RECENT BOOKS S ~ ~ n AND c a ITSDERIVATIVES.I. A. Radley, MSc., A.I.C. Volume X I of a Series on Applied Chemistry. E. H. Tripp,
CHEMISTRY OF FOODAND NUTRITION.H. C. Sherman, Ph.D., Sc.D., Mitchill Professor of Chemistry, Columbia University. Sixth Edition. The Macmillan Company, New York City, Ph.D., Editor. D. Van Nostrand Co., Inc., New York City, 1941. x 611 pp. 46 figs., 65 tables. 14 X 21 cm. $3.25. 1940. x 346 pp. 28 figs. 61 photomicrographs. 14 X 22 cm. $6.00. As every one interested in nutrition probably knows, this book The English author states, in the preface, that this book seeks has been widely used as a text for a generation. I t is intended t o summarize recent progress in an important domain of chemical for college classes and presupposes a knowledge of general and chemistrv. It Dresents the ex~erimentalfacts. sumindustry. It does that. The book is divided into four parts: oreanic " I. The Structure and Reactions of Starch; 11. The Manufacture morizcd and cmluatcd, which furnish the ha& fur the sciencc of of Starch and Starch Products; 111. The Industrial Applications rnltrition and it- practical zpplicatiorls. This edition may trurhfully hu called a reviqion bcrausc a conof Starch and Starch Products; and IV. The Examination and Analysis of Starch and Starch Products. Sixty-one photomicro- siderable part of the b w k has been rewritten. Three new graphs of starch, obtained with plain and polarized light, and chapters on the recently discovered vitamins have been added both subject and author indexes are included in the 346 pages. and the valuable references and selected readings a t the end of each chapter have been carried through 1940. Typographical errors are few in number. Because of the historical value of this hook, it may he of inThe author has done well in trying t o fulfil his purpose of recording the scientific and technological results in an extensive terest t o others, as i t w a s to the reviewer, t o compare this with field. About 100 pages are devoted t o the history, latest de- the first edition which appeared in 1911. I n the introduction t o velapments regarding structure, physical and chemical char- the first edition Doctor Sherman practically summarized the acteristics of starch, and a section concerning ethers and esters state of our knowledge of nutrition a t that time when he said of starch, which deals with compounds of much interest a t the that the nutritive value of food "as a source of energy for mainpresent time. The manufacture of root and cereal starches, taining the work of the body and of material for preventing or rebecause of hooks already available, is discussed very briefly. placing the waste of the body substance or for growth, is chiefly Although the potato is an underground stem tuber i t is considered judged (1) by its chemical composition, (2) by its behavior in as a root. Starch content of white potatoes (page 103) as an digestion, (3) by its behavior in metabolism." Later on there average, in Germany, is about 18 per cent instead of 25410 per was a statement of a prophetic nature in which he said: "It is cent, as stated. There is very little reference t o sago starch. becoming more and more apparent that even among staple foods there are many cases in which the ordinary routine analysis fails Starch products are discussed extensively. Since there are marked differences in the chemical and physical to differentiate substances which are quite different in nutritive behavior of starches from different sources, obtained by different value. It is not safe t o conclude, as is sometimes done, that methods, other than granule shape and size, i t is now desirable these are 'differences which chemistry cannot show' for chemistry t o stress the source of starch. This information is sometimes can show vastly more than is shown by the partial analyses usually made." omitted. A Enropean would probably think mostly in terms of How true this statement has proved t o he may be shown by a potato starch; an American, of corn starch; and an inhabitant of Java, of manioc starch (tapioca or cassava). brief comparison of the contents of the first and last editions. There are four t o seven chapters for each of the four parts, with The material included in the first fifteen chapters of the 1941 edimatterof the 1911 an extensive hibliography a t the end of each chapter. This fea- tionconstitutesapproximatelytheentiresubject ture makes i t a very valuable general reference hook for starch edition. The next fifteen chapters of the latest edition, including chemists. eight chapters on the vitamins, present the new Chemistry of Topics such as uses and products of starch are treated more Food and Nutrition as i t has developed in three decades. I n the exhaustively than in most hooks of this size. It is evident that edition of 1911 no mention was made of rickets as a specific diethe author undertook to assemble an extensive number of topics tary deficiency disease. The necessity for an adequate supply of calcium for development of the skeleton of growing children pertaining t o the science and technology of starch. CHARLESA. BRAUTLECXT was stressed, but there was no question of the need of any factors other than liberal allowances of calcium and phosphorus in the diet. Mention was made of an epidemic of scurvy in a British garrison during the seige of Ladysmith but i t was thought that the disease fallowed the consumption of s diet containing too THE MANUSCRIPT. A GUIDE IIOR ITS PREPAIUTION. Third little of the baseforming elements. Thus s c u m was recognized Edition. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York City, 1941. as related to diet but the dietary constituents thought t o be rexvi 75 pp. 16 figs. 15 X 23 cm. $1.00. sponsible were the mineral elements known t o occw most ahunThis monograph gives specific directions, from a technical dantly in fruits and vegetables. Many other interesting comviewpoint, for the preparation of copy for the printer: directions parisons might be made but space does not permit. for the selection, preparation, and shipping of illustrations; deAll teachers who have depended upon this hook for class use tails as t o the completion of the manuscript, with suggested lay- will be grateful that this concise history of the development of out, preparation of front matter, problems, exercises, appendix. scientific nutrition has been brought up t o date and the new maglossary, and index; instructions for the handling of proof; and terial presented in the same unbiased manner which is so chara brief paragraph on formal publication and copyright regula- acteristic of the author. tions. I t is strictly practical, bringing up points which may RWTH JOHNSTIN cause difficulty if not attended to properly, and should promote WELLESLBYCOLCBOB understanding between author and publisher. WBLLnsLsu, M*ss*cH"ssrrs
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