BOOK REVIEWS 139 given. Chapter 31 seems unneces- sarily involved in polymer theory but is otherwise well done. One questions the propriety of the implications of Chapter 38. At least three of the materials listed in Table 2 have never been criti- cized by the American Medical As- sociation Committee on Cosmetics, namely, boric acid, tragacanth and lanolin. If they were common al- lergens, the "Committee" would have disapproved their use. The author implies that certain materials are free from allergenicity when she knows there is no such substance. The term hypo-allergenic can be used by a host of well-known brands on the U.S. market not now using it. Some of us remember when the hypo-allergenic cosmetics called themselves by the disparaging mis- nomer, "nonallergic." One questions the choice and amount of preservative often sug- gested in the various formulations. The book is an excellent value though some may balk at the $25 price. It is well printed, bound and indexed. Let not the few omissions and minor defects mentioned here be construed as lack of authority and usefulness. Quite the contrary. These comments are for the benefit of the authors to make future edi- tions still more perfect. It takes but a few lines to report the deficien- cies, but it would take pages to re- cite the many praises this work de- serves. Because of the magnitude of the book, it has been impossible to re- mew each author's contribution. The reviewer has had to take asylum in general observations. "Cosmetics: Science and Tech- nology" had as an objective to sup- ply a collective work by specialists in the many diversified fields relat- ing to cosmetic science or technique. This objective has been admirably realized in almost fifteen hundred pages of useful text.--M. G. DE- NAVARRE. ANTISEPTICS, DISINFECTANTS, FUN- GICIDES AND CHEMICAL AND PHYSI- CAL STERILIZATION, George F. Red- dish, Editor. Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia 6, Pa. 1957. 975 pages, 58/4 X 91/4 inches, illustrated and indexed. Price $15. Twenty-eight contributors, auth- orities in their respective fields, pre- sent pertinent data and information concerning antimicrobic agents and sterilization. This second edition contains three new chapters dealing with sterility evaluation, the testing of sanitizers and bacteriostatic agents and the use of ultraviolet radiation to destroy micro6rgan- isms. The test methods for assuring sterility are essentially those out- lined in the United States Pharma- capoeia, lSth edition. The cos- metic chemist will find the chapter on "Testing Sanitizers and Bacterio- static Substances" most helpful since many of these procedures are used to evaluate preservatives in both cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. The discussion by Husa on Anti- septic Ointments is most informa- tive for the formulation of scalp and skin preparations exhibiting bac- teriostatic or fungistatic properties. The discussions dealing with the esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid esters are disappointing to this re- viewer. First, information con- cerning these compounds is partly given in three chapters and is quite repetitious. Two references are in- dexed as "esters of para-hydroxy- benzoic acid" while the third is in- dexed as "hydroxy-carboxylic acids and esters." Second, no mention

140 ' JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS is made of the interfering action of the nonionic surfactants on'these preservatives as reported by Bolle, Mirimanoff and expanded by de- Navarre. The book, however, is a valuable tool to both the cosmetic and phar- maceutical chemist as they are vitally interested in the control of bacteria, yeast and molds both in the manufactured product and on the skin of the ultimate consumer. Excellent bibliographies termi- nate each chapter.--J^MEs H. B^}c•.R, Gar-Baker Laboratories, Inc.