BOOK REVIEWS though this book is rather a large one, a single volume can hardly give a complete treatment of enzymology. Accordingly, the descriptive phases which are better left to handbooks and "methods" books are cursorily handled. I n spite of the emphasis on general principles, the treatment is not entirely abstract; the authors generously i h s t r s t e these matters with data and figures. The concession to specific enzymes far their own sake is small. Photographs of most of the crystallized enzymes are shown and one chapter is devoted to a table of reactions, which a t a s m d cost of paper manages to mention virtually every known enzymatic reaction and to oom-
ment on these reactions in type groups. Some slight attention is given to methods of isolation and assay. Current theories of kinetics, reaction mechanisms, specificity, biological implications, and enzymes in systems comprise the hulk of this volume. The authors not only describe current concepts well, but make quite clear what are the "great issues." mobe current controversies and do not h a t e to interject their own interpretation in controversial areas. As a textbook, this is ideal for the advanced graduate student majoring in biochemistry. I t may be difficult for the more junior student and a t any rate would have to be preceded or accompanied by a fair amount of "intermediary metab* lism." This is true despite s short
interesting ohaptcr of Eneyme Biology. Dixon and Webb have not pretended to deal u.ith this aspect in any detailed manner. For the practicing biochemist or biologist this will be the standard reference in theoretical eneyme chemistry. For the enzyme specialist this hook will be a joy and a necessity. BERNARD AXELROD
Purdue Univetsity cafayette, Indiana Polymer Reviews. Volume 1: The Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Natuml and Synthetic High Polymers Fvanlc A. Bovey, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. Interscience Pub-
+
lishers, Inc., New York, 1958. xiu 287 pp. Many figs. and tsbles. 16 X 23.5 cm. $8.
A h ~ ofk this type must of ncccsrrity h reviewed i n the light of devrlopmrnt~i n tho f i d l nit11 which it is voncemrd. The subject of radiation and its effect on polymeric materieriala is comparatively new and has undergone a history of rapid expansion which has been characterized by publication of many hasty and incomplete researches. The consequence of this has been the appearance in the various journals of many contradictory experimental vmiables. The present book by Frank Bovev fills. a t least oartidv., a grr:,~nrcd h;r R crkicnl r w i r i o f the ti~ld of rudi:~tionand pdymtws. It rarrirs the 11 ~thmt!.uf a rrruguiznl polyrr~errhmmist who has also been part of an active group in the field of radiation effects. The reader is presented first with a concise review of the ~ignifieantcharacteristics of various types of radiation, the manner in which these interact with ma,& ter, and the terms used to expreas radiation exposures. This is followed by two chapters on the general subject of radiation effects on polymers, the importance of different experimental variables and a mathematical treatment of the two major radiation effects, orossli~kingand degradation. These four initial chapters serve as a fine introduction to the subsequent treab ment of individual types of polymers. The balance of the book contains a eerie8 of separate chapters reviewing the work on individual families of polymers such as hydrocarbons, awylates, and methacrylates, halogenated polymers, diolefins, condensation polymers, and finally natural polymers. This final chapter implicitly suggests the dose basic relationship that exists between the radiation polymer chemist and the radiation biologist. The depth of treatment varies appreciably from an extensive analysis of hydrocarbon polymers and natural polymers to a very brief review of the work on halogenated polymers. This situation is a natural reflection of the varying amount of effortwhich bas been spent on these different polymer types. The author has been critical in his selection of reference data and has emphasized those contribntiona which cover ohemical changes and effects. From these the author suggests possible mechanisms to account far the experimentally observed (Continued on page A104)
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BOOK REVIEWS results. The paucity of data in some areas prevents the author from making s. firm statement to account for the hehsviar of some systems. This was notable in the chapter on halogenated polymers but sueh minor shortoomings m e inevitable in sueh a broad new field. The book is in general a well-organiaed, well-written work which should he of special value to the newcomer to the field of polymer radiation chemistry. I t is also a fine reference volume for the mare experienced researcher since it gathers together and catalogues in a. somowhat ccitical fashion much of the published literature in the field.
D. S. BALLANTINE nrookhavnz National Labmatory U p h , New Yo&
Chloroplast Pigments and Chromatographic Analysis
Harold H . Slrain, Argonne National Pennsylvania State versity Park, Pa., Lithoprint. 21.5 X bound. $2.50.
Senior Chemist, Lahoratory. The University, Uni1058. 180 pp. 27.5 cm. Paper
This volume presents in expanded form the Thirty-second Annual Priestley Lecture Series a t Pennsylvania State Universitv.
erties, and of separation mc-thods, including column and paper ch~omatography. Lecture I1 descrihrs techniques for the separation of the green ehlarophylls a and b, and of the various carob enoids, wit,h special stress on the p r e vention of secondary changes of these sensitive subst,ances during the operations. Lect,uro I11 roports the isolation of specific yellow pigmonts in algae, and in other plants, on isomerisation and allomerizstion products, chlorophylls e and d, chlorophyll isomers a ' to d', isochloraphylls d and d', as n-ell as on some chlorophyll derivatives of the pheophytin and the chlorophyllide types. The- following lrctnrr (IV), Chloroplast Pigments and the Modifications of Chromnlogri~phy, surveys the development of cln.omat,ography from the strictly empirical approach to the attempts of selecting syst,ems of sarbents and solvents optimal for the separation of mixt,mes of subst,ances of certain stlucturrs. I t eontains many useful technical hints, some theoretical considerations about sorption sequences (mainly of cmotenoids), and a cautioning discussion on the use of R or R, values far the comparison of systems, whose identity (e.g., in temperature, activation of s o h m t , impnritios) is not a s sured. Tho last Lecture ( V ) , Electrochromstography and Analogous Differential Migration Mothods of Analysis, urns the chromatographic separation of the chloroplast pigments x~ the starting point for the (Cmlinued on page A106)
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