to original papers and review articles are given to acquaint the curious student with contemporary electrochemical researches. Dr. Glasstone has succeeded in preparing a dearly written book which will he welcomed by those desiring a simple intraduction to electrochemistry based largely on the results of recent research in the field. The hook contains a good suhject index and is well illustrated with figures. THEODORE SHBDLOYSKY
CELLULOSE CHEMISTRY.Mark Plunguian, Chemist. Homasote Company, Trenton, New Jersey. Chemical Publishing Company, Brooklyn, NewYork, 1943. vii 97pp. 13 figs. $2.25. A small hook of about a hundred pages, designed to serve as an introduction to the chemistry of cellulose. I t is a concentrated outline, including subjects such as occurrences of cellulose in nature, its principal properties, reactions, and applications. The book gives one a comprehensive view of cellulose in chemistry and the industries in a brief, readable, well-chosen selection of the more important phases of the subject. It consists of nine chapters, one of which deals with the ocnvrence of cellulose and associated substances in plant cell walls; another with the microscopic structure of the walls; and the remaining chapters with what may he considered as the chemistry of cellulose,-purification, properties, derivatives, constitution, and micellar structure. Isolation and purilication processes are discussed, and a few of the well-known processes of dispersion and the formation of derivatives and modifications, such as cellulose nitrate, acetate, and ethyl cellulose, are discussed briefly. Properties and commercial uses of these are mentioned. Chemical constitution takes up a few pages, and physical structure is treated in the last chapter. Here the chain structure of the molecule and the aggregation of chains into structure of a micellar nature are treated briefly. While brevity is the keynote of the treatment, the items included have been rather happily chosen to give the reader a comprehensive over-all view of the cellulose situation as of the present time. I t is for the most part sufficiently critical in the context for its purpose-that of giving the reader an introduction to the subject. In its bibliography the author has selected a rather small, but fairly representative list of investigators in cellulose studies The book gives one a rather complete picture of cellulose a t little more than a single reading, and thus furnishes a useful outline to the busy reader as well as to the chemist, the biochemist, and the biologist. 0 . L. SPONSLER
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THE SCATTERING OP LIGHTAND THE RAMAN EFFECT. S. Bhagauanlanz, Ramchandra Deo Professor of Physics, Andhra University. Waltair. Chemical Publishing Company, Inc., Brooklyn, New York, 1942 (first American Edition). 333 pp. 41 figs. 66 tables. 15 X 22 cm. $4.75. This book gives a comprehensive treatment of the problem of the scattering of light by matter. Much of the material, particularly the detailed theory, has been found previously only in journals, and the author has performed a real service in bringing i t together. The exposition throughout is very clear, and the comparisons of experiments with theory are numerous. After a qualitative discussion of a few examples of lightscattering in nature, the fundamental laws and theories of this subiect are resented with adeouate mathematical detail The polarization and intensity of light scattered by anisotropic molecules, light-scattering in liquids and solids, optical anisotropy in relation to molecular structure, and birefringence are among the topics covered in the first part of the hook. I n the latter half of the hook, scattering with a change of wave
length, or Raman scattering, is considered. First a qualitative description of the phenomenon is given. This is followed by a simple (though inadequate) theory of the e5ect. Then a complete theory of the intensities and depolarizatiou factors of Raman lines is presented, and detailed comparisons with experiment are made in numerous tables. Applications of t h e Raman effect t o molecular structure is considered in some detail, and applications to chemical problems are briefly discussed .in relation to selected examples. A chapter on experimental technique is included. These applitations have been given a more detailed treatment in other texts, and the author has wisely avoided duplication. This book should prove a valuable reference source to the graduate student of physics or chemistry, and to the research worker interested in molecular structure. A. B. F. DUNCAN U N ~ Y B R S ~ TDP Y RoCHBSTBII ROCIBSTEE.NBW YORY
ESSENTIALS OF COLLEGE CHEMISTRY. Norman Kharasch, Instructor of Chemistry, and Helen S. Mackenzie, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, The Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois. D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., New York, 1942. 513 pp. 99 figs. 15 X 23 cm. 83.50. There is certainly something good to be said for a book which frankly tells the student t h a t "the contents of this book are presented with as little adornment aspossible; for if the study is to be of real value to you, you must see chemistry as it is, and speak its own language. Highly colored descriptions of facts are avoided, for these can lend only to a superhcial understanding which is not our purpose." Thereupon, and from the first page, the authors stick to this principle. They present chemistry as simply and as clearly as the limits of the subject permit. Presumably, the hook is designed for real beginners, not for those who have had a previous course. At any rate, beginners should have little trouble in seeing their way through the intricacies of chemistry as the authors present the subject. In the second chapter the important concept of significant figures is presented in a very simple manner. Chemical arithmetic, is held, throughout, a t its simplest level and is certainly not overdone. Thereare plenty of up-to-datereferences throughout and the questions are well selected to bring out important points and test the student's application of principles. The order of topics is more or less conventional, roughly the first half of the book being devoted to the development of general principles and the second half to the chemistry of the non-metals, the metals, and organic chemistry. One of themost satisfying things about the book is that it is not a ponderous tome. The type is conveniently large, the pages are not crowded, nor are they crammed with additional information in small type so common to many modern textbooks. The appendix includes an outline of the history of chemistry as well as chemical data usually found in such places. The last chapter, on the ceramic industries, contributed by Mr. Axel C. Ottoson of the University of Illinois, takes up someinteresting details not normally appearing in a chemistry text. One might he inclined t o criticize the failure of the authors to makemoreuseof the Brensted concept of bases, especially when a student is studying chemistry for the first time and has nothing to unlearn. Likewise, one might wish that the newer usages in balancing oxidation-reduction equations had been given some space
But the fact is t h a t these things are still largely in the realm of personal taste and are not "musts." The important thing is that the book amply fulfills its chosen mission to present chemistry simply and with as little adornment as possible. For teachers desiring a hook of such nature, it can be recommended without hesitation. SIDNEY 1.FRENCH COLDATB U N l Y B B J l N
HAMILTON. NBW Yon.
