BOOK REVIEWS careful, comprehensible presentation of the hydrodynamic equations for onedimensional shock waves. The third and fourth chapters deal in same detail with the effects of gas imperfections and with the transit,ion region. Two mare chapters s~uveyingexperimental methods for shock wave production and measurement complete the introductory part of the book and bring the reader to the final chapter p r e pared t o understand the many specifio experiments discussed there. The text is clear enough t o he understandable t o a beginner in the field yet the coverage is thorough enough t h a t the book should be useful to t,hose actively engaged in the type of research described. The material covered here is substantially the same as that in J. N. Bradley's recently published book and t,hk reviewer finds little to choose between the two in style, format, or clarity of presentation. A major feature favoring the Greene and Tnennies work. however. is their inclusion
equilibrium properties and equation of state a t high temperatures, equation of state of condensed phases a t high pressures, spectra of gases a t high ternperatures, transport properties, thickness of shock fronts, vibrational relaxation, and
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Journal o f Chemical Education
chemical kinetics. Anyone who has ever looked up spectroscopic constants in the hack of Hertzberg's books will appreciate the wefulness of such a tabular collection.
JAMES L. KIXSEIMassaehlrsetts Institute of Technology Cambridge
The Chemical Foundations of Molecular Biology
Robe71 F . Steinw, Naval l l e d i r d Research Institute, Bethesda, Maryl m d . D. Vsn Nost,raud Co., Inc., Princeton, New Jersey, 1965. xii 468 pp. Figs. and tahles. 16 X 23.5 cm. $12.
+
The author defines molecular hiology as all those aspects of biological svienre that can be deserihed in molecular terms, s definition many of us would equale with biochemistry. From this broad subject he has selected for discussion those individual areas which he feels are of current major interest or inadequately awered in existing texts suitable far use a t the advanced undergraduate level. The result is a book which begins with a. brief discussion of genetic principles and t,hen proceeds through chapters on t,he amino arids; the ehemiesl structure of protein-; the size, shape, and charge of protein molecules: the spat,isl organization of proteins; the enaymes; DNA; RNA and protein biosynthesis; the viruses; and the ca~bohy-
dretes and their biosynthesis to end with a discussion of energy transformations by biological systems. Four quite brief appendice3 treat the structure of insulin, basic thermodynamic concepts, the chemical synthesis of polypeptides, and biological oxidation and reduction. This last one is misnamed. Actually it is concerned almost entirely with the elementary physicsl chemistry of redox reactions, using the ferric ion-hydmquinone reaction as lhe example. To me, the last two chnplers seem out of place. They are basically s curtailed view of carhahydrate structure and metabolism including the electron transport system. I do not quarrel with the author's decision t o include these topics as molecular biology. Rather, I feel they are written in moresuperficial fashion than the rest of the book and that they are treated far more adequately in many biochemistry texts, various paperbacks, and a number of general biology books its well. The first eleven chapters make a. rather neat package a t a level somewhat beyond the deplh of biochemistry texthooka. This is particularly true with respect to the detailed chemical and phyxical structure of proteins, nucleic acids, and viruses, and t u the nret,hodulogy used t o gain this information. And in contrast to sbandard biochemistry texts, the currently reigning triumvirateof RNA, DNA, and protein are presented here in a. unified manner, free from what many would consider t,o be the
(Cmlintced on page A9t4)
BOOK REVIEWS distractions of strictly metabolic mnsiderations. Throughout this portion of the hook blre topics are important and well chosen, the writing clear and st,rraightforward, the examples excellent. All that is lacking to make this an excellent survey of these areas is timeliness, one of the author's stated criteria. for his selection of topics. This is a troublesome problem in m y rapidly advancing field, but here the discussions of protein st,ructure seem some five years old. The chapter on enzymes, for example, has no reference to work published aft.er 1961. Thus, there is no mention of multiunit enzymes nor of sllosteric effects. Hydragen bonding in credited with much more importance in general protein structure bhen has for some years been considered to be the case by theleaders in the field. The sections on nurleic &ridsand protein synthesis are more current, hut even theie are by now several years old. Nevertheless, the fundamental m&xial is well presented and could prove to be very useful to many a biulogiit or physics1 scientist wishing a gmunding in the areas covered. AEindicated earlier, the book is designed for the advanced undergraduate. I t requires a reasonable background in orgsnio and physical chemistry as well as b s i e calculus. No biochemistry is assumed. I am not sure that coueesexist for which this will prove a suitable text. General biochemistry courses might well use it as a
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in the history of chemical education, and well deserves the treatment it has received here. The text has now been translated from the original Latin into modern German, and thus made accessible to a wider circle of readers. The volume presents numerous illustrations of chemical equipment, both lsboraJAMES L. FAIRLEY tory and technical, and an outstanding Michigan State Uniuemily ieature are the sketches of a proposed East Lansing chemistry building for instnlctional purposes. The title pages are of special interest. The value of the book is enhanced by an extensive commentary on the chemical philosophy of Libavius, and Die Alehemie des Libavius: Ein Lehlc an analysis of the contents of his "Albuch der Chemie our dem Jahre 1597 chemie" is provided. A list of the puhHerausgegeben vom G m e l i Institut lished biographies of this remarkable early fiir anorganische Chemie und Grenzg* chemist is included. biete in der Max Planck Gesellsehaft Though s t first glance it might appear m r Forderung der Wissenschaft, Frankthat this project. has been directed at the furt am main. Verlag Chemie, Weinspecialists in the history of early chemheim/Bergstrasse, 1964. 768 pp. i s t , ~there , is much here that may appeal Figs. 18 X 25.5 cm. 98 marks ($25). to the general German-reading public. 4 . comparison of this sixteenth-seventeenth Andreas Libavius (Libau) was horn a t cenbury textbook with those now in use Halle around 1550 and died a t Coburg shows in a special way the advances and in 1616. He was a distinguished teacher differences in the manner in which the as well as a physician. A professor of subject has been presented. history and poetry, he instituted courses in This handsome volume represents the science in the gymnasia where he taught fruit of a tremendous amount of scholarly and is regarded by some as the first aeawork and a. large investment by the pubdemic professor of chemistry. He was a lisher. Those responsible for this acprolific wriber, publishing about 50 hooks, oomplishment deserve sincere praise and and also a skilled laboratory worker. thanks. His best known work is his "Alchemie" (1597). Despite its misleading title it is RALPHE. OESPER not a speculative w o ~ kbut an orderly, University of Cincinnati systematic presentation of the chemical Cincinnati, Ohio knowledge of its bime. I1 is a milestone supplement. Perhaps the overall rhemical and pbysical approachof the book best suit it for use in courses in chemistry or biophysics departments-courses designed to acquaint the physical scientist with the relatively recent advances in understanding biology in moleoulilr terms.
