60
JOURNAL O F CHEMICAL EDUCATION
zitose and Turranose, the Chemistry of Muoopolysrtccharidesand Mucoproteins, Bacterial Polysaccharides, the Chemistry of Pectic Materials, and The Polyfructosans and Difruotose Anhydrides. Other sections on The Chemistry of Anhydro Sugars, Analogs of Ascorbic Acid, and the Synthesis of Hexitols and Pentitols from Unsaturated Polyhydric Alcohols are coyxrued with synthetic products. Thia reviewer was much interested to learn that the c&talline exudate he had observed on the twigs of certain western trees is the trisaccharide melesitose which on hydrolysis yields glucose and the disaccharide turanose, an isomer of sucrose. The apiarists of Pennsylvania whose bees sometimes store up the too readily crystallizable melezitose, when floher nectar is scarce, may not take the same kind of interest in learning the source of their trouble. The volume represents an international effort since of the thirteen contributors, five are from England, one from France, one, the late Harold Hibbert, from Canada, and six from the United States. The reviews are u.ell written and some, one might say, are in a beautifulliterary style. The editing seems to have been carefully done and no obvious errors were noted although a page of errata is included followingthe index. The book is recommended not only to those who consider themselves well informed in the field of carbohydrate chemistry but also to those who desire to become familiar with the new developments in this important field.
pages). For the industrial man there are trade names, prices, and applications in addition to the main subject, the chemistry of commercial plastics. The book is actually, though not formally, composed of two sections. The first section consists of the first five chapters, d l of which are of general application. Following the introduction, these chapters are devoted to the history and the raw materials of the plastics industry, chemical principles of resinification and the fabrication or mmipulrttian of plastics. In the remaining
polymers arerepresented by chapterson phenolic, urea, andmelamine plastics, a~lilino-formaldehyde,aryl-sulfonamide and alkyd resins and uolvamides. the class that furnishes the ladies' favorite.
tic rubbers and their derivatives get a good, general treatment covering 85 pages. Other chapters cover the plastics made by modifying natural materials, such as cellulose, lignin, and protein, and the largely inorganic polymeric organosiliconaxygen com~ounds. uouularlv known as silicone resins. . ~nsummary,this is an outstanding book, well written, well organized, and authoritative.
IRWIN B. DOUGLASS
TBEUNIV&B~ZTY OF MAIN. Oaoao. MAINS
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THE CHEMISTRY OF COMMERCIAL PLASTICS
ReginoldL Wokemon, Director of Research, Ongr Oil & Chemical Co. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York, 1947. rii 836 pages. 323 figs. 169 tables. 15 X 22 cm. $10.
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THIS NEW and important member of 'the Reinhold Plastics Series lives up in splendid fashion to its title, "The Chemistry of Commercial Plrtstics." By restricting its field to those resinous materials that have achieved oommercial significance the author bas been able to treat each major clilss of materials with greater thoroughness than has been done in any of the other recent, general texts on plastios. It is written in a straightforward style that is dear to a student and exact to a plastics expert. Numerous anecdotes dealing with pioneer workers in the plastics field add an occasional note of levity that is both pleasing and surprising in a work of this kind. Historical data have been added to impart to the reader a. sense of time and the continuitv of the develo~msnts them but also rubbers, plastics made from naturally occurring materials, and inorganic polymers. This hook is qualified to fulfill two purposes, namely, to teach its subject t o beginners and t o serve as a reference for experts. Teachers, engineers, supervisors in plastics-fabricating plants, students of chemistry, and chemists new to the polymer field will find that Dr. Wakeman's book will help them acquire a working knowledge of its subject as painlessly as any new field of science can be mastered. I t presupposes some knowledge of organic chemistry for chemical names are used freely, but the man without chemical training can understand important sections of every chapter. This hook can be recommended as a textbook for a graduate course in the ohemistry of high-molecular-weight organic compounds if the assignments are restrioted to the chapters of a general nature and to selected sections from the remainder of the hook. Pln4vr eqxrrs will likr tltc systematic orgxnirnlion nnd rhc waalrh uf durn pcked into tables m d gmpha. I k it a compnrison of rlw diclec~riueousranrs oi polyvinjl carbnrolc and p o l ) i t y m c or the stress-strain hysteresis loops of nylon, the d a t i are there. So are numerous pages of references and a detailed index (39
HENRICI'S MOLDS, YEASTS, AND ACTINOMYCETES
ChorIes E. Skinner, Chester W . Emmons, ond Henry M. Tsuchiyo. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York, 1947. Second edition. 409 pp. $5. T m s hook is a very fitting memorium to Professor Henrici. Although the text is a complete revision, this second edition is distinguished by the qualities of simplicity, clarity, and balance that marked the first. I t is faithful to the purposes of the original work; to show bacteriologists the relations of less commonly known groups of microorganisms, the molds, yeasts, and actinomycetes, to the life histories and behaviors of true bacteria. 'In the seventeen years since the first edition striking progress both in fundamental and applied microbiology has been made. The more organized and significant fields have been represented by the sections prepared separately by the three authors. The hst three chapters form a statement of the current status of the structure, life histories, and taxonomy of the fungi, yeasts, and actinomycetes. Four further chapters on the morphology and systematic relations of fungi, yeasts, and actinomycetes frequently encountered, hut commonly cursorily treated by bacteriologists, form Professor Skinner's contribution. Dr. Emmons treats his specialty, medical mycology, in four chapters; the first, a general description of host-pathogen rertctions, and a special chapter each on pathogenic molds, yeastlike fungi, and actinomycetes attacking men and animals. The recent enlarged interest and rapid progress in medical mycology make these chapters of special interest to general and medical bacteriologists. Dr. Tsu@iya has prepared t h e chapters upon the biochemical activity of molds. The diverse fields of food spoilage, mold deterioration, industrial fermentations,, yeast manufacture, and the production of penicillin, streptomyom, and other antibiotics are described. These chapters are written for biologists rather than chemists, but the essential chemical history is given, together with general technological features. I t is probable that this portion will interest chemists mast immediately. There are complete chaptepter bibliographies and a eubject index. CHARLES E . RENN Tam Joars A O P ~ NUBN ~ V E A B ~ T T BALRMORS, MARTGAND
