bacteriology, andpsychology; andabout fourteen per cent. to the abstract sciences, mathematics, and logic (scientific method). The objectives of the course seem to be contained in the following statements. "What the average person needs is not a great mass of knowledge, but an understanding of a relatively few simple principles on which all the various branches of science rest." ."Such a sunrey acquaints the student f i s t of all with the scientific method of thought and procedure; secondly, it gives him a bird's-eye view of the principles and problems underlying various branches of science; thirdly, i t permits him t o see the relation between one field of science and others." The authors have come nearer t o achieving these objectives than the writers of any other snrvey hook of recent publication. Ample provision has been made for the teaching of the scientific method. There is a hrief introduction entitled "Growth of the Scientific Method," and a well-written section a t the end, in which the subject is treated as a formal branch of logic. However, the constant use of the scientific method throughout the entire body of the book is considerably more important than these two provisions. The laws and principles of science have been developed analytically in a logical and relatively simple fashion. FnUy in accord with the general objectives, a few basic ideas which are characteristic of each branch of science have been selected, and treated with considerable thoroughness. Technical details, factual material, and applications to everyday life have not been stressed. I n general, the results are very satisfactory. The presentation is clear, weU-balanced, and accurate. There are, however, some instances which are not in accord with the general plan. The second section an geology contains a good deal of technical material, such as nomenclature and classification of minerals. The section on mathematics is very heterogeneous, and contains far more material than can he taught t o college freshmen in the time available. I n many places the treatment is rather sketchy, which is perhaps inevitable if the entire field of science is t o be snrveyed in a single volume. Although each section bears the name of a separate science and is written by a different author, there is a considerable amount of integration not only between closely related sciences such as physics and chemistry, but also between less closely related sciences as chemistry and biology or physiology. The interrelations between sciences are emphasized and the unity of science is pointed out. The book is recommended to anyone teaching a survey course in the entire field of natural science. I t is meant t o he used to teach science, rather than merely to talk about science. The summaries a t the end of the sections help in the study of the book, and the bibliographies give suggestions for further reading. The hook may serve as a basic text, but i t must he supplemented with considerable material in the lectures and further reading. TnEoDoRE A. A s m o m
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H o r n o m , VITAMINE. Robert Amnon. Dozent of Physiological and Pathological Chemistry, Universitat Breslau, and Wilhelm Dirscherl, Dozent of Physiological Chemistry, Universit3.t Frankfurt. Georg Thieme Verlag. Leiprig. 1938. xvi 451 pp. 71 figs. RM. 32.
Fp-NTE,
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Part I , one hundred forty-three pages of the book deals with enzymes, of which one-fifth covers general considerations. Then Esterases, Carbohydrases. Iron-free Respiration, Dehydrogenases, Peroxidase, Catalase, Alcoholic Fermentation, Glycalyds, and a few other enzymic reactions are discussed briefly. There are four pages on the practical and therapeutic application of enzymes. I n Part 11, one hundred sixty-seven pages. the essay, chemistry, physiology, and therapeutics of the following hormones are discussed: Insulin, the Thyroid Hormone, the Parathyroid Hormone, the Sex Hormones, the Pituitary Hormone, the Adrenal Hormonas, the Tissue Hormones, the Hormones of Questionable Specificity, and the Hormones of the
Invertebrates. Part 111, one hundred twenty-four pages, deals with the essay, chemistry, physiology, therapeutics of the Vitamines, and their relationship to enzymes and hormones. It is regrettable that the book, of which the main part deals with descriptive work, contains no bibliography and that owing to its wide scope many omissions had to be made. There is occasional evidence of superficial presentation. Nevertheless, Drs. Amman and Dirscherl have written an excellent review of the known biocatalysts, and the book may therefore be well recommended. HENRYTAUBER JOnNsOlr
81
JOFCNsON
New Baunswlcr. Nsw Jsnssu
STATISTICAL PHYSICS.L. Landau, Institute for Physical Problems, Moscow, and E. Lifshitz, Ukrainian Physica-Technical Institute, Kharkoff. Translated by D. Shoenberg. Oxford University Press. New York City, 1938. viii f 234 pp. 16 X 24 cm. $6.00. I n this book, according t o the statement on the jacket, "The authors present a systematic treatment of the equilibrium properties of matter in bulk, derived from its atomic structure, by the use of the general statistical method associated with Gibbs. They aim a t giving in this manner an up-to-date unified presentation of thermodynamics and classical statistics. Phenomena involvine auantum statistics are excluded. but a verv widc ranye of crropertiea of matter do not rpquire quantum stnlictics. . . . T h e exlmsition atrccses the physical and chemical aspects of each problem rather than the mathematical. ." Of course, the relation between statistical mechanics and thermodynamics has been dealt with in a number of bwks previously published, beginning with the classical one by Gibbs himself, and the authors have to a large extent adhered t o the method used by the latter. The titles of the different chapters are as follows: I . Introduction; 11. Statistical Distribution and Entropy; 111. The Thermodynamic Functions; IV. The Gibbs Distribution; V. Determination of the Thermodynamic Functions; VI. Fluctuations in Thermodynamic Inequalities; VII. The Chemical Patential; VIII. Phase Equilibrium; IX. Solutions; X. Chemical Reactions; XI. Anisotropic Bodies; and XII. Surface Phenomena. While the treatment adopted by the authors may he adapted tocertain readers, i t is the opinion of thereviewer that the readers of THISJOURNAL wiU 6nd the contents rather difficult reading in many places. It would have been highly desirable if the authors could have adhered more closely t o what is the generally accepted terminology in this field. For instance, they show that the entropy may be defined in terms of the logarithm of the reciprocal of a distribution function, whereas it is more commonly interpreted as the logarithm of a probability. On the other hand, they have defined very clearly the idea of partition function and its relation t o the free energy of a system. The examples a t the end of each chapter contain a number of interesting deductions which are in many cases given in other books as part of the text. As will be observed from the list of chapter headings, the eleventh chapter deals with the phenomena of order and disorder in crystal lattices, a topic which has recently become of great interest in the study of the solid state. I t is to be regretted that the authors have nowhere given references t o Literature in connection with each topic. Furthermore, the whole discussion has been kept on a highly theoretical level, and no actual practical examples are given of the applications of the generalizations which are deduced throughout the volume. I n spite of these deficiences in the contents, the b w k should prove valuable to those readers who would like an introductory treatment t o a more advanced treatise such as that of R. H. Fowler's. SAULDUSW~AN ~~~
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