polymer or class of polymers under diseussion. This aooroach lends a decidedlv de.. zrriptivr flwur 11. Ihr t r x t , a n imprrrsiun whlrh is nor diminished by tlw abrewr u i mtrnrion to drtailrd mrch~nisricasprrtso i polymer synthesis and the ~ometimeshurried derivations of the equations presented. The book is organized so as to proceed from the structurally simple to the structurally complex, that is, from the linear homopolymers to the branched heteropolymers. Following a short introductory chapter notable principally for its interesting review of the technological and chemical history of macromolecules, the .balance of the text (ercepting a brief Appendix on molecular weight determination) is sandwiched between chapters devoted to the two predominant oalvmers of wood. the linear oolwaccharide. , ~ r l l u l ~tChaprer ~ ~ t . 2,. and the hichly ramified p~.lyanmmtir,lirnin Chapter I?,. Thejeare cltarl> r w of the m r authoritariw ~ and unusual chapters in the text. As is also true for the other chapters, numerous citations of the original and review literature of the field are provided. The development of the text proceeds through chapters on the linear synthetic condensation and addition polymers to a discussion of stereoregularity in vinyl polymers in Chapter 5. Here, as elsewhere in the hook, the double-spaced typewriter-produced copy is easy to read, but the resultant low information density sometimes forces figures and equations t o be placed so as to require a page turn for reference. inked-in features of the typewritten formulas and reaction mechanisms reduce the eyeappeal of some of the pages, and even in Chapter 5 the three dimensional structural aspects of the molecules are sometimes poorly depicted by the formulas. Chain branching is introduced in Chapter 6 with reference to oolvethvlene. oolv(vinv1 acetate).. amvlo. . . , . p'crin, and glyrc,gm. Chapter, 7 and a r u w r the h c t r r ~ p ~ I w i ~ r h a r : dand t S polynurlc~I tdes, respcrti\~vlv.'l'he i w n w po.ymva haw scarcely before heen discussed in polymer chemistry texts, while Chapter 8 devotes appreciable space to the cellular disposition and function of the nueleic acids. A discussion of the genetic code and the role of the polynueleotides in orotein svnthesis is reserved for Chapter li which deals with the polypeptides. The two intervening chapters offer competent coverage of synthetic copolymers, rlasrornrrs, and pulytncr rn>.s-linking. I'hcsrrrnpth~otHulker'srcxt seem ilearlv to lie in its ~ 0 t c n t i diur dc\.+lou:nr the reader's appr&iatian of the centra1po;ition occupied by macromolecules in technology and biology. This feature of the book is complemented by its extensive references to the literature. The book might be especially appropriate as a text in a course for students in a technological curriculum, particularly those not previously exposed t o the role of oolvmers in molecular bioloev. Instrudors in . . rrnnin .rttings night wi-h t u take advantage oithe hw,k'sstrung trratmrnt ofwmd p d y nwra. In a q ycnrrd itltrvductq pc,lymer chemistry course, however, some strategy for coping with the omissions cited earlier would have to be developed.
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The Origins of Chemistry Robert P. Multhauf, Director of the Museum of History and Technology of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. Neale Watson Academic Publications, New York, 1966. 412 pp. 9 full-size plates. 22 X 14 cm. $10.
Quite a few chemists are not a t all interested in the beginnings of the science, while others care only for the happenings that beean with Lavoisier. i.e. so-called modern
involved numerous nationalities, the socalled Ur Chenie. The book under review here deals in depth with all stages up to the period of modern chemistry, which has been amply treated by other writers. This early period was dominated by the arbitrary statements of the philosophers of the Greeks, Romans, Arabic, and Renaissance Europeans. Outstanding were Aristotle (B.C. 384322) and Paracelsus (1493-1541), who postulated that all materials were made up of the four elements (fire, water, earth, air) later augmented by philosophical sulfur, salt, and mercury. This early "natural philosophy" lacked both experimental verification and
any connecting body of theory. Paraeelsus was likewise the founder of "iatrorhemistry" namely the relation of the elements and compounds to medicine. Side by side with this body of theory there developed a corpus of "practical chemistry" embodying metallurgy, salts, and a few acids. Human cupidity invariably led to alchemy (the effort to transmute base metals into gold). For some unknown reason, this hook pays little attention to the phlogistic hypothesis of combustion, whose overthrow late in the 18th century, led to the establishment of modern chemistry. Much of the early literature came prior to the invention of printing and most of the original manuscripts have been lost. The author of this baok evidently spent much labor reading the originals that he could find and the printed texts derived from and translated from the original documents, and consequently his bibliography and footnotes constitute a veritable mine of information. This baok belongs in every institutional chemical library and in view of its modest price it is a n excellent huy for the private collector who has an interest in the history of chemistry.
Raloh E.Oesoer ~niversity'of~ i n c i n i a t i Cincinnati, Ohio, 45221
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David A. Want University of California, irvine Iwine. California 92664
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Volume 53, Number 8. August 1976 1 A347
