BOOK REVIEWS 351 State Pharmaceutical Assn., and president of the New York Academy of Pharmacy. He was also editor of the New York State Pharmacist. In 1946 he retired after 40 years of service on the faculty of the College of Pharmacy of Columbia University and 18 years as associate dean. His contribution to the cosmetic industry was notable. He was the first to offer scientific courses in the manufacture of cosmetics and many men now in important po- sitions in the industry took his eve- ning courses in the early twenties. These were continued until he re- tired, when others carried on the work. He was mayor of Ocean Beach on Fire Island where he was a Summer resident for 45 years. He was the author of many scien- tific articles and was formerly a contributing editor of the •lmeri- can Perfumer. He is survived by his widow, a son, a daughter, and a sister in Munich, Germany. (Courtesy .¾merican Perf umer) BOOK REVIEWS BEEsw^x, by H. H. Root, 154 pages, illustrated and indexed. Size $1/2 X 8a/4 inches. Chemical Pub- lishing Co., Inc., Brooklyn 2, N.Y., 1951. Price $4.75. The author devotes 43 pages to the origins and history of beeswax, tracing man's knowledge from the earliest day to the present. Bee cultivation, extraction, and bleach- ing of beeswax are adequately re- viewed. In quoting from three different books, two of which are well-known cosmetic books, the author covers the subject of cos- metics quite well. His coverage of pharmaceutical uses of beeswax are not as good. Finally, the use of beeswax in candles is reviewed in 6 pages, which seems inadequate to this reviewer. The author appears to know con- siderably more about raising bees and making beeswax than he does about its use in industry. There is no comparison of the several best known and most commonly used beeswaxes on the civilized markets of the world with the relative merits of the one compared to the other. Those in the cosmetic industry know how origin affects emulsion stability and smoothness in cold cream, for instance. Adulteration and its detection in beeswax is only sketchily covered. No typographical errors were noted. The book seems over- priced but is well made and easy to read. In spite of the weakness of the book in parts--which will no doubt be overcome in future edi- tions-you will want to add it to your library.--M.G.DEN. PARFUMERIE ET COSMETOLOGIE, by Pierre Velon, size 51/4 X 81/4 inches, 75 pages, illustrated. Presses Documentaires, Paris, France, 1951. In French. Price 365 Francs. This pleasant booklet is based on the lectures of the author given at

352 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS the Centre Technique d'Enseigne- ment Ouvrier. If one keeps in mind the fact that this apparently is a transcription, the chronology holds together quite well. The book is definitely for be- ginners. It touches very lightly on many subjects in the cosmetic domain, including 28 pages on perfumery. This reviewer's opin- ion is that the nature of the book hardly allows for the discussion of either perfumery or cosmetics with- in so few pages even though the numerous topics be condensed. As a result, both .perfumery and cos- metics suffer •n their handling. Thus the author devotes 31/•. inches to the description of lanolin and only 10 words to discuss cetyl alcohol. Essentially factual matter, the book contains no formulas. It is illustrated with 13 figures, all simple yet informative. Since its U.S. equivalent cost is around a dollar, one gets a cardboard cover in- stead of the usual cloth cover. The book is divided into two parts, perfumery and cosmetics. Under perfumery, the author dis- cusses natural and synthetic mate- rials, completing this section with a discussion of fabrication. The cos- metic portion gives some general- ities, moves on to emulsions, then a discussion of principal materials used, followed by chapters on creams and lotions, closing with a review of make-up items. The book is well printed.--M.G.DEN PERFUME THRU THE AGES, by Alexander Farkas, 25 pages, 6 X 91/4 inches. Psychological Library, Publishers, New York, N.Y. 1951. Price $2.00. The author presents an unusual impression in his effort to tell "all about perfume." It is easy and interesting reading throughout. It is not a digest or abstract but as the author puts it, "a distillation." This bit of fragrance is for the layman or general reader, giving him a pretty picture of the origins of perfume through the ages, down to the present day. One can find no fault with the work, though this reviewer ques- tions the statement that 95 per cent of the perfume is bought by men rather than women, yet who should know better than Dr. Farkas whose company sells a lot of perfume. Perhaps the only place where a bit more explanation might have been made is the differentiation between cologne and toilet water which is in fact not really distinct. It is almost twenty-five years since so enchanting an essay has been read by this reviewer. Ac- cordingly, one anticipates the au- thor's more professional effort in his forthcoming thesis on the rela- tionship between psychology and perfumery. No errors were found. The book is well printed and bound. You should have it in your library.-- M.G.DEN. HANDBOOK OF DANGEROUS MA- TERIALS, by N. Irving Sax, 848 pages, size 7 X 10 inches, illustrated, indexed. Published by Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York 18, N.Y. 1951. Price'S15. This is a handbook, giving safety facts on some 5000 materials ar- ranged alphabetically, cross refer- enced, with full information on I.C.C. shipping regulations and radiation hazards. It is a mammoth book and it must have been a gigantic task to write the manuscript. But this re- viewer wonders if the authors in fact did achieve their goals.