomass resources are relatively neglected because they have already been dealt with in Szmant's previous book Industrial Utilization of Renewable Resources (Technomic: Laneaster, PA, 1986; reviewed by G. B. Kauffman,Znd. Chemist 1987.8(7),45). Environmental and political issues are also addressed. The present volume, like Gaul, is divided into three parts. Part One, "Background Material" (2 chapters, 58 pp.), deals with historical and economic aspects of industrial chemistry to provide an understanding of the dynamies of the chemical industry. Part Two, "Aliphatic Building Blocks" (5 chapters, 346 pp.), the longestpart, systematically covers the sources, competitive processes, and commercial uses of CI; Cz; C3; Ca, including isoprene and cyclopentsdiene; and Cs and higher acyclic building blocks. Part Three, "Cyclic Building Blocks" (233 pp.), consists of three chapters-"Nonaromatic Carbocyclie Compounds;" "Aromatic Carbocyclic Compounds" (at 151 pp., the longest chapter in the hook); and "Heterocyclic Building Bloeks." Unit prices are quoted to underscore economic considerations, and practical applications are repeatedly illustrated. The book emphasizes the recognition that a given organic structure is usually assembled from modules that may differ with respect to the numher of carbon atoms and the presence of functional groups. The structure of the final product and economic and other considerations normally determine the preferred synthetic route. Repeated applications of this "building-block principle" should help the reader to develop skill in recognizing synthetic options and strategies. Far a hook of its length, complexity, and scope, the errors, mostly "typos" or misspellings of proper names, are relatively few, e.g., "Perkins" for "Perkin" (p. 23), "Chevreal" for "Chevreul" (p. 25); "hydroehloie" for "hydrochloric" (p. 132), "Vollard" for "Volhard" (p. 356), "Paracelsius" for"Paraeelsus" (p. 457); "Martin-Marrietta" for "Martin Marietta" (p. Sol), and "Adolph" for "Adolf' von Baeyer (p. 620). Crammed with facts and figures, through extensive use of abbreviations, and replete with numbered tables (113, figures (19), and reaction schemes (370) as well as countless unnumbered chemical structures and equations, A84
Journal
of Chemical Education
the book is an ideal desktop reference for chemists, chemical engineers, and government employees working for regulatory agencies, agricultural research laboratories, and economic advisory groups. I t can also serve as hoth an introduction t o "real world" chemistry and as a comprehensive text for students of chemistrv.. chemical engineering, and industrial chemistry. Considermg its price and scope, it's a real bargain! George 6. Kauffman Caiifmia State University. Fresno Fresno. CA 93740 Introduction t o Macromolecular Science Petr Munk. Wiley: New York. NY. 1989. xv 522 pp. Figs. and tables. 16.3 X 24.2 cm. $44.95.
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This is an excellent text for an introductory course in macromolecular science for the student who has a good understanding of organic and physical chemistry. The author does not attempt a review of these areas; however, he uses them well where needed to explain or illustrate the hasic principles of polymer science. Both synthetic and natural polymers are used to convey the structural characteristics of macromolecules. Thus the student is introduced to the hiopolymers usually covered in biochemistry or hioscience but from the macromolecular viewpoint. The concepts of average molecular weights and molecular weight distributions are introduced. Aggregates of small molecules which were confused with polymers at one time are distinguished from solutions of macromolecules. Thechapter on the uynthesisoipolymws follows a tradirional approach where kinetics is used todistinguirh between thpdiffereut mechanisms and to show how control of the reactions may be maintained so as to give the desired products. Also, reactions on polymer molecules are shown to the extent that the student should see that the chemistry of macromolecules follows the same paths as those for small molecules. Difunctional molecules including those that occur from ring opening reactions have been shown to produce polymers through candensations of many different functional groups. Thus, we have a variety of polymers that can he produced by these reactions. Many different polymerizations are described in this section. This is important since there are no chanters devoted to the various polymers available today. Equitable amounts of time ere devoted ro free radical and ionic initbated poiymerimrion. Disrussions of these polymerizations include initiation and typical monomers as well as topics such as chain transfer, gel effect, etc. Both the thermodynamics and kinetics of these polymerization mechanisms are shown. The behavior of macromolecules in solution is covered well. Solvent interactions are shown for pure solvents, mixed solvents as well as the effects of electrolytes. These are followed by discussions of osmometry, ultracentrifugation, phase diagrams, light scattering and viscosity. The mathematical equations required are introduced only as needed for the purpose of showing macromolecular principles. The sections on spectra. hulk orooerties and technoloev ~~.~ -. are verv briet. They must be covered in strbsrquent courses o r left fur thestudmts'a~lf-study..4 ~~~~~~~~~
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list of books, journals, etc. has been included to aid this further study. Aubrey 6. Gosnell Departmem of Dsfense SMCPB-EiT Pine Biufl Arsenal Pine Bluff. AR 71602 Amerlcan Chemlcal Soclety Directory of Graduate Research. 1 9 8 9 The ACS Committee on Professional Training. American Chemical Society. 1465 pp. Washington. DC. 1989. xxiii 20.7 X 27.5 cm. $55.00 US/$66.00 F. ~
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The Latest edition of this standard, biennial reference work contains a wealth of information on 683 academic departments in universities and colleges in the United States and Canada that offer bachelor's and master's curricula in chemistry; chemical engineering; biochemistry; medicinallpharmaceutieal chemistry; clinical chemistry; and polymer science. A frequently consulted source of data on American and Canadian academic research and researchers, the DGR is continually relied upon hy undergraduates and their faculty advisors in selecting a graduate school suited to their particular interests and talents. A sine qua non for libraries, academic institutions, and chemically oriented businesses, it provides details on each researcher's specific field of interest and lists the titles and complete reference citations of all his or her articles puhlished during 1987 and 1988 (68,276 citations). Other features include a complete summary of academic chemical research; listings of the number of full-time and parttime faculty, postdoctoral appointments, graduate students, and MS and PhD degrees granted by each institution; and a 25page faculty index of 11,936 names. This new, expanded edition is 100 pages longer than the 1987 edition, and for the first time, where data were provided, FAX numbers for departments and up to three computer addresses far faculty members are listed in order to facilitate communication. George 6. Kauffman California State University, Fresno Fresno, CA 93740 What You Need To Know To Llve Wlth Chemlcals Ralph I. Freudenthai and Susan Loy Fret+ denthal, Hill and Garnen Publishing, Inc.: P.O. Box 180. Green Farms. CT 06436. 1989. V 182 pp. Figs. and Tables. 14 X 21.6 cm. Paperback $12.95 2.00 shipping.
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This is an enlightening report on the public concerns with chemicals and their effects on health and the environment. I t is clearly written with the ring of authority for the education of nonscientists, hut it also will be a help to teachers of chemistry in answering the questions posed by students and community. I t covers material ranging from Alar to zero risk. Purists may cavil at the simplicty of some explanations, but greater detail would not serve the hook's purpose. There are some skips in proofreading, including a faulty structural formula for aspirin, but this doesn't damage the message. In particular this reviewer was impressed by the handling of the recent upsurge of (Continued on page A87)
