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NE\V BOOKS
SEW BOOKS
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S t ~ w ~ u r Inorynnic ul C’hemis/ry. By .I. F. WELLS. viii 500 pp. London: Oxford University Press, 1046. Price: $7.50. This book, by the author’s admission. is not intended as a textbook of inorganic cheinistry but rather as n coniplementa~~y volume. It is divided iil.to two parts. The first considers i n n very general and sttmlard way the structure of the atom and the kinds of forces acting between atonis in substances of different types. This is followed by n discussioii of the size of atoms ant1 the spatial arrangements of the various types of bonds, and then the characteristics of the states of aggregation and of the relation bctmeen the structures of a substance in these different states. Part I is concluded with a detailed account of the crystalline stmate and finally with a description of somc of the more important experimental methods of structural chemistry. This last chapter is particularly good, describing in a d e a r and simple style, and without recourse to too many complicated mathematical expressions, some of the classical and more recently developed methods of studying structure, such as s-ray diffraction, clectron diffraction, spectroscopic studies, magnetic propertics, dipole moments, therniochcinical methods, and optical activity. Thc second, and by far the more important part of the book, is a systematic and comprehensive description of the struct,ures of the compounds of the inore familiar elements, viz., hydrogen, boron, carbon, silicon, nitrogen, phosphorus, oxygen, sulfur, and the halogens. Also included is a chapter on metals and alloys, and a particularly good chapter on the st,ereochemistry of those elements which form stable coordination compounds. One innovation of merit is the method of drawing structural diagrams. Many readers find it quite difficult t o project visually the conventional plane diagram into three-dimensional space, so the author uses a solid straight, line t o represent the chemical bond, with these lines decreasing in thickness with increasing distance from the observer. The edges of unit cells, and other lines which do not represent bonds, are drawn with broken lines and the atoms are represented by circles of arbitrary size with the thickness of line again being graded, giving the observer the impression a t least t h a t he is looking at a space model. .41so to be commended is the method of indexing which, in addition t o the general subject index, adds one of chemical formulae. I n the case of compounds containing a complex ion, t h e aiithor places first in the formula the central atom of the complex, e.g., [Fe(CN)e]K4 and [CuCI4]IC2instead of IC4Fe(Cr\‘)oand 112CuC14. The justification for thus rearranging t h e chemical formulae is t h a t these compounds are of interest in the book chiefly in connection with the stereochemistry of iron and copper, respectively, and unless the reader knows which particular salt y a s studied, it mould be necessary t o look through all the compounds of lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, and cesium, t o mention only the alkali metals. No references t o original articles are included in the text, necessitating a search of the formula index, which refers the reader to a numbered bibliography. This is a cumbersome and often unsatisfactory way t o have t o obtain references t o the original literature. The physical make-up of the book seems t o liavc suffered froni war-time restrictions and substitutes. T. D. O’BRIEN.
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rllovtic nnd Free Radical Reactions. By E. W.R. STEACIE.G s 9 t in. vii 545 pp. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1035. Price: $8.00. This monograph consists of an estmsive and systematic outline of the kinetic properties of free radicals and atoms, particularly as they enter into organic reactions. A brief discussion of the experimental method of producing and detecting atoms and radicals is included. The bibliography is unusually complete. The treatment of the material is orderly, critical, and apparently unliiased. I n evaluating conflicting evidence relating t o the parts ’-. .
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