Lehrbuch der analytischen und praparativen anorganischen Chemie
(Textbook of Analytical and Preparative In- organic Chemistry). By
G. Jander and E . Blasius. s. Hir- zel Verlag, Stuttgart 1970. 9th
edit., xxv, 497 pp., 68 figs., 6 tables, bound, DM 28.-.
Recent editions of this book have shown a tendency toward the
introduction of new theoretical chapters or the updating and
extension of existing ones; this tendency is continued in the
present edition. It is thus not surprising that the chapters on The
law of mass action and ionic theory and on The chemistry of
complexes have been reformulated and amplified.
However, the continual increase in the theoretical chapters is
making it more and more difficult for the beginner to use the work
as a textbook at the start of his studies, for too many topics are
treated too briefly and with insuffi- cient clarity. One might be
forgiven for wondering whether students in their first year would,
for example, gain much by working through the chapter on Chemical
bonding, especially since there is no obvious relationship to
quali- tative analysis. Again, it would require considerable effort
to understand the concept of Lewis acids and bases (to which only a
single sentence is devoted) or the completely isolated treatment of
the Grimm hydride shift.
The analytical section is very good and comprehensive, and the
separation procedures are well thought out and reproducible;
however, it is so complicated that one cannot see the picture as a
whole, and thus it is unsuitable as teaching material for chemistry
students. It would only be required in this form in establishments
where the topic of inorganic chemistry is represented solely by
qualitative analysis. On the other hand, the preparative section is
dealt with in far too brief and classical a manner; for ex- ample,
not a single synthesis of a x-complex is given. This is
regrettable, since preparative work is also a way in which
information on compounds can be conveyed.
For these reasons, this imposing-looking work can only by
recommended with reservations to chemistry students. The authors
have written another book, Einfiihrung in das anorganisch-chemische
Praktikum (Introduction to Practical Inorganic Chemistry); this
book contains suffi- cient qualitative and quantitative analytical
chemistry to provide the analytical training required for a
chemist, and it is to be preferred to the book under review.
Alois Haas [NB 23 IE]
Physical Principles and Techniques of Protein Chemistry, Part B.
From the series Molecular Biology. An Inter- national Series of
Monographs and Textbooks. Edited by S. J . Leach. Academic Press,
New York-London 1970. 1st edit., xiv, 491 pp., numerous figures, $
11.20.
This volume[] is a collection of further applications of
physical methods in protein chemistry. It consists of the following
chapters: 10. Ultracentrifugal analysis ( J . H . Coates); 11.
Viscosity ( J . H . Bradbury); 12. Optical diffraction ( S . N .
Timasheff and R. Townend) ; 14. Nuclear magnetic resonance
spectroscopy (5. C. Metcalje) ; 15. Bonding of protons and other
ions ( F . R. N . Gurd); 16. Differential thermal analysis ( H .
Morita).
In most cases the authors place great weight on instructive
hints. The reader is familiarized with the theoretical fundamentals
of the method, and this is done both for methods which are not much
used in protein chemistry (Chapters 14 and 16) and also for the
well known methods
(Chapter 10). Almost all the chapters are oriented toward
practical applications. There are only a few errors to mar the high
level of achievement ;the most serious of these is the incorrect
definition of the scale of chemical shifts. In some places an
insufficiently clear distinction is made between frequency and wave
number. Selection of the methods and the arrangement of the
chapters have already been discussed in the review of Part A].
It is to be hoped that the projected Part C will soon appear and
complete this very useful survey. If it is still possible, I would
recommend the inclusion of an informative chapter on electron spin
resonance and spin labelling.
Karel Bluha [NB 24 IE]
[l] Cf. Angew. Chem. internat. Edit. 83, 362 (1971).
The Chemistry of Synthetic Dyes. Volume 111. Edited by K .
Venkataraman. Academic Press, New York-London 1970. 1st Edit., xix,
485 pp., numerous illustrations and tables, bound, $27.50.
The first supplementary volume to the standard work on dye
chemistry (Volumes I and I1 of Venkataramans The Chemistry of
Organic Dyes) has just been issued, record- ing the advances made
in certain sectors over the past 20 years.
The decisive factor in the carefully balanced presentation of
many of the chapters is certainly that the authors are all experts
in their fields and work in large industrial research laboratories.
Only in this way could the descriptive matter be so permeated with
the knowledge and practical ex- perience and the main lines of
advance be traced out with the maximum of accuracy and clarity
while working from a literature source often consisting of
innumerable patents which are difficult to assess. As in the
earlier volumes, the extremely high number of literature references
ensures the practical usefulness of this book. In accordance with
recent developments, the theoretical fundamentals receive a wider
coverage than before, e. g. in the section on Color and electronic
state by Mason, which will also be readily understood by the
chemist. In almost all cases, care is taken to ensure a smooth
transition (or occasionally an amplification) from the formerly
used dyestuffs chemistry presented in the earlier volumes.
The volumes of this work correspond in content and price to a
volume of Houben- Weyl, and wherever the latter work is found the
former should also be present. The concept of the new volumes and
the stimulus which the field of dye- stuffs gives-or is capable of
giving-to a large number of related fields raise this work to the
same level. No dye- stuffs chemist working in industry and research
can manage without this book, and anyone who by his profession is
predominantly concerned with the use of dyes will get use- ful
information from relevant sections of the book.
Peter Dimroth [NB 35 IE]
Analytical Flame Spectroscopy-Selected Topics. Edited by R.
Mavrodineanu. Macmillan and Co. Ltd., London- Basingstoke 1970, 1
st Edit., xxii, 772 pp.. numerous illus- trations and tables,
bound, S 14.00.
According to the editors foreword, this book, the result of a
collaboration between 19 authors, is intended to present a
consistent account of analytical flame spectroscopy, i . e. atomic
emission, atomic absorption, and atomic fluorescence spectroscopy.
Such a book, which covers the
Angew. Chem. internat. Edit. 1 Vol. 11 (1972) 1 No. 6 547
