BOOK REVIEWS POLYVINYLPYRROLIDON, by Walter Reppe, Verlag Chemie, G.M.B.H., Weinheim, Germany, 1954. 72 pages. Price DM 9.80. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) orig- inated in Germany where it gained considerable prominence during the second World War, as a blood plasma substitute or extender. In combination with a solution of several inorganic salts, isotonic with blood, it was introduced by the Farbenfabriken Bayer in Lever- kusen under the designation of "Periston" about ten years ago. Enormous quantities of it were used by the German army. Since information as to the use- fulness of PVP and as to its produc- tion methods became available out- side of Germany following the seizure of patents and the publica- tion of pertinent laboratory and manufacturing data, the author's monograph is intended, among other things, to stress the German origin of a subsequent contribution to this development. The booklet gives detailed infor- mation concerning the several steps in the synthesis of PVP on a manu- facturing scale. Other chapters furnish a wealth of physical, chemi- cal, and analytical data. Consider- able space is devoted, of course, to the pharmacological and clinical studies on PVP while compara- tively little is said concerning its application in cosmetics. Inciden- tally, mention is made of Shelansky's work on the PVP-iodine complex in which iodine appears to be substan- tially detoxified. The extensive bibliography with its 283 literature references appears to cover the several aspects of the subject with noteworthy thorough- ness.--E. G. KLAk•4ASN, Lehn & Fink Products Corp. HANDBOOK OF COSMETIC MATE- k•AnS, by Leon Greenberg and David Lester, with a chapter by H. W. Haggard. Interscience Pub- lishers, Inc., New York 1, N.Y., 1954. 455 pages, 6 X 9 inches, no illustrations or index. Price $12.50. The authors claim to have gone over some 4000 articles or books of which they quote a bibliography of 2734 entries. The literature does in- clude some references to 1950, with few references in 1949 and 1950 most of them are prior to 1940. This is the culmination of extensive studies on the dermatological properties of cosmetic materials at Yale Univer- sity, sponsored by the T. G. A. In so vast a reference list one would expect to see mentioned all the accepted literature of the cos- metic industry. Of the cosmetic books mentioned, one finds Cerbe- laud, Chilson, Goodman, Harry, Poucher, Wall, and some Winter. "The Chemistry and Manufacture of Cosmetics," by deNavarre, and Winter's classic encyclopedic "hand- book" are missed. On the essential oils, Gildemeister and Hoffman and Parry are given but not Cola, Finn- more, or Guenther (at least four volumes of Guenther's "The Essen- tial Oils" appeared before the end of 1950). The fine work of Patterson and Hall on essential oils presented before a Toilet Goods Association 318

BOOK REVIEWS 319 Scientific Section, is not mentioned. The authors state in their fore- word that they have not considered all the cosmetic materials, limiting themselves to approximately 1000 ingredients. It is unfortunate they did not divide the book into two parts, one on essential oils and per- fume materials, then putting all' cosmetic ingredients together in another section. Many questionable listings are present. To name a few--lyco- podium, calcium chloride, maleic anhydride, mercurochrome, ferric ferrocyanide, oxalic acid, turpen- tine, potassium and sodium iodate, and oil of tansy (and some other medicinal essential oils). In general, the proofreading is good. However, the word Xerol is spelled Zerol at least two times (pages 141 and 334), and sulforates for sulfonates (reference 80). There is some inconsistency in the entries. Thus cetyl alcohol is listed under "alcohols," but stearyl alcohol is under "stearyl" alcohol traga- canth is described under "gums," but acacia is under "acacia." The melting point given for cetyl and stearyl alcohols and stearic acid is for the c.p. material, though the commercial grade is the one used and mentioned. The latter have dif- ferent melting points. Eosine is badly handled am- monium, sodium, and calcium thio- glycolares are not given though the acid is described. It is unfortunate that Behrman's work on thiogly- colates is not mentioned. The .toxicity of 2-methyl 2-4 pentanediol is known but not given. The generalities under "soap, powdered" do no credit to the authors. The pH of water suspensions of talc are not correctly reported. They are usu- ally over pH 8 unless the talc is acid washed. One suggests the authors find another word for "cosmeticJan" on page 164. The instability of aluminum citrate solutions is not mentioned under its properties. The authors will be interested in knowing that there is an aluminum phosphate that is water soluble. The title "estrogenic hormone" is badly handled. No mention is made of estrogens derived from vegetable sources. The monobenzoate is not commonly used in cosmetics. How does one obtain glycerin from tri- stearin during the manufacture of either cold or vanishing cream ? The literature is freely quoted, both good and badly executed litera- ture. What is the point in quoting bad literature--just to have a lot of references ? Without an index, one has to look for a listing under several possible headings. Too often the item sought is not listed at all.--M. G. DENAVARRE. OP. OANIC ANALYSIS, V•l. I, edited' by J. Mitchell, I. M. Kolthoff, E. S. Proskauer, and A. Weissberger. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York 1, N. ¾., 1953. 473 pages, 6 X 9 inches. Illustrated and in- dexed. Price I/ 8.50. Between the advisory and edi- torial boards of this book, one could hardly find another name important in organic analytical circles. Yet the various chapters are written by almost a dozen other experts. This book is aimed at the gap in university level training in chemical analysis. Except for a minor inconsistency in using both terms glycerol and glycerine, (pages 43-44) the editors have maintained a uniformity in s.tyle between the several contribu- tions. Numerous perfumery and cos- metic materials are included in the analytical methods. The book looks very useful to analysts.--M. G. DENAvARRE.