BOOK REVIEWS well beyund the immediate context of the present volume. "One might . . . want t o ask why the energies of mdeeular-scale pitrticles are quantized. Noanswer can be given t o this h:tsic question. I n more advanced courses the student will encounter a number uf ways of deciding what t h e restrictionr are, hut these "ways" will he introduced arbitrarily. Fur example, a n important equation t h a t is often used in st,udies of molecular behavior, given hy Erwin Srhriidinger, permits us, &en with sonre tnnt~hemnt,iral dillicnlty, tu obtain relations between molecular orooerties and t,hn s method t o apply t o m y molecular mr,tion, i t remains t,rue t h a t the Sohriidingor equation is stated, not derived. I t is accepted bermse i t lends t o agreement with experimental results. I n a way, therefwe,
i t does not explain tho basis of quantum restrictions and we are etill left with the need t o accept these restrict,ions ns a hasic fact. of nature." Like Mahzn's hook, Barrow's hook will prohnhly bc of most interest tu teaehen who have a strong bent toward physical chemistry. HENRYA. BENT University qi Minnesota Afinnespolis The Shape of Carbon Compounds; lntrodurtion l o Organic Chemistry
An
llre'e7ner H w z , Florida State University, Talla1l;tssee. W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1963. nii 152 pp. Pigs. andtables. 14 X 21 em. Paperbound.
+
$51.95. This buuk is primarily ahout organic chemistry. I t was written, the author states, "in x flurry of enth~si~rsm." P n b ably few truly outstanding h w k s in science
have been produced in this fashion. I n this hook, far oxample, crucial figures are tou often inadequately, or improperly captioned. And the chapter on the shapes of molecules with double and triple bonds contains B numher of misleading, or obscure statements. Many other parts uf the book, however, are well-written. The book might he useful as supplementary reading in general chemistry evurses where more emphasis than usual is placed upon classical organic chemistry. The titles of t,he chapter are: The Shapes uf Molecules-Alkanes,-The Single Bond,Ilouble and Triple 13onds; Making and Breaking Ronds-Radical8,-K111:Ieophilie Sukwtitut.ion,-Addition,-Aromatic Subst,itution; 1)eloralization oi Electrons; O p t i d Activity. The author's obvious enthusiasm fur his subject projects most effectively in the sections on classical vrganic chemistry. These sections constitute over half the book. They are augmented by a set of thirtyfive prrhlems distributed over ten chapters. Curiously, in view of the book's title and subtitle, a n ares of chemistry where structural theory hits pmved e n u m w A y fruitful, the area of organic reaction mechanisms, is "touched upon only where neeessar.~." Also, i t seems strange that in s series fur beginners dedicated "in every instance t o a modern structural point of view," nu mention should be made of t h e isaelectronic principle. \i1isely, probably, no attempt. is made in Iiere's small volume t o disross system;iticnliy organic nomenelitture. Tho shapes of cnrhon a ~ m p u u n d are s discussed from the stmdpoint of classical organic chemistry; i.e., from the standpoint of isomer number and reactiun products. Scant heed is paid t o the less sporting but mare exact detenninations of molecular struct,ure by mirriwxve spertroscopy and electron diffraction. The discussion, for example, of 1,:l-butndieno, is, thus, out of date and in part quite prabably incorrect. Similarly, in the chapter on double bonds the bent-bond picture is described incorrectly; the argument for dismissing i t is, therefore, unconvincing. Indeed, regarding multiple bonds in nonaromatic systems, i t seems overdue t o nsk, "For what compelling reason did organic chemists forsake their classical heritage for the terminology of o-bonds and 7-bonds?" I t should he stressed bhat these o-bonds need not be restricted t o hybrid nrhitds oi the cmrqxcitim sp or a p t In acetyl fluoride, for example their eomposit,ionispruhablycloser tosl,". Properlythe terminulogy of hybrid orhitals should he viewed 3s a (probably a t best approximate) descl.iption of where the electrons m e (as seen from atomlr nuclei), not as a n ezplanelion. I t should be added, finally, that the author's general view uf organic rhemistry is nn enraeine - - .. m e . This view is well summariscd in his sentence, "To say that understanding has advanced does not mean t h a t understanding hss heen reached." HENRYA. BENT Universitu ql Minnesota Minneapolis (Continued on page 1156)
A54
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Journal of Chemical Education
