BOOK REVIEWS ORGANIC PEP, OXIDES, by Arthur V. Tobolsky, Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York 1, N.Y. 1954. 197 pages, 15.5 X 23.5 cm. Price $5.75. This is an excellent book which is strongly recommended to those who want to get an introduction to the field as well as to those who are ac- tively working in the field. There is a real need for this volume in chemical literature since there has been no publication in this field since Rieche's book appeared in 1931. It covers the field of Organic Peroxides comprehensively and is broken into three major sections. The first section of 55 pages deals with the classification, structure, and synthesis of the organic per- oxides and clearly indicates where structures are established or still in doubt. The second section compris- ing 65 pages handles the factors controlling the cleavage of the per- oxides and their decomposition. The third section with 30 pages covers a quantitative study of the role of these organic peroxides in the initiation of homogeneous vinyl polymerization. Appendix 1 lists the physical con- stants of the different organic per- oxides and is an excellent summary of all of the existing data with 114 references. Appendix 2 covers the explosive nature of peroxides which vary from the extremely explosive on the slightest touch to the non- explosive. Appendix 3 covers the commercially available peroxides and Appendix 4 the catalyst ef- ficiency equations. The type of organic peroxides stud- ied are the hydroperoxides, dialkyl and diaralkyl peroxides, peroxy acids and their esters, diacyl and diaroyl peroxides, and the peroxy derivatives of aldehydes and tones. Direfriary butyl peroxide and benzoyl peroxide get the great- est attention as would be expected. The reaction rates and polymeriza- tion of styrene and methyl meth- acrylate receive particular attention. This volume gives a good back- ground to the whole field and is tho. roughly. .documented with no serious omissions or errors. In conclusion, the authors have done an excellent job bringing up to date the available data on or- ganic peroxides and their composi- tion and decomposition in a sur- prisingly complete guide for this field.--DoNALD H. PowErs, Warner Hudnut, Inc., New York, N.Y. ANTISEPTICS, DISINFECTANTS, FUNG- ICIDES AND CHEMICAL AND PHYSI- CaL STEkILIZATIO•, edited by George F. Reddish. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia 6, Pa. 1954. 841 pages, size 6 X 9 inches, illustrated and indexed. Price $15. Few can appreciate the problem and labors of an editor of a book to which thirty people have contrib- uted. First, there is the problem of maki.ng each chapter read as if it were written by the same man. The style and spelling must be uniform. Final?., the chapters must not be repetitive. All these in addition to completeness and exactness of mate- rial presented. 63