basis for all attempts a t mineral classification in classical and medieval times. I t is thus of interest not only to the historian of science, hut to all who wonder how the scientific mind can operate when the basic factual knowledge is scanty. The present edition is extremely well done. The Greek text is short, and so both text and translation occupy only H small part of the book. The commentary makes up the main portion and discusses in detail the many prohlems which puzzle s modern reader. It is here that a picture of the knowledge of the Greek scientist is actually obtained. Both a. Greek and an English indcx complete a valuable seholarly work. HENRY 11. LEICESTER C O G L Eor ~ EP x ~ s ~ c ~ *rsaosS u n c m ~ s S*N FR*NCIBCO, CILIIORNI*.
SIXTH SYMPOSIUM (INTERNATIONAL) ON COMBUSTION The Combustion Institute. Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, 1957. xxv 943 pp. Many figs. and tables. 18 X 26 cm. $28.
+
A NECES~ITY fol. the researcher, this book belongs in s n g library guaranteeing to supply timely reference material to the professor or ~ t u d e n t . I t reports papers bg 216 authors from 10 countries. Flamr phenomena provide clues to both the kinetics and thcrmodynnmics of high temperature -reactions. Analytical techniques which have been devised to investigate such problems and direct applications of combustion studies have implicstions for all fields of chemical research. Good figures and photographs complement the well-edited t ~ x t , . W.F.K.
THROUGH ALCHEMY TO CHEMISTRY The Macrnillan Ca., New York, 1957. x i 206 pp. 49 figs. 13 X 19 om. $3.75.
John Reod.
+
PROFESSOR Read is well known for his readable texts on organic chemistry and for his historical studies on the humanistic aspects of alchemy and ehemistry. I n this small volume he deals with the development of chemical ideas from the beginnings of alchemy through the development of s t r u c t ~ morganic l chemistry in the second half of the nineteenth century. The book is not m oreanized historv of early chemistry although it extensively explores the alchemical background of modern ehemistry. Eight of the 10 chapters deal with alehem," and it is here that the author's interests serve to clarify those mysteries that the casual reader finds in the dehemical literature. Professor Read has long had a great interest in alchemical symbolism, particularly as revealed in the a r t which i~ s. part of many of the early printed w x k s on the subject. He also understands the interrelationships between alchemy, phi(Continued on page Ad.94)
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
EeC& z%ad4 lo~ophy,and religion. I t is evident that he has a great deal of sympathy for the muchmaligned alchemist8 and fecls that the millenium and a half of alchemical studies u w not entirely a period of wasted effort hut one which contributed a great deal of factual knowledge regarding chcmical snbstances and operations. At the same time he recognizes the harm done by the psrudo-alchemists. One might wish that the t,reatment of the alchemist Geber had been amplified in the light of twentieth century aeholarnhip. Whether or not one agrees with t,he eonclusians of Ruska and Krans regarding the existence of the Arabian Jahir ilm Hayyan, it is questionable whether the whale suhjpct should he passed off in threr sentenc~s aa is done in the hook. Except for this one important paint there in little to criticize in the hook. I t is sound in fieholarship, informative on a confusing and frequently misunderstood subject, and interesting. Cpon finishing t,his book one is caused to nonder onrr more live than their Amencan cauntcrpnrts. A A R O N J. IHDE
U ~ r v ~ n a OF r ~ WLBCOXBIN r M*DIBOS.WIBCONBIN
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF CHEMISTRY Henry M. Leicester, College of Physicians 8 Surgeons, San Francisco. John Wiley 8 Sons, Inc., New Yo&, 1956. vi 260 pp. 15 figs. 1 6 X 23.5 cm. $6.00. College Edition $5.00.
+
THIS text is a major contrihutian to the literature of chemical history by sn ardent student and prolific writer. I t is an interesting account of the development of chemical concepts from the ancient world to the twentieth century. Separate chapters on Greek, Chin~se, and Arabic chemistry are includpd which summarize much widely scattered material. The chemist senses that much of his art and science has a romantic background. Here is easy access to the facts. The book should be read hv e w r v
will consult the numerous references given with each chapter. Leicester lists 600 of these, many, of course, to the same authors. The great chemiat,~of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are auoted
growth of chemistry as a profession. Here contrasts in development in several countries, the beginnings of special journals and trends in academic and industrial research are related. The theme merits further expansion in future editions. The concluding chapter on biochemistry has 53 references and hrings the suhject up to 1020. The author states that most JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION
