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a m s between that of a high-school simple method of weighing them." Mr. ~ o kconcept ' of thc d h n a n d the elhpric chemistry text and a college text. Some of the topics included are: (a) the stole of matter ir quite intrrening, but is of doubtful value. - I n taking issue with elementary laws, principles and theories of (6) chemical reaction and the author on these and other statements, chemistry; equation writing; (c) the periodic dassifi- the reviewer has been cognizant of the cation; (d) numerous important common need for broad statements in a book of this type. inorganic and organic compounds; (e) When the non-debatable mars in the thermo-, electro-, and photochemistry; (f) organic chemistry; (g) chemical analysis book are m e c t e d it can be recomand synthesis; and (h) the atomic theory mended for popular consumption, (including the S c h r 6 d i i atom). he JESSEE. DAY author believes that the book "is really TH&Om0 ST~TB UNIYBRSITY C O L ~ ~ ~ Bom0 US, . . theory of divided into two parts chemical reactions . and methods of The S t o q of Common Things. Lours applied chemistry." EARENPELD.Minton, Balch & Co., The purpose of the book is a worthy one, 203 pp. New York City, 1932. v that is, providing the book is for those who I8 Illustrations. 12.5 X 19 cm. $2.50. have not had a course in the subject. The etymology of a number of chemical This book treats the science of chemistry terms adds to the interest of the subject as revealed in simple everyday things of matter. In this connection it is interest- life. The author a s Curator of Chemistry ing to note that the prefix them0 in in the Museum of Science and Industry. thmmochcmblry is "from the Greek Chicago, is experiencedin ways of catching thsrme" and that thermmetcr is "fram the the layman's attention. I n the introducThe personal at- tion be throws out this challenge t o arouse Latin thcrta." . mosphere of the entire volume is quite interest in the substance sulfuric acid: friendly-this being a feature which "Sippose you think back over everything should be more often employed in the you know about what the chemist calls presentation of fields of learning to those sulphuric acid (though you might recoguninitiated in that field. nize i t better a s 'oil of vitriol'). You The value of the hook would be greatly don't know anything, you say, and if enhanced if it were more accurate. Re- this is going t o be a book as dry as that gardless of what may have been re- you are not going to be interested in it. sponsible for these inaccuracies, i t is more But just a minute! You do know somethan unfortunate to find, for example, ten thing about sulphuric acid." I n soliciting errors in the sixteen structural formulas interest in sugar chemistry the author in the sections dealing with organic chem- feigns this argumentative mood: "You istrysituation which does not lend doubt whether there is such a thing as a strength to a portion of the author's state- sugar that is not sweet. AU right! Corn gluco-is not sweet. And ment that "The chapter on Organic sugar-lled C h i s t r y is, to my mind, wonderfully t o prove it, go lick a postage stamp. Gluinteresting and instructive." Volatiliee- cose is the stuff put on the back of postage lion and burning are badly confused on stamps t o make them stick. If glucose p. 264. What are commonly considered were sweet, licking stamps would be more as the major points of Dalton's atomic of a pleasure than it is now." And finally, theorv are woken of as laws (P. 116). in introducina.the rare earth metals reThe following statement might be de- course is had to a favorite trick of the late bated-"a means was found by which an Dr. Edwin E. Slosson: "What are some of element could be differentiated fram a the other uses for this common cerium compound and this was done by the and its near neighbors? Before we in-
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vestigate their daily doings, let me introduce you to the monies of our old friend Cerium. Reader, meet Thorium, Lanthanum. Praseodymium. Neodymium, Samarium and these two shy fellows, with whom we are not yet well acquainted, Gadolinium and Europiutp. The names may sound much like a list of Greek Warriors, hut i t is thebhbit when naming metals to use names ending in -um. Now that we are all properly introduced, what do these fellows do for a living?" This style is, to say the least, admittedly foreign t o t h a t of the coUege classroom of chemistry today, but who can say that our matter-of-fact teaching might not be made more virile by an occasional sally in this vein? The book contains eleven chapters with an Introduction and a Summary. The chapter headings are: E v u y Man a Prometheus; Paper; Glass; Soap; Chemical Farm Relief; Chemistry and Health; Salt: Sugar; The CommonMetals; ManMade Materials; and Ceramics. One would not expect to find in a book of this nature a complete or critical account of the methods of manufacture of any of the products listed. There are few statistics given (in the author's words. "We are not going t o quote a lot of big numbers"), and only one chemical formula. 8 0 . There are no photographs of industrial plants or processes, but the work is enlivened by eighteen cleverly modernistic drawings by Joe Richards. JOHN R. SAMPEY lXorn*no COLLZG~
BIBMINOHAM, Ac*.
An Introduction to Organic Chemistry. ALE-DBR LOWY,Ph.D., Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, and BENJAMINHARROW. Ph.D.. Associate Professor of Chemistry, College of the City of New York. Third edition. John Wiley and Sons. Inc., 412 pp. New York City. 1932. xiv 15 X 23 cm. W.W.
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This text, which appears in its third edition although but eight years in ex-
Auouw, 1932
istence, has been designed to indude the "welkecognized basic principles of organic chemistry" and "its more recent and more important applications." The authors consider it suitable for the usual semiweekly lecture course throughout the year as given either to students majoring in chemistry or to those preparing for medicine or its allied fields. The plan seems t o be to present the subiect in a brief. easilv fashion. . ~erceived . To accomplish this end the style is abbreviated (at times it is almost outline-like), parenthetical expressions are numerous, practically all equations are written structurally, and uses for many of the hasic compounds as well as type formulas are given in chart form. I n the opinion of the reviewer the treatment of the subiect matter is too limited, particula~lyfor the student with the chemistry major. The main essentials are presented in a logical manner and the part which organic compounds play in our modern civilization is shown in an unusually complete and up-to-date way, but, besides a lack of desirable detail, the exclusion of analytical calculations (many pretpedical students receive no analytical training other than that given in general chemistry) and the inadequate and antiquated electron conception as presented, beginning on page 14. are to be regretted. It is, of course, granted that the desirability of introducing modern electronic theory in an elementary organic text &.a disputed point but certainly that is not equally true of the conception of the tetrahedral carbon atom which, although but hinted a t in a footnote on page 12, has been so helpful in accounting for, among other things, optical isomerism and certain ring forms. On the other hand this work contains many commendable features. The relations existing between the various organic types are clearly shown; a separate chapter on nomenclature (American practice) appears with a generous use of Geneva names in the main text; the latest developments, such as, for exampre, rub~
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