RECENT BOOKS PHYSICALCAEMSTRY. Earl C. H.Deyies. Ph.D., ~rofessor.of Physical Chemistry. West Virginia University. Second Edition. The Blakiston Company. Philadelphia. 1940. vii 447 pp. 86 figs. 14.5 X 21.5 cm. W.50. This hook was written t o appeal to beginners, especially t o that class of students who value physical chemistry for its cultural appeal rather than as an essential tool. The selection of subjects and manner of presentation should make i t especially valuable for premedical physical chemistry. The mathematical aspects of the subject are not ignored hut are given a distinctly elementary treatment. College sophomores should he quite capable of assimilating its contents. The second edition is about twenty per cent more extensive than its predecessor. Although the nnkher of chapters and titles are the same as before. each has been rewritten and enlarged. This is true particularly of thc scctions on proteins and enzymes and on isotopic applications and artificial radioactivity. I n general, many new practical applications have been added. The treatment of colloids, pH, osmosis, catalysis, and hydrolysis is especially commendable. Glass electrode technic is discussed withunusuh detail. Scattered throughout the text are numerous "illustrations" which can well serve as lecture demonstrations or laboratory experiments. This novelty and the general order of subject treatment has proved its valM over a period of thirteen years. Text-interspersed experiments are supplemented by an appendix of twenty suggested laboratory experiments. Each chapter is terminated by a list of review and discussion questions and, in several cases, also by problems. The lecture and laboratory work represented can he covered in one semester, although more time can he used t o advantage. There are many references to the recent literature. Eiehtv-two tables of useful data. manv .. . of them enlarged and modernized, and a table of logarithms c a n siderably enhance the value of the book. The aurhor's style is inspiring and the publisher's product very sntisfacrory. The hook is recommended to the attention of all reachers of introducrory physical chemistry.
QUANTITATNE ANALYSIS. W. C. Pierce, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Chicago, and E. L. Hacnisck, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Villanova College. Second Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York City, 1940. xv 462 pp. 35 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $3 00. This second edition of a book that has enjoyed considerable popularity has introduced no fundawenfal change in content over the first edition. Examination of the table of contents shows a new chapter (V) with the title, "Preparation of Sample for Analysis," which includes a brief introduction to the important topic of sampling. I n the last chapter of the hook a brief discussion of certain special methods of analysis has been replaced by a listing of the standard, analyzed samples put out by the National Bureau of Standards. I n the body of the text newer methods are occasionally introduced, as may be seen in the use of sulfamic acid as a primary standard in neutralization titrations, the adoption of the Fowler and Bright manipulation in the standardization of KMnO, by NaC104, and in the use of As108 as a primary standard for KMnOl in the presence of an iodine catalyst. There is considerable reorganization of material in several of the chapters, presumably in the interest of improved pedagogy. I n many cases the discussion has been amplified, directions made more specific, and center headings added or improved t o make the text more readable. Additional problems have been inserted a t the end of many of the chapters, giving a wider choice of assignments. The chief deficiencies for a h w k of this character are (1) failure to recommend the electric m d e far gravimetric ignitions, and (2)failure to indicate the importance of outflow time in the use of a buret or transfer pipet, since the tolerances specified by the Bureau of Standards include outflow times as well as volumes delivered. The book is well written and well printed and will deservedly continue to he widely used as a textbook in colleges far the onesemester, heavy courses, or the two-semester, lighter course in auantitative analvsis.
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