No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
London : 11. Alilford, Osfortl University Press, 1936. 21s. One of the suyrises ia Assyriology in recent times his been the tlisclosiirc of t lie great, field of itifonnation dcaliiig wit 11 minerals, srilts, :ind artificial products contained in the cuneiforni texts. Tlie est rcnie difliculty of the translation of these tests naturnlly deterred tho specialist s, and Dr. 11. Campbell Tlioiiipsoii was oiic of the first t o midert:ike this exacting work. His voliirncs on Assyrinii medical tests and on Assyriiiii botiiiiy aiid chemistry represent n solid contribut ion to kno\vleclgo, iiud hc lias iiow carried his studies a strigc further. The name " Dictionary " suggests that. tho book is liiirdlp one t o read, but this is qiiitc a mistake, siiicc it is very readable. Thc author has a sciisc of Iiuinour which ciilirciis his narrative, aiid although liis treut.iiient. is in the highest degree scholarly, detailed, ant1 aniply documented, it yet. coiitrires in a reinarkable woy t o attract and hold tlie interest. of the non-specialist. After a11 adinirablc introdiiction, in which knowledge in the field is collected and sct. out in it very systeiiiatic way, the book goes 011 t o trcrtt of tlie nietals, fitoiics, ininerals, drugs, and chemical subst arms niinied in the texts. The idcnt,ifications ure, iiaturiilly, often tentiitivc, but they arc iievcr inade wit,hoiit full rind ciircful consideration of t,lic test uiid of sucli information 21s citn be found in the older nut Ilors. Dr. Tho~npson niiist,, by iio\v, possess a wry sound kno\vlcdgc of npplicd chemistry, and although hc acknowledges liis indcbtedness to chemists, he could not liuvc produced such a work :is this without. knowing a grent dcul himself. His book will take tho high place it deserves among studies of aiicicrit applied chemistry. AIXIIEMY AXW OTIIER CIIEJIICAJ, Amiiwxmsrs OF TIIE ~C I E N T OI~IENT. By Dr. 31. Cliiknshigc. The Civilization of Japiiii iind Cliinii in Early Tiiiics (is Sccii from t.11~ Clieiiiicnl l'oiiit of View. Pp. vii + 109. Tokyo : liokrrkulio Ucliida, 3936. Y.1.50. Tlic book consists of tlircc pirts, ciit,it.lctl Alcliciiiy i i i tlie Eiist, Bronze Art,iclcs, ~i n t l Jiipiiiicsc Swords. The author would rippeiir t o I)c less \rcll iicqiiiiiiitctl with ulclieiiry tliuii with iiictiilliirgy propr. 'Jllic brief sltctcli of tlic Iustory of Western Alclicuiy with wliich Iic pf'uccs tlie Iiook, contains iiiiiny cstrnorclinriry iitiitcnicnts, such iih nil iittribiitioii of the date of the rise of nlcliciiiy in Greece to 600 m., iind thc iiieiitioii of tlic esisteiicc of cheniistry in Egypt rind Caleilo,iia (? Cliiilduar) ubout 3000 D.O. Tlic author siiiniiiririxcs the opinions of KO Hung, the Bonicwliiit, legc!iidrtry aiithor of the J. R. P.
๐ SIMILAR VOLUMES
on May 6, Dr. Irriiig Lniigiiiuir snid he believed tIic greatest field which would open itself within thc iiest decnde in chemical rescnrcli wns in the npplicntion of the new physical iiictliods to the studies of thc fninilinr properties of inntter which lind been neglected by t,lic physicist for ma
## REVIEWS GAS ASALYSIB. By A. 3IcCullocli. l'p. 166. London : Mr. 1\IcCulloch's book, wlijch lins bccn mrittcn priiiinrily for stiidcnts of fiicl technology, should prove liclpful to cvcryonc ns nn iip-to-dnt.c sniiiinnry of practicnl gas analysis. l'hc book is divided into eix cliaptcrs nnd nn n
## WDUSTRY 1023 properties, rind ti description of its conipounds. Much of the work incliidcd is rclativcly recent t i i d will not he found iii niiy othcr single work. l u the four parts of whiclt tioticc is just given, the relevnnt literatitrc hns been consultctl up to tlic cnd of 1937. 1' . L