BOOK REVIEWS Introduction lo Modern Biochemistry
P . Karlsm, University of Marburg, Germany. Translated by Chades H. Doering, Massachusetts General 130spit,nl, Boston. 2nd ed. Academic Press, 436 pp. Inc., New York, 1965. xx Figs. and tables. 17 X 25 em. $11.
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The second edition of this fine textbook follows the first edition by only two years. Recent advances in some selecbed fields of biochemistry have been included in the new edition and recent references for suggested supplemental reading have been added a t the end of each chapkr. The most notablo additions are in chapters entitled Nucleie Acids and Protein Biosynthesis and Hormones. Ot,herwise the organization of the book and the coverage of subject matter are essentially the same as in the first edition. This baok remains one of the auktanding texts for a n advanced undergraduate biochemistry course or for shorter graduate courses for non-majors in biochemistry. RICHARD U. BYERRUH Michigan Stale University East Lansing
PsychopharmacologicalAgents. Volume 1
Edited by M m e l l Gordon, Smith, Kline, and French Laboratories, Phiiadelphia. Academic Press, h e . , New 678 pp. Figs. and York, 1964. xvi tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $23.50.
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The sad reflection that came to mind on r e d i n g this book was how seriously certain actions of a few drug companies can compromise the integrity of scientific communication. For example, we read in this baok a n article on 2-bensylpiperidines and related compounds. We read a glowing account of the clinical successes of a drug called Pipradrol. We find that this drug is a proprietary product of the Richardson-Merrell Company. We find that the authors of the article were employees of that company. We recall .
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the article? There is much material of sound reference value in this book. The organic chemistry, tables of formulae, and bibliographies are excellent. I n view of the fact, however, that most of the articles are written by employees of drug companies interested in selling their own products, one must take the clinical reports with more than a grain of sdt. It is unfortunate that such a judgment must be made, but even in the absence of bias, clinical evaluation of drugs for mental disease is an unusually difficult field. This is the first volume of a. set of two. I t includes sections on almost all psyehopharmacalogical agents except the phenothiazines, to which volume 2 will be devoted. The editor deserves cangratulsi (Cmlinued on page A78)
A76
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Journal of Chemical Education
BOOK REVIEWS tions for the uniformity of arrangement and coverage of the different chapters. This book is not a collection of individual articles, but a. well organized reference work. All chemical libraries, including those in undergraduate colleges, shodd have this set, and individual research chemists in the field of psychopharmacology will find it indispensable. WALTERJ . MOORE
Indiana Universitl~ Bloomzngtn
Applied Mathematics for Engineers and Scientists
Sergei A . Schelkunoff, Columbia University. 2nd ed. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, 1965. Bell Telephone Laboratories Series. xii 406 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. 89.50.
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Thi~ book is intended for a. wide variety of research workers and students in the physical sciences and engineering. Previous experience in undergraduate calculus and differential equations has been sssumed, although the author wisely begins many of the chapters s t a n elementary level. It is this feature which makes the hook more readable and generally less formidable than the specialized and exhaustive text b y Margenau and Murphy.
A78
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lournal o f Chemical Education
The subject matt,er has been carefully selected so as to be of general utility t o those who employ mathemat,ics primarily for the solution of physical problems. There is overall emphasis on numerical approximation methods, and sn extensive treatment of ordinary and partial differential equations. Included throughout the text are many helpful illustrative examples and problems with answers. There is a minimum of cross referencing and interde~endenceof sections whieh, in this reviewer's opinion, promotes efficiency in communication. For the advanced student of physics or chemistry, this hook is highly reeommended, especially if used in eonjunet,ion with that by Margenau and Murphy.
JOHN T . YATES,JR. National Bureau oj Standards Washington, D. C .
Robert Boyle on Natural Philosophy: An Essay with Selections from His Writings
Marie Boas Hall, Imperial College, London. Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1865. ix 406 pp. 16 X 23.5 cm. $6.75.
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As stated in the sub-title, this is a n "essay" on the great English scientist Robert Boyle (1627-1691) with selections from his writings. Boyle, who ranks in genius and learnmg with men like Newton,
Descartes, Leibnitz, and Galileo, was a n unassuming and quiet man of tremendous erudition in theology and in almost all branches of natural science. H e published many papers in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (of which he was a founding member), as well as many books and tracts, the bibliography of which has been published by John F. Fulton ("A Bibliography of the Honourable Robert Boyle," Oxford, 1961). I n 1744, Thomas Birch published the first collected edition of Boyle's "Works" in five large folio volumes, and a second edition appeared, in 1772, in six thick quarto volumes containing well over 4000 pages! I n the present book, which is, in a sense, a sequel t o her "Robert Boyle and Seventeenth-Century Chemistry" (Cambridge, 1958), Dr. Baas Hall (one of the leading modern authorities on Boyleand his times) has attempted to evaluate Boyle's important scientific work, including chemwtry, and t o bring out his importance in the history of sciencefor thetwentieth-century reader. That thirr is no easy task will he attested by anyone who has wrestled with the heavy folio or quarto volumes of Birch's compilation. Neverthless, Dr. Boas Hall has successfully chosen and edited selections from Boyle's voluminous works whieh illustrate his main achieve ments and ideas in a comprehensible manner. The hookis divided into two main parts. The introductory first part (pp. 3-115) comprises six chapters which deal with
(Continued n page A80)
