This is a re-issue of the first printing which came out in 1940. The author attempts to bring to the intelligent layman some appreciation of the fundamental problems and the basic concepts of certain phases of biology. Since the emphasis throughout is upon the chemical and physical mechanisms governing biological reactions, careful reading is required, particularly in those sections dealing with cell substances and enzymes. "['his is made as easy as possible for the reader by the excellent organization and the careful selection of the material presented.
With regard to a very few points, the author is on shaky ground. For example, it is doubtful if any living material could traverse interplanetary space without being killed by the radiation that would be encountered. It is even more doubtful that bacteriolytic antibodies act as protein-digesting enzymes, or that the genic material in the chromosomes is protein in nature. Few other criticisms can be raised against the material here presented. Oversimplification of complicated concepts has been avoided and the amount of basic information that is provided is truly astonishing. Suggestions for further reading are not provided, nor is any simple bibliography furnished. The indexing, however, is excellent.