BOOK REVIEWS C•.INICA•. TOXICOLOO¾ or COMMER- CIAL PRODUCTS, by Marion N. Glea- son, Robert E. Gosselin and Harold C. Hodge. The Williams and Wil- kins Company, Baltimore 2, Md. 1957. 7 X 10!/2 inches, indexed, 1160 pages. Price $16. This book is divided into seven sections, using white, pink, blue and yellow paper to differentiate them. It is slanted toward the clinical treatment of acute poisoning due (mainly) to commercial prod- ucts used in the home and on the farm. About 16 pages are devoted to general first aid and emergency treat- ment of poisoning. A toxicity rat- ing chart aids the physician in de- termining the class of poison and extent of danger to be expected from a given product. The next section deals with the toxicity of ingredients used in the commercial products covered by the book. Each ingredient is given a toxicity rating based on the chart mentioned before. Here we find sodium alkyl sulfates, alkyl aryl sul- fonates, aluminum chloride, di- chlorophene, salicylanilide, sulfites and zinc oxide to have a toxicity rating of3, "moderately" toxic. Tri- ethanolamine is rated at "slightly" toxic while stearic acid is practi- cally "nontoxic." These are but a scant few materials of the hundreds listed. In the next section, 68 compounds representing classes of materials are further described with clinical and experimental data elaborated. Section ¾, the largest in the book (831 pages) lists over 15,000 trade named products which might be in- gested accidentally. Active in- gredients are starred. The reader then checks back to Section II for treatment. Very few cosmetics are listed as to ingredients. Section ¾I deals with general formulas of typical products starting with abrasive cleaners and ending with zeolite water softeners. Each formulation is ascribed a toxicity rating. Thus, bar soap gets a rat- ing of "slightly toxic," as do mas- sage and cleansing creams. But cold cream gets a "practically nontoxic" rating. Most cosmetic products get similar ratings. Some of the cos- metic formulas are completely un- workable, such as Formula No. 2 under astringent creams on page 1088. Section VII is a manufacturers index. The book is well done. It fills a real need. It should be better sup- ported by the toilet goods industry with product data. Every manu- facturer should have one for refer- ence in case of accidental ingestion of his products.--M. G. I)EN^v^•E COSMETICS: SCIENCE AND TECH- NOLOGY, Executive Editor, Edward Sagatin. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York 1, N.Y. 1957. 7 X 10 inches, illustrated and indexed, 1433 pages. Price $25. Keeping sixty-one specialists on schedule from manuscript through 137

138 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS to page proof is an editorial board consisting of H. D. Goulden, E.G. Klarmann, D. H. Powers and E. Sagatin, the last named as executive editor. A reviewer looks at a book for thoroughness of coverage, correct- ness of statements made, arrange- ment of material, omissions, errors and good "book manufacturing." In his observations the reviewer must be as neutral as possible. He must determine if the object or pur- pose of the book has been fulfilled. The chapter authors are all well qualified but being thus gifted does not mean that they can give away "secrets." Even so, one gets the feeling that at least some of the for- mulas were never made. In general the chapters give an excellent set of references digesting the known literature. Where called for, there are usually an adequate number of formulas, though certain chapters seem a bit overloaded with them. A valuable addition to the book is an index to the trade names used in the text along with the source of supply. The industry owes a debt of grat- itude to the editors, author and publisher for this mammoth under- taking. It will rank as the "bible" of the cosmetic science. There is n• comparable cosmetic book in existence. Each chapter gives a historical sketch of the products being dis- cussed after which it delves into the science behind the product ending up with formulations, manufactur- ing process and labeling suggestions. The chapter arrangement is well planned, following a logical sequence. The style is amazingly uniform, a tribute to the editors. A rather careful check of most of the pages failed to disclose any proofreader's errors. However, one questions the correctness of use of unqualified terms, such as beeswax (white or yellow?), alcohol (which S.D. for- mula ?), glyceryl monostearate (pure or S.E.?), sorbitol (syrup or pure?), Santolite (which type?), lanolin (hydrous or not ?), petrolatum (melt- ing point or type?) and stearic acid (melting point or type?). Trade usage implies anhydrous lanolin (though in the U.S. P., "lanolin" means the hydrous form) when lano- lin is mentioned, and white beeswax is usually meant when the term bees- wax is used. However, in a book on "science and technology" terms should be specific. This was one point on which there was no uni- formity between chapters. Fortunately, there are a few omissions, thus enabling authors to add new material in future revisions. Goldzieher discusses various cos- metic uses of hormones, but the chapter on hormone creams suggests only estrogens. Silk powder in make-up, solvent type wa.terpro.of mascara, and antlcorroslves 1FI electric proshaves are not men- tioned, to name a few deficiencies. There is a bit of doubling up in Chapter 6 and the preservative chapter. The other point on which uni- formity seemed lacking was patent coverage which varied considerably between authors, but is best in Chapters 15, 18, 20, 24, 25 and 32. Chapter 17 appears to have the wid- est use of trade names because it is practically impossible to discuss shampoo ingredients otherwise. Chapter 23 has a few inaccuracies in formulations involving castor oil and deodorized kerosene. Chapter 43 fails to mention inactivation of pre- servatives by nonionics though the problem has been known at least since 1950. In this.chapter, the introduction to Table 3 refers to phenol coefficients which are not