BOOK REVIEWS 387 standpoint of the chemical reactions involved rather than from the engineering processes. The remaining nineteen chapters of the book present the physical properties, crystal habits, and reactions of the elements, and the syntheses and properties of their compounds with the elements discussed in groups as they appear in the periodic table.
One of the most difficult tasks in chemical writing is to prepare a book that does not overlap heavily into the many branches of chemistry. The field of inorganic chemistry poses perhaps the biggest problem on three counts: (a) The close alliance of physical chemistry with inorganic compounds ; (b) The many industrial and engineering processes involved in the isolation of the elements; and (c) The fact that the most important compounds (chemically) of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen are the organic derivatives. Thus, the great problem facing the author of an inorganic chemistry book is to prevent his book from being a recount of physical chemistry concepts and data followed by a cataloguing of elements and both organic and inorganic compounds together with engineering details for their synthesis and isolation. While this book does not meet all of the aforementioned criteria for the perfect inorganic chemistry book, it does come closer to it than any other publication written in English. The authors achieve this by adhering strictly to a discussion of the elements on the basis of their atomic configuration, crystallography, and reactivity. Organic derivatives are discussed only as to how they enter into inorganic reactions. The authors are to be congratulated on preparing an advanced inorganic chemistry textbook that actually is concerned with mainly this field of chemistry. It is one of the few really advanced textbooks on this subject that is available. This book should prove to be a valuable addition to chemical literature in general, and it can be recommended spei:ifically as a complete and modern textbook for advanced work in inorganic chemistry.