TnE CHEMISTRY 011 THE ALIPHAT~C OR&OESTERS. Hmard W . Pod, Department of Chemistry. University of Buffalo. (A. C. S. Monograph, No. 92). Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, 1943. 188pp. 15.5 X 23.5cm. $4.00. Summaries of the literature on limited fields in chemistry always are welcome. This little monograph on the esters and thioesters of aliphatic orthoacids and of orthocarbonic acid begins with a brief introduction which is followed hy a chapter on methods of preparation and physical properties. Four chapters deal with the reactions of orthwsters with inorganic acids or catalvzed bv, inareanic acids. with oreanic acids. acid anhvdrides, and arid halidcs, with nitrogen compounds, and with organomcralhc rornpoundr. Chapter 7 i i dcvotcd to the intcresting group of carhohydrnte orthoesters and orthoacidr, and is followed by a chapter on miscellaneous reactions of orthoesters such as the behavior on heating in the absence or presence of catalysts and reactions with halogen. Two chapters cover the preparation and properties of the silicon analogs of orthoesters and one deals with similar compounds of the other elements of the fourth group of the Periodic Table. The final chapter is a table of the physical properties of orthoesters, the compounds being listed according t o their empirical formulas. I n the introduction the author states, "The subject matter will be grouped under headings indicative of reactions rather than of compounds, and under subheadings arranged in historical sequence." While the material is grouped according t o types of reactions, there are no subheadings in any of the chapters. The choice of the historical sequence within a group of reactions is unfortunate. Thus one iinds, in the extreme case. reference to the preparation of ethyl orthoformate on pages 11, 12, 13, 15, and 16, sometimes more than once on a pige. and always interspersed with descriptions of the preparation of other compounds. These faults are somewhat mitigated by the inclusion of tables a t the end of each chapter summarizing the work on each compound. Compounds are listed in the tables by condensed structural formulas and in the order of increasing number of carbon atoms. I t is difficult t o understand why a separate bibliography is appended t o each chapter. This arrangement is not more convenient t o use than a single bibliography a t the end of the hwk, and leads t o excessive duplication. For example, the 6rst 103 references listed a t the end of the first chapter are identical with the corresponding number a t the end of the last chapter, and many of the references are repeated in most of the bibliographies. Neither is it clear why the author's initials usually are painstakingly given in the bibliography but frequently are not. Typographical errors and poor expressions are more frequent than one likes t o find. Most busy organic chemists will overlook these flaws, however, and thank the author for making available this survey of the field in which he has been interested. C ~ R R. L NOLLER
~~.~
..~
The new sixth edition. in two volumes of aooroximatelv X7O pages tach. retains the general scheme of handling the subject matter that uas used in previous cditions, each of the 13 chapters being written by one or more specialists on the subjects treated. There is a new classification of subject matter. The treatise is divided into eight sections with the following headings: 1. Background of the Chemical Industry; 2. Heavy Chemicals and Allied Products; 3. Fuels and Their By-products; 4. Refractories and Allied Materials; 5. Metallwgical Products; 6. Surface Coatings; 7. Products of Organic Synthesis; 8. Natural Organic*Materials. This new grouping is an improvement over previous editions in that it places related subjects together. The most important thing about it, however, is the placing in the beginning of the treatise in Section 1 the background subjects, uiz., the economic pattern. the unit operations, the organic Unit processes, highpressure processes, industrial instrumentation, and water for municioal and industrial use. Thev are fundamental for the proper consideration of the process chapters that follow. They give the unity that former editions have lacked and lhe pcrspeclive that the studeut and reader need to understand the basic principles and to appraise the relative importance of the prime variables of the processes described. Much material that was included in the H t h edition has been dropped. I n its place much important new subject matter has been added. Indicative of the time is the introduction of the chanter on militarv .. eases. Althoueh the decision of whet t o include and what to leave out ul a treatise of this kind is a difficult one to make, this rrvicrrr rrgrrts that there is no discussion of industri4 biwhemiral prwci-cs. The prrwnt tendency to place them in a category outside the chemical industry is unfortunate. Another omission which is regretted even more is a discussion of chemical engineering materials of construction. A chapter on this subject should have been a part of the background section. The spectacular advancement of the chemical industries during the past decade is largely the result of outstanding developments in the field of engineering structural materials. There is better teamwork on the part of the contributing writers than in previous editions. There is a better freedom of swing in the writing which the reader will like. All of this is the result of competent editorial guidance. The classified reading list a t the end of most of the chapters is a valuable part of the "Manual." The word manual should have been dropped from the title. If the English language means anything, the hook outgrew that title long ago. The printing. flow sheets, diagrams, and illustrations are good. Many of the errors in the former editions have been removed. I t is the best treatise a t the present time on general industrial chemistry as i t is practiced in America. ARTHUR W. HIXSON ~~
~~~~
.
COLUYBIA UNlYBPSlTY
New Yasx. New Yosg
PHYSICALCHEMISTRY.Frack H. MacDougall, Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Minnesota. Revised Edition. The MacmiUan Company, New York, 1943. ix 722 pp. 97 figs. 15 X 22 cm. $4.00. I n the preface the author states, "In this revision of the 6rst edition, the author has not considered i t necessary to make many substantial changes in the material dirmssed or in the manner of treatment." A page-by-page comparison of the first and second editions reveals this as a distinct overstatement. The changes are practically negligible. About one page each has been added an glasses and the glass electrode. The discussion of nuclear chemistry has been slightly amplified and the derivation of the Gihhs adsorption isotherm made more rigorous. The most recent accepted values for the various physical and chemical constants replace those used in the first edition, and the symbol E is now used instead of U for internal energy. Aside from this. the reviewer was able to find only three new problems and one or two additional references. The content and arrangement being practically identical with the very well knownfirst edition, a detailed discussion of these points is omitted.
+
MANUAL oa I ~ n u s xCI a~E m m y . Volumes I and 11. Edited by the late Allen Rogers. Sixth Edition by C. C. Furas, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.. New York. 1940. Vol. I. xiii 877 pp. 221 figs. 145 tables. 15 X 22 cm. Vol. 11. viii f 840 pp. 211 figs. 90 tables. 15 X 22 cm. $17.00 per set. The appearance of a new and extensively revised edition of this time-tested "Manual" under the editorship of Professor Furnas is mare than an ordinary event in the annals of technological publications. For three decades Rogers' "Manual." through the five preceding editions, has been a standard American text and reference hook in general industrial chemistry. During this time the American chemical industries have undergone the greatest development in their history. These developments have been so rapid and extensive that frequent editions were necessary t o keep the book "within gunshot" of heing up t o date. That is the fate of every treatise on industrial chemistry in this chemical world in which we live.
+
The foregoing is not intended as adverse criticism of a really excellent text. The reviewer has always considered MacDongall's "Physical Chemistry" one of the best works in the field. It is logical, teachable, written with meticulous care, and is comprehensive enough for any first-class course. Since this "revised" edition has the same virtues and weaknesses as its predecessor, it can be recommended as heartily as before. MALCOLM M. HARING UNIV~SIIY OF MAX-ND
COLLBD& PABR. Mmnmo
chapter the techniques of straight seals, sidearms, reduction of bore, test tube ends, and bending. I n the remaining three chapters he describes the use of the splicing torch; the blowing of bulbs; the flaring of ends; the production of inner seals, metal to glass seals, and ground joints; the construction of condensers, thermometer wells, diaphragm manometers, vacuum jackets, closed circuits and the Langmuir pump and the McLwd gage. and, finally, the assembly and testing of complex vacuum apparatus. The author's style is easy and direct and the printing excellent-large, clear type on heavy paper. Eight of the 11 plates are made from actual nhotoera~hs of the author's own handi. work. I n some cases these illustrations will prove more helpful and in others less helpftd than line drawings-particularly to the beginner. The "Manual" can hardly he called a self-instructor. In general, the directions are too abbreviated for an untutored beginner, although rich in suggestions for the more advanced student. Unfortunately, the author has minimized the importance of maintaining complete control over wall-thickness while increasing or decreasing the diameter of tubing by blowing and drawing. respectively. Naive admissions of the resulting difficulties are found in several parts of the book. For example, on page 32: "When the larger tube is very large, 25 mm. or more, it will be found that while the tube can be drawn down in the way described t o a certain extent, after a certain stage the collapsed part becomes paper thin." Again, on page 51: "Once blown out to the stage shown a t F, it is practically impossible to reheat and reblow the bulb without distorting i t hopelessly." This reviewer has found that a most useful student exercise is to shrink and reblow bulbs repeatedly, varying the shape and size each time. I n his directions for making inner seals, the author avoids the plebeian use of inner supports and consistently recommends lining up by gravity. This is a most difficult operation for the beeinner. in contrast with the easv. effective..and renerallv betterlooking leal%which result when all members have bee; previously aligned. Detailed directions are given for the construction of a McLeod gage and for the assembly and testing of a complex vacuum system--even to the extent of identifying the spectrum of the intruding gas. I n the opinion of this reviewer, Professor Wright's "Manual" should he in every experimental laboratory. Ross A. BAKER COLUIOB OR TRB C m OF ~ s ~wo a a
- .
TEXTBOOKOF BrocHearIwnu. Benjamin Harrow, Professor of Chemistry, City College, College of the City of New York. Third Edition. W. B. Sannders Company, Philadelphia, 1943. ix f 537 pp. 118 figs. 15 X 2.3 cm. $4.00. This is a new edition of a book which was first published in 1938 and has been revised a t frequent intervals in order t o keep pace with the rapid advances in biochemistry. The general eharacter and purposes of the book have been retained in the new edition which has been exuanded in manv of its sections. Sixteen more tablcr and 30 additional fimrrs have been incurpurntrd in the new edition in order to increase the practical urrfulncss of the book. A new chapter has hcrn a d d 4 dealing with irntnunochemistry and chemotherapy. The third edition represents a marked improvement over the previous editions of this textbook, and takes its place near the top of the list of textbooks available for the teaching of general biochemistry. The book is presented with the object of covering the usual reauirements of courses in biochemistrv offered t o medical, dental, amicultural, and general collegr studrntz, and one feels tke rrnpha\i* of a chemicnl viewpoint. The ad\.isability of an author's attempting t o satisfy a nerd for a tertl,ook of hiochemistry for all types of students may be open t o question. As biochemistry becomes ever broader in scope, encompassing so many aspects of biology and medicine, it might be more desirable, and satisfactory, t o present biachemistry from the viewpoint of the field t o which it is t o he applied, rather than t o attempt t o meet the diverse requirements of several specialties. While this edition of Harrow might be adequate for dental, agricultural, and general college students, it must be supported by supplemental reading in the physiological and medical applications of biochemistry in order t o fulfill satisfactorily the role of an adequate textbook of biochemistry for medical students. However, each new edition of Harrow which has appeared gives indications that ihe author is continually approaching the production of a textbook which would become widely adapted for medical school teaching. ABRAHAM WHITE YALS UNIVXXSITY NBWHAVEN,CONNBET~COT MANUALOF LABORATORY GLASS-BLOWING. R. H. Wrqkl, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of New Brunswick. Chemical Publishing Company. Inc.. Brooklyn, N. Y., 1943. ix 90 pp. 11 plates. 22 X 14 cm. $2.50. The appearance of this new "Manual" is very welcome--the more so because the author has limited himself t o those operations which lie within his own direct experience. When so many nniversities are conducting courses in glass blowing and so many helpful techniques are being devised, it is to be hoped that others may be stimulated t o pool their experiences also. I n one of his introductory paragraphs, the author modestly acknowledges "his indebtedness t o all those who have, a t various times and places, shown him most of the tricks which go t o make up this book." But it is soon obvious t o the reader that be is in the presence of a glass blower of no mean ability, who has a vivid imagination and olentv of conrare. After devoting three chapters t o the properties of the common vorielics of glas, the types of burners and flames, and the usual tools of the glaw blower, the author compresses into one shon
+
. .
-.
N&w YORE,NEW Yosa
DICTIONARYOF BIO-CHEMISTRYAND RELATEDSUBJBCTS. Editor-in-Chief. William Marias Maliroff, Professor of Biochemistry a t the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Philosophical Library, New York. 1943. 579 pp. 15 X 22.5 cm. $7.50. Some of the terms in this dictionary are defined in simple glossary form; others are discussed more thoroughly. The book includes words in vague ten years ago as well as those in use today.
THEWAR ON CANCER. Edword Podolrky, M.D., Staff Member, Fifth Avenue and Flower Hospitals, New York City, and Facultv Member. New York Medical Collexe. Reinhold Publishing~orporation,New York, 1943. 175 pp. 2 figs. 12.5 X 18.5 cm. $1.75. The author of "The War on Cancer" succeeds in rednciur a medical problem to the layman's lcvel of understanding. Only once, in giving details of Coke's disparian index test, does he forget his readers. The book tells the story of cancer from 4UC B.C. t o the present day, stressing symptoms, causation theories. modem treatment, and research.
-
