It is difficult to review Advances. It appears, year after year, in the same format, in the same clear print and with well-drawn formulae, the same excellent choice of up-to-date subjects, and the same careful editing. Most reviewers simply state that the latest volume is as good as ever, and then list the contents of each chapter.
Carbohydrate chemists are fortunate in having such a series at their disposal. Thanks to the initiative and energy of Hudson, Wolfrom, and Pigman, and to the efforts of successive editors for 40 years, nearly all aspects of carbohydrate chemistry have been reviewed, many of them several times. The reviewer can think of only one relevant subject which has not yet been thus treated. A literature search in carbohydrate chemistry is easy: a relevant chapter of Advances, and then the volumes of The Chemical Society's Specialist Periodical Reports for the succeeding years, usually covers everything. Few fields in chemistry can boast of such information service. There are now many "Advances", but ours is one of the oldest (only Advances in Protein Chemisky preceded it, by one year) and has the largest number