book reviews tation, and interpretation of the signal rests on much less certain grounds, than the simpler "classical" potentiometric method (not mentioned) which is at least as precise and accurate. Another example is on p. 132, where titrimetric methods for hydrogen sulfide and sulfide ion are reviewed. Under Classical Methods the entry is "None of Importance." This will come as a. surprise to those who determined hydrogen sulfide and sulfide by iodometrio methods long before 19.50. Then on the facing page the first of the Recommended Contemporary Methods is caulometric titration with eledrogenerated iodine! Similarily, on p. 60 under Classical Methods for determining cerium (IV) one finds "None of importance," which ignores the iodometric method, or reductometric titration wit,h ferrous ion or arsenite. which were in use for several decades
by its title. However, it does make s. useful contribution by reviewing some of the more recent titrimitric methods, JAMESJ. LINGANE Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 0??158
Gel Permeation Chromatography Edited by Klaus H. Altgelt, Chevron Research Co., Richmond, California, and Leon Segal, US. Dept. of Agriculture, New Orleans. Marcel Dekker, 646 pp. Inc., New York, 1971. xvii Figs. and tables. 16.5 X 23.5 cm. s4.7.5.
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This hook is a collection of papers that were presented a t a symposium on gel permeation chromatography (gpc) at the 1970 National ACS Meeting in Houston. I t fills a gap in the literature in that few hooks have been devoted to this important analytical tool. "Gel Permeation Chromatography" will he invaluable to the practicing industrial chemist, both as a direct referenoe and as a guide to the literature. The book would $so be a good choice as a textbook for a special topics course in gpc at the graduate level or as supplementary reading for a course in chromatography. Steric exclusion chromatography has been divided rather arbitrarily into gel filtration chromatography (aqueous systems) and gel permeation chromatography (nonaqueous systems). Gel liltration deals primarily with separation problems in biological systems, but can be extended to the investigation of any water soluble sample, including inorganics. The reviewed book, as indicated by its title, deals primarily with gel permeation 8s a tool for investigating polymers and other large molecules that can be dissolved in nonaqueous systems. I t treats gel filtration and the packing materials that can he used i n squeoussystems only briefly.
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Journol of Chemical Educofion
The book ia gpnerally well-wiircn and 1 collectim of free of errors. B e w u e it ~i artirles. it is not m frecflorrine, 2nd wrllorgaqizkd k would he a text written by a single author. There is some overlap and redundancy between the articles, but not a 3 much as one might expect from a collecti& of papers by individual authors. A chapter on the important topic of designing and packing a column would have q a referadded to the value of the book a ence for the beginning practitioner of gel permeation chromatography. A general discussion of sterie exclusion as a tool for fractionation of complex samples prior to detailed examination by other analytical methods would also have made the book more complete. Steric exclusion chromatography by itself m e l y gives enough analytical in'formation for the investigating chemist, but, when coupled with other techniques, it becomes a powerful method of analysis. In summary, "Gel Permeation Chromatography" is an excellent reference for the practicing industrial chemist who must solve separation problems. In addition, it could he used as a text for aspecial topics graduate level course that is devoted to this area of steric exclusion chromatography.
been published previously as papers or review articles. The reviewer finds little to recommend in this book. It will not be very useful to the expert in this field because it is not sufficiently complete. The casual reader will find the uneven presentation a severe limitation. He would do much better to consult recent reviews (e.g., R. L. Lemmon, Chemieal Reviews, 1970) or the more extensive discussions in other books dealing with the origins of life (e.g., M. Calvin, "Chemical Evolution," R. L. Kenyon and G. L. Steinman, "Biochemical Predestine tion," or J. D. Bernal, "the Origin of Life"). Finally the poor index and the uneven presentation limits its usefulness as a. stsndard reference work so that the reviewer would not recommend its purchase by s library.
JAMES P. FERRIS Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, N . Y . 18181
Chemical Modification of Proteins Galy E. Means and Robert Feeney. Holden-Day, Ine., Srtn Francisco, 1971. 300 pp. 86.95, paper. $12.50, cloth.
RICHARD A. HENRY Instrumat Produets Division To the knowledge of this reviewer, this is E. I . du Pant de Nemou~s& Co. the first monograph devoted to the chemWilminqton, Delaware i d modifiostion of proteins. It is well organized into three main parts. Part one (the first four chapters) is devoted to the Molecular Evolution I: Chemical chemistry snd chemical reactions of proteins. Part two is devoted to the Evolution and the Origin of Life chemistry and chemical reactions of Edited by R. Buvd, Laboratoire d'Ener numerous modifying reagents, and ingetique Electrochemique, Paris, and cludes information on the types of amino C. Ponnampemma, NASA Ames Reacid residues which are reactive towards search Center, Moffett Field, Calif. the individual reagents. The third part American Elsevier Publishing, Ca., Inc., takes the farm of an appendix, and con560 pp. Figs. New York, 1971. xi tains experimentzl procedures taken from and tables. 23 X 15.5 om. $25.50. the original literature, and is intended to "enable the reader to perform some of the This book contains the proceedings of a more important modification reactions." conference on the origins of life held in The book contains a large number of April, 1970 in Pont-bMousson in France. recent literature references, and for this This is not a systematic treatise but canreason it should prove a useful source for sists of abstracts of the sixty papers p r e resesrohers interested in using chemical sented at the conference. I t is subdivided modification ss a tool in protein chemistry. into eight sections: introductory, general It is well cross-referenced internally and is and theoretical, small molecules, oligomers easy to use. Finally, it is reasonably and nolvmers. nhotochemical orocesses. priced and should be a useful addition to orieins , . ~ of~hioloeical ~ structures. ~ ~ . nrimitive the personal library of anyone interested biovbemi~tryand biology, and exr,bihm. in the area of protein chemistry. 111 principle, one ihodd be nlJe I,, obtnin an overview of the whole of chemical evoluCHARLES L. BORDERS, JR. tion from the extensive coverage suggested The College of Wooster by these subdivisions. However, this Wooster, Ohio book has some severe limitations. The length and quality of the papers varies markedly. With a few exceptions, the papers consist merely of short abstracts which give only an outline of the topics Science, Man and Society that were discussed at the conference. There is a brief and not too useful subject R,,hrrt R. Fischer. California. State Col. ... . index. (A spot check revealed that many lege, Dominguea kills. W. B. Saunders ~ossibleentries were missing. Apparently 124 Co., Philtsdelphia, 1971. viii the indexer only listed those topics which pp. 22.5 x 15 cm. $2.95, Softbound. were discussed extensively.) There is no This is a book about science; it is not a author index. There is a list of conference book about o science. I t is intended to be participants; however, this is not very a supplement to the usual subject matter useful because it does not give the location textbook used in an introductory science of their particular paper in the text. course. The author hopes to correct (1) Finally it should be noted that about half the "lack of understanding of the basic of the chapters in this hook have already
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nature of science" and (2) the "lack of comprehension of the relevancy of science to man and tosaciety." The book is strangest in the first three chapters in which Dean Fisher describes science and scientists. Chapter One brings out the multiplicity of conflicting definitions put forth by scientists themselves in describing their activity. The very multiplicity can lead t o a useful classroom discussion of the definition of a. definition. Chapter Two is a worthwhile discussion of what makes a scientist tick, his motivations, and human foibles. Chapter Three deals largely with authority in science. Mast students incorrectly think of a human as the authority even though observations are the authority upon which all of science is constructed. I t is this reviewer's minion that much of the mis-
structure of science. For most people the interface between science and society is technology, and technology is the subject for Chapter 4. I t may be shocking to these people t o learn of the poor use and even rejection of science during the indmtrial revolution. The development of the Bessemer process and its introduction into the U S . was "almost anti-scientific." Science in the continuing industrial revolution hss been a Johnny-come-lately. The quality of the book seems t o slip progressively as one moves through the last three chapters. I t may reflect a. personal hiss hut the highlight of the remaining chapters comes in Chapter 5, Science and Higher Eduoation, when Dean Fisher uses quotations from a report of the Educational Policies Commission of the National Education Association t o relate ther'spirit of science" to the spirit of an educated man and thus demonstrates the vital role of science in general educ* tion and in aliberal arts education. C h a p t e n 6 and 7, entitled Science and Public Policy, and Science, Man and Society, seem inadequate. I n Chapter 6 Dean Fisher presents a historical survey of the rel* tionship between science and the federal government in only five pages. The Manhattan Project and the AEC are covered in less than two paragraphs. I n Chapter 7 the role of science and technology in mainta&ing t,he qnality of our physical environment is covered in less then a page. These topics are really too voluminous and complex t o cover in even a. single chapter. Yet if the students are t o discuss the topics intelligently they need more information since knowledge is the tool for thinking. I t would hiwe been helpful if the author had provided a list of source materials which could be osed by the reader who wished more information on each subject. I n summary Dean Fisher is accomplishing his first objective in the stimulating three chapters a t the beginning of the book, but the last chapters only minimally accomplish the author's second objective.
Annual Rapotts in Synthetic Chemistry, 1970
John M c M u w and R. Bryan Miller, both of University of California. Academic Press, New York, 1971. 356 pp. Figs. and tables. $7.50. Paperbound. This first volume of what will hopefully become a continuing series serves admirably as a valuable source of synthetically useful reactions. Although there is no index, a very complete tahle of contents allows the reader to focus his search. The brief abstracts (complete reference, pertinent equation(s) and a t times a commentary sentence or a data tahle) are arranged under the following major headings whichare suhdividedfurther: carhoncarbon bond forming reactions, oxidations, reductions, synthesis of heterocyclics, protecting gronps, useful synthetic p r e p arations (primarily functional group preparations), and miscellaneous reactions. At the end of each major section are given references t o review articles. This volume covers forty-seven 1970 primary chemistry journals, issues of which were received before March 1, 1971. The chemist faced with a synthesis problem or interested in a n overview of progress in organic synthesis, and the teacher developing new experiments for his students will find this relatively inexpensive book well worth the investment.
alleged financial irregularities by scientists, behavior of German scientists under the Nazis, Lysenkosim, spies (e.g., Rumford, Fuchs), social irresponsibility of some scientists in their criticism of Velikovsky's "World in Collision," racists among scientists, dishonesty (revelation of trade secrets., exoeriments on humans without their consent), dogmatists, struggles for priority and recognition, and other topics of similar genre are treated. One may or may not agree with the sanguine prognostications of the author. However, the book gives an unbalanced and negative picture of science and seientists. For instance, in Chapter 2, Mistakes with Money, only two-thirds of a page is given to scientists who have disdained financial reward, while almost the rest of the chapter is devoted to questionable financial practices. The author suggests this volume as a text for students in various courses. I t would he a very good antidote for any glorification of science and scientists. But studied alone the book could easily give the uninitiated the impression that a good portion of this discipline is in s state of moral decay. Chapter 9 is titled Accent the Positive. The author should have done this for science as a whole.
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LEROYW. HAYNES The College of Wooster Wwsler, Ohio 44691 Gas-Chromatographie, GrundlagenAnwendung-Methoden The Future of Science
Morris Goran. Spartan Books, New York, 1971. 156 pp. 24 X 16 cm. $8.50. This book is a social commentary on science and scientists. The author's theme is that through international financing, improved communication, and appropriate education the whole level of the scientific enterprise will be raised. This volume is addressed to students majoringin science and allied subjects such as medicine and engineering, and to professional scientists. Various examples of science and scientists in action in contemporary and past times are utilized as a basis for supporting its theme. There are references a t the end of each chapter and an ample index. The bulk of the text is devoted to a description of the deficiencies of science and scientists. There is actually little amplification of the author's views on the future of science. Most of the ills which afflict this discipline and its practitioners are presented in a forceful and arresting manner, with numerous quotations of individual scientists and skillfully arranged case histories taken from different historical periods in various countries. The first chapter, Growing Pains, outlines the ~roblemsof oral communication (scientific
JOHN A. BORNMANN Division of Natu~alSciences and Mathematics research, and the teaching versus research The Lindenwood Colleges controversy. I n subsequent chapters, St. Charles. Missouri 65801
Dietvich Jentzsch, Perkin Elmer & Co., Uherlingen, Germany Zweite veranderte and erweiterte Auflaee. Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, ~ t u k g a r t ,Germany, 1971. 109 pp. Line drawings and tables. 13.5 X 20 cm. D M 14.80 (= approx. 54.60) Though the book is small in comparison with some of the others in this field it will serve well in many quarters. I t touches on all of the obvious points, and references to the literature are ample. The 36 diagrams and the 8 tables are helpful. This second revised edition has taken advantage of its predecessor's shortcomings in excellent style. The German is not difficult. The hook, a t amodest price, is a goad addition to any chemical library. RALPH E. OESPER University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio
Gmelin-Durrer:
The Metallurgy of Iron
Fourth edition. Vol. 3a and 3b: The Blast-furnace, part 1. Verlag Chemie, WeinheimIBerestr. Vol. 3a: 1971. v i i + 320 pp.- Vol. 3b: 1971. vi 137 pp., illustrrttions. 25.2 X 17.2 cm. (DM 487) U. S., $134.
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Gmelin's comprehensive coverage of the metallurgy of iron continues in this work
(Continued on page A494)
Volume 49, Number
9, September 1972
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