the book by Messerschmidt et al., the authorship of the chapters is largely European, and all authors are very wellqualified for the task. In addition to the major differences in organization, the other most notable differences between the two monographs are the lesser emphasis on protein structures and the paucity of color illustrations of the structures in the volume by Bertini et al., which has only 15 color plates at the beginning of the book. Both volumes contain extensive and very useful indices.
Most surprisingly, despite the similarity in titles, these two books are complementary to one another rather than competitors. Over a period of several months, this reviewer found himself turning to either one or the other rather than to both, depending upon the particular kind of information he was seeking. Consequently, both belong on the shelves of any chemistry library, as well as in the office of any researcher active in the area of metalloproteins. The editors and authors of both volumes are to be congratulated for their successful efforts in summarizing a vast amount of information in readable and readily accessible formats, albeit very different ones.