Introduction to Free Radical Chemistry dated hut the basic textual and tabular to tahles of radioisotope data. Four of the sections would have considerable usefulmaterial will eont.inue to be a good starting William A. P ~ y o r ,Louisiana State Unipoint for the beginner and an excellent ness to workers in the U.S. Following a versit,y, Baton Range. Prentice-Hall, reference volwne for the more experienced. glossary of terms (based on British usage) Inc., E?glcwood Cliffs, New Jersey. the first section deals with physical charof Modern Organic ChemRALPHT. O V E R M ~ N Fom~dat~on acteristics emphasizing decay schemes. 110 pp. Figs. and istry Series. xvii Ralph T. Overmnn Consulling Services The section on production includes some tables. 16 X 23.5 em. Clothhound, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 60 pages devoted to the basic nuclear and $5.50; paperbound, $2.50. chemical processes, the synthesis of labeled compounds, and the design and msnafecThis book, another in the "Folmdations ture of radiation sources. This section of Modern Organic Chemi8try" series (see outlines in considerable detail much of THIS JOURNAL, 43, A998 [I9661 ), attempts rhr prnetice of rha R:~rliwlrmrniwlI(.'entrr to fills. real need. That is, taken as a part ir, these h n w . It ~ i v we x r d l e ~ rd l w m of an introductory course, it supplies the Organic Nomenclature: A rioni of the prublrnmu uml s d ~tiorlishivh thorough and lengthy introduction approProgrammed Introduction are used in the Amersham laboratories. inr n.rii.!>gly inlymrtsnl are. d printr to The third section may represent the "rgnl,ic rhtmi-.rry. 'Th,. nt~thoris r c l n d James G . Trapham, Louisiana State material of greatest usefulness for many I W rr.rxr.:l.vr i t ) the iwe rndwil hdd, and University, Baton Rouge. Prenticeworkers who are involved with the chemt h i hook reflects this. Coverage is broad; Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New These ical aspects of tracer investigation. examples are mainly chosen from recent Jersey, 1966. Workbook Supplement chanters include one of the best current work (neither Paneth nor Gomherg are to Foundations of Modern Organic wrvrys 111 thr. prohIr111~ u i chrmiv~dnwl mentioned); the complexities frequently 129 pp. Chemistry series. xiv rsdi~whrmir~l purity, ireslnlrdtty in r;&+ encountered in free radical chemistry are 19.5 X 23.5 cm. Paperbound. $1.95. active chemicals along with its causes and not minimized; many topics of current control, the behavior of small masses and Organic Nomenclature is a natural far interest are included, e.g., conformations of very dilute solutions, the quantification radicals, cage effects, induced decomposiof radioactive substances and the exact tion of peroxides, free radical rearrange specification of materials. Along with ments, polar effects, etc. these general topics is included a chapter on valuable classroom time. Cleitrlv The book is clearly a condensation of the on radioactive chemicals as pharmaneeded is a cleverlv desiened workhook author's recent, very useful monograph, ceuticals with emphasis on purity and provide both the necessby drill and the "Free Ra.didicrtls" (McGraw-Hill, 1966.) control. This rtgain demonstrates the impetus to carry the student through it on Its organisitt,ion derives from the chain care which is manifested hy producers of hir .... "rr" ... ... reaction: initiation, propagation, terminaradioactive materials for human use. Of the irvernl rerent uttrrnprt tu hktion. Under initiation, there are chapters The section on administrative topics has itwh a Imnk, P r o f e ~ ~ Tmvnharn'-, or is, in on peroxides and a m compounds, photolyinformation on the control of exposure, the o~inionof rhis reviwwr, t t w he-t, l,oth sis, and redox systems. Under propsgsr monitoring, and waste disposal, although in depth of coverage and clarity of exposition, hydrogen abstraction, addition to the details refer to British practice and regtion. Although it has been issued as part double bonds, and aromatic substitution ulatory philosophy. There is s. good seeof the Foundation of Modern Organic form the major subdivisions. Halogen* tian an the International Atomic Energy Chemistry series, it is not peculiarly suited tion and polymeriailtion are treated exAgency regulations which, unfortunately, to that approach and might be used to tensively, hut autoxidation, rather surare not well-known in the U.S. The prisingly, is not mentioned. Ion radicals supplement any text or course of lectures. bibliography contains lists of journals, are mentioned but there is no description Its undoubted usefulness eonpled with a abstract journals, books, catalogs and a of their chemistry. very modest price, seems certain to make few paragraphs on sources of commercial On the whole, the treatment isless suited it a best seller. infomrttion. to an introductory exploration than it The hook has the usual pragrrtm format; The last half of the book is devoted to might be. There is too much material, short statements followed by questions of tables of data which report extensively on the fill-in-the-blanks variety; succeeding covered too sketchily and with too little the practical aspects of the problem. questions building on knowledge preemphasis on what is of major importance This includes about 75 pages listing "physand what is subsidiary. For example, viously gained and tested. There are a ical characteristics and availability!' total of 461 items requiring 971 responses. surely the first thing to know about perNow we h w e the s e c r e t t h i s is really the The author reports that the entire program oxides is that they homolyee, then what Radiochemical Centre's catalog of availrequires 14-15 hours of work for the averfactors influence their stability and the able radioactive materials! Althongh most viability of the radicds produced. Of age student, hut suggests that it be used s. suppliers of radioisotope puhlish less durcourse, induced and ionic decompositions chapter at a time, supplementing classable listin@ of their commodities, this frequently pose grave experimental diffiroom work, rather than as a single long approach is to the credit of the Centre. assignment. culties in peroxide research, hut to interThere is a real wealth of information which mix these latter fsctors with the former in Coverage is directed toward a thorough certainly makes the hmd cover well wortha first discussion, and give them equal grounding in IUPAC nomenclature for while. The remainder of the tables list weight, leads to confusion. The student most of the kinds of compounds usually physical data on a. variety of radioisotopes will ask (as he always does, hut here with encountered in a firstyear course. Types arranged in groups by type of emission, a some justification), "Sir, What are we not covered by the program include phesection on the availability of sources, responsible for?" I n particular, I would nols, amides, heterocyclics, condensed ring an ingenious section on schematic synhave liked to see more emphasis on factors aromstics, and compounds containing elethetic mutes to labeled compounds ininfluencing stability of radicals, and B ments other than C, H,N, 0, or halogens. cluding schema far C-14, 5-35, P-32, and thorough exposition of what is meant by However, the firm basis that is provided, C1-36 compounds. This section should "stability" in this connection. There is no together with tables contained in the be especially valuable to workers beginning discussion of inhihition, though inhibitors appendix, should enable the student to in the organic field. Additional tables are mentioned here and there. progress further easily. include information on decom~osition There m e some organimtional d'iculOne may question whether the program , rxtes of 1110eIediornpnuds, ~ n r n s ~ ~ r r n ~ e n tcontains ties. Students would he well advised to ~ufficientexamples--enough resafrry, and r:triow [,re.+rttstiwte of radioread the rather good chapters on abstracinforcement-to fix the principles it activity decay caloulations. tion and addition before tackling the preelucidates. Professor Traynham admits I t should he evident that the amount of ceding sophisticated treatment of modes of to compromising between length and cost. m a t e d included in this volume makes it initiation. The chain reaction itself, perIn my view the compromise is quite satisa. required one for all ~erious(and not just haps the single most important feature of factory. professional) workers in the field. The free radical chemistry, is not fully develRICHARD HIATT promise is that the hook will be revised oped until near the end of the book. Broek University from time to time. The availability in(Cmtinued on page 3'10) St. Catharine's, Ontario formation will doubtless need to be u p
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