BOOK
REVIEWS
Progress in Organic Chemistry.] Volume 5 Edited by J . W. Cook, University College, London, England, and W. Carruthers, Washington Singer Laboratories, Exeter, England. Butterworth, Inc., Washington, D. C., 1961. viii 172 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 25.5 cm. $9.
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This is the fifth volume in this series and follows the same general pattern as the earlier volumes (J. CHEM. EDUC.,35, A 616 [19581). Short surveys of recent progress are presented for five selected topics which are of ourrent interest to organic chemists. The five topics discussed in the present volume and their reviewers are: Homolytic Oxidation Processes, W. A. Waters; Developments in Hydroxylation of Phenols, J . 13. Loudon; The Chemistry of Dextran, C. R. Ricketts; The Chamistrv of the Hieher Temonoids (sic!),J. A. ~ i r l t r and o ~ k. A. J. ~ o g e r s ; and Tropylium and Related Compounds, T. Nozoe. The first chapter on Homolytic O x i d e tion Processes is distinctly the longest, 45 nitees. Dr. Waters, who has contrihuted &ifically to this subject, has provided here a well-organized account of oxidation reactions involving free radicals as intermediates. He discusses first homolytic oxidation involving hydrogen ahstraction, then autoxidation and catalysis of
-Reviewed
autoxidation, and finally one-electron oxidations by ions containing transition metals. I t is noteworthy that ahout n third of the 122 numhered literature references cited here itre dated after 1958. The next chapter may he considered as complementary to that of Dr. Waters, dealing more exhaustively with a. limited aspect of the subject. Hydroxylation of phenols is considered to include any process, direct or indirect, whereby a hydraxyl group replaces a hydrogen atom of the phenol system. This chapter is concerned primarily with preparative methods. Topics discussed include: substitution by free radicals, oxidation to quinones, Elbs and Dakin hydroxylation and orthohydroxylation. The third, and shortest, chapter (23 pages) provides a survey of recent work on the chemistry and biochemistry of dextren, particularly since 1950. Topics discussed include structure, hiosynthesis, polymer properties, and derivatives of dextran. Concerning the chapter dealing with the chemistry of the higher terpenoids the authors state: "The present survey makes no attempt to he exhaustive, the authors having chosen rather to deal with selected topics in detail." The topics selected (chiefly diterpenes) include: pimaric acids, diterpene hydrocarbons, diterpenes of unnatural stereochemistry (e.g., darutigend, esfestol, and columhin), manool and related diterpenes,
in this Issue
J . W . Cook and W . Carruthers, editon, Progress in Organic Chemistry. Volume 5 Jesse P . Gmenstein and M i l t a Winitz, Chemistry of the Amino Acids, 3 Volumes Herbed C . Kaujman, Handbook of Organometsllic Compounds E. Emmet Reid, Invitation to Chemical Research John Mazson Stillman, The Story of Alchemy and Early Chemistry Bemad Lewis and Guenlhw o n Elbe, Comhnstion, Flames, and Explosions of Gases Paul Pascal, editor, Nouveau Trait6 de Chimie Minerale. Volume 13 (in 2 padd Lvman G. Pan-att, Probability and Experimental Errors in Science: An Elementary Survey L. Bwee Andersen and Leonard A . Wenrel, Introduction to Chemical Engineering Rawinnton "~ Daniels. Selected Studies in Chemical Kinetics: Thirty-Fifth Annual Priestly Lectures C. P . Stewad and A . Stolman, editors, Toxicology: Merhanisms and Analytical Methods. Volume 2 Kenneth Denbigh, The Principles of Chemical Equilibrium E . J . Crosby, Experiments in Transport Phenomena. Cyril Long, Earl J . King, and Warren M. Sperry, editors, Biochemists' Handbook Ernest Yeager, editor, Transactions of the Symposium on Electrode Processes Herbert M . He~.shensn.Ultraviolet and Visiblo Ahsorption Spectra: Index for ~~
Prooess Control Donald E . H. Frear, editor, Pesticide Index Robert 6 . Brasted. Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry. Selenium, Tellurium, Polonium and Oxygen
Volume 8 Sulfur,
miscellaneous diterpenes (about half a page listing the structures assigned to seven compounds including cassaic, palustric, and gibberellic acids), and terpene hiogenesis. Half of this chapter is devoted to a review of the present state of knowledge of the processes of terpene biosynt,hesis. The final chapter reviews the chemistry of tropolone and its related products. The topics discussed include the formation and properties of tropylium ion, syntheses of tropones and tropolonos, and some reactions of troponoid campounds. As the editors state: "The growing volume of original research publications makes it increasingly dificult for the student of organic chemistry t o keep himself informed about the important develop ments which are taking place in his subject." Advanced university students interested in organic chemistry, research workers and those whose interests are more general will 6nd these surveys, prepared by people who have contributed significantly to our knowledge of the suhjects they discuss, useful, authoritative, and up-to-date. LEO A. GOLDBLATT Westem Regional Resea~chLaboratory Albany, California
Chemistry of the Amino Acids, 3 volumes
Jesse P. Greenstein (deceased) and M i l t a Winitz, hoth of the National Cancer Institute, Kational Institute of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1961. xiii 2872 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5cm. $100.
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This comprehensive and critical treatise is a major contribution to the chemical and biochemiea.l literature. Reviews of this sort are too often the edited contributions of many authors. Multiple authorship generally results in marked variations in style, overemphasis of some andneglect of other areas, and a t best, only limited correlation between sections. These defects are absent in this work which is outstanding in its continuity and correlation between sections. Many otherwise excellent reviews are deficient in historical perspective. Greenstein and Winits have included a critical summary of classical papers in their discussions. Historical introductions t o the isolation and characterization of individual amino acids make fascinating reading. The quality and insight of the work of such investigators as Ritthausen and S e h u l t ~ eare often overlooked. It is interesting t o discover, for example, that Fischer and Curtius debated the question of priority in the synthesis of peptides, and that Liebig snd Strecker hoth described methods for the oxidative decarboxyletion of amino aeids in the midnineteenth century. The three volumes comprising this series are divided into seven parts containing 52 chapters. Since i t would he impossible even to list sllof the subjects discussed, our comments are limited t o the over-all outline and the main sections.
Volume 39, Number 4, April 1962
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