Dec., 194o.] t~OOK REVIEWS. 791

HANDBOOK OF MATHEMATICAL TABLES AND FORMULAS, compiled by Richard Stevens Burington. 275 pages, illustrations, 14 X 21 cms. Sandusky, Handbook Publishers, Inc.

The second edition of this useful reference book has been revised and en- larged. It has been compiled to meet the needs of students and workers in mathematics, engineering, physics and chemistry. It is included as an appendix to the Hamlbook of Chemistry edited by Norbert Adolph Lange which seems to indicate that the various tables and data are of especial value to the professional chemist.

W . P .

TRANSACT]ONS OF TIlE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF NIINING AND 3,'IETALLUR(;ICAI. ENGn~EERS, Volume 14 o, Iron and Steel Division, 194o. 514 pages, illustra- tions, 16 )< 24 cms, New York, Institute. Price $5.00.

The Iron and Steel Division has just issued the 194 ° volume of its papers. This is the one hundred and fortieth volume of the Transactions of the Institute. It contains twenty-two technical papers on pig iron and stainless steels. Six papers are devoted to physical metallurgy including the subject of the mechanism of austenite decomposition. Slag control, the subject of the annual Howe Memorial Lecture, was delivered by Dr. Charles H. Herty, Jr. The volume also includes a Round Table on Experimental Methods in the Study of Steelmaking.

Any one interested in steel will find here the latest discussions on the subject. W . P .

THE EARLY DAYS OF THE POWER STATION INDUSTRY, by R. H. Parsons. 2I 7 pages, plates, i6 X 25 cms. New York, The Macmillan Company, 194 o. Price $3.5 ° .

The history of the central station industry in the United States is quite well known, not only from the many books published on the! subject but from many other sources. The history of the industry in England is not so well known, at least in America. The title of this book, apparently meant for the Englishman, does not convey the same meaning to the American, for he would take it as the Early Days of the Power Station in America, whereas it really means in England. As such it should have special interest to the American.

There is a similarity, even a parallel, in the development of the industry in both countries in the early days. This book gives an account of electricity supply as it was in the days when every enterprise was largely of a pioneering nature, up to the turn of the century. Much information is given on the introduction of electric lighting in London, the important inventions that have contributed to the furtherance of it, and the establishment of generating stations. There is a de- scription of the Grosvenor Gallery and Deptford Stations, the origination of the corporations that made generation and distribution practicable, and the plans and continuation of the enterprises. Personalities are interwoven in the s to ry- - those who played a prominent role as promoters and engineers. In this connec- tion, the narrative of the power station of The Great Western Railway Co. at Paddington is of particular interest.

Early high-tension systems are described as are some of the early London supply companies and municipal power stations each individually. The Battle