GENERALCHEMISTRY.A FIRST COURSE. Leona E. Yozmg, Professor of Chemistry. Mills College, and C. W. Porter, Professor of Chemistry, University of California. Revised edition. 527 pp. 176 figs. Prentice-Hall. Inc., New York 1943. xi 15 X 23 cm. 8 . 7 5 . First appearing in May, 1940 [of. J. CHEM.EDUC..17, 500 (1940)], this book has run through five printings, and now comes forth in a revised edition. Essentially i t is the same hook, although attempts have been made t o appease critics of the first
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these have been included in separate chapters a t the points where the material can he studied to the best advantage. This is avowedly an elementary text. The laboratory experiments have been selected t o illustrate the basic techniques and principles. The lahoratory directions have been written in such a manner that the student can follow them with a minimum of supervision. The hook has heen arranged so that either gravimetric or volumetric analysis can be given first. . The hook can readily beused either for a half year or for a year course." The second edition contains seven additional determinations. Certain passages have been clarified or expanded. Additional self-examination questions have been included. A welcome addition is provided by 178 problems. Answers are given for the first several examples in each set. The problems are numbered consecutively throughout the entire book, a great convenience that might well be adopted by other writers. The first edition (1940) contained xi 246 pages, 15 X 23 m. The present edition has 60 pages mare. The type size and the printed area on each page are identical in both editions. Nevertheless, the 1944 edition weighs only 520 grams as opposed to 720 grams. The economy was achieved by trimming the excessive margins and by using a lighter paper. The net result is a much handier volume. I t is hoped that this improvement will not be discarded when the present paper restrictions are no longer a compelling factor. The American colleges have evolved a fairly standard course in beginning quantitative analysis. Quite a few texts are now available to fit this syllabus. An instructor can choose any of the half dozen better ones quite a t random and not make a serious error. "Booth and Darnerell" can be included in this company. Much thought, careful planning, and Gatured pedagogical experience have manifestly gone into this text. The laboratory directions are exceptionally ludd and heavy type has been effectively used to aid the student through the maze of the procedures. Particular emphasis has been laid on the calihration of weights and volumetric equipment. . The text will serve well the needs of those who wish to learn or teach the fundamentals of quantitative analysis. It should not be expected t o do more. RALPHE. OESPER Umvms~rvDP CINONNATJ
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The major changes made arc: ( a ) arlvanccmcnt of the treatment of the ras lows from the appendix to (.nit 11; i b ) addition of srctions "11 Ramlr's law, and crystal form and structure; (c) expansion of the unit on organic compounds; (d) added discussion of the less common elements such as Be, Ti, Zr, Th, Se, Te, and Ge. I n addition, there has been a mnderate amount of rewriting t o improve clarity or t o include recent discoveries, although snrprisingly enough there is no mention of the extraction of either Mg or Br from sea water. This is still a simple text. Many teachers, probably a majority. are blessed with students who are none too well prepared in high-school science and mathematics. For such, some of the encyclopedic tests that have appeared in recent years are much too stiff a dose. Whether or not, as may be argued, it is the fault of the secondary schools, the fact remains that we must provide some instruction in chemistry for less than top-flight students. For such, here is a conservative text, followinga well-beaten path successfully, well written, interesting. T o turn b r i d y t o faults, now, what littie hair remains t o this reviewer stood on end a t reading the following (p. 5): "We should (finally) have a single molecule of the substance, this time a molecule of sodium chloride. A single molecule of table salt would he so light that it could not be a solid substance. I t would be a molecule of sodium chloride gas." Other eyebrow raisers are: "The non-luminous gas flame is much hotter than the luminous one" (p. 7). "one liter = 1000 cc." (p. 512), and theflat-bottomed flask shown in Fig. 117 for an experiment similar to the ammonia fountain. [See E. C. WEAVER. "Laboratory accidents." J. C ~ M Eouc.. 21, 199 (1944).] Those of us who try t o put over the idea of significant figures will be disheartened by the solved problem on paae 161 Clerical errors appear on pages 119 and 121. om0 CINEINN*TI. To meet current shortages it has been necessary to use smaller type, fewer illustrations, thinner paper, and cheaper binding, so that even with considerable added material, the number of pages ORGANICREACTIONS.Roger AdUMS. Professor of Chemistry, The is reduced by about one-fifth. This is harder on the eyes, but University of Illinois, Editor-in-chief, with an editorial board of probably cannot be helped. four, and nine associate-editors. Volume I . First Edition. In brief, then, here is a justifiably popular book, easy enou* John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York. 1942. vi 391 pp. to be suitable for average and poor students, old-fashioned enough 14.5 X 22.5 em. $4.00. to raise howls from a few and t o comfort the many, adequately This is the first volume of a contemplated series of hooks dealaccurate and comprehensive, and well written. ing with general reactions of organic chemistry, their mechanism, E. W. PHELAN applicability, and limitations. Each of the 12 chapters is written T'AB GSOR(ilb STAT= WOY&N'OCOLLBC a by an author who has had personal experience with the type of v*r.noSr*. GBoncr* synthesis that is described, and enough detailed procedures have QuAN~TATWE ANALYSIS. Harold S. Booth, Professor of Chem- been given to indicate important v a r i a n t d the methods. I n so istry, Western Reserve University, and Vivian R. Darnerell. far as possible, attempts have been made to list all known exAssistant Professor of Chemistry, Western Reserve Univer- amples of the reaction, either in the text itself, or in the form of a table. The great amount of work involved is indicated by the sity. Second Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company. Inc., 476 literature references appearing in the section on the ClemmenNew York, 1944. xiv 303 pp. 52 figs. 22 tables. 13 X sen reduction, and the 232 in the section on the Perkin reaction. 21 em. $2.50. The chapter headings are the following: The Reformatsky A good description of this book is given in the preface: "This Reaction, The Arndt-Eistert Synthesis, Chl~rometh~lation of text is intended for use in the quantitative analysis course that Aromatic Compounds, The Amination of Heterocyclic Bases by normally follows qualitative analysis. It is the outgrowth of a Alkali Amides, The Bucherer Reaction. The Elhs Reaction, The lithoprinted book that the authors have revised repeatedly over the last 10 years. The text has been built around the lahoratory Clemmensen Reduction, The Perkin Reaction and Related Reacexperiments, which the writers feel t o be of prime importance tions, The Acetoacetic Ester Condensation and Certain Related in quantitative analysis. The theory has largely been incorpo- Reactions, The Mannich Reaction, The Fries Reaction, and the rated with the lahoratory directions. The authors believe i t is Jacobsen Reaction. This series of books will be indispensable to all chemists inter more readily assimilated when included in this manner, partly because of the small doses, and partly because of the direct ested in the oreoaration of areanie comoounds.
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illustrations possible when theory and practice are combined. Some parts of the theory cannot be so incorporated readily, and
