BOOK REVIEWS THE BEHAVIOR OF PLASTICIZERS, by Ibert Mellan. Pergamon Press, New York 22, N.Y. 1961. 273 pages, indexed and illustrated. Price $8.00. The production and application of plastics has changed greatly since the invention of celluloid based on nitrocellulose plasticized with camphor. This volume is a well organized review of the litera- ture and art of using many chemical compounds and mixtures as plasti- cizers for the wide variety of poly- mertic materials now available for the production of finished plastics. This book ranges over the large number of plasticizers now avail- able and deals with them in relation to a series of effects or classifications. Throughout this volume plasti- cizer is used in the sense defined ,b,y Boyer and others. That is, as a material which, when added to a polymer, decreases the accu- mulation of intermolecular forces •dong a polymer chain" or "as a substance or material incorporated in a polymer to increase its flexi- bility, workability or distensibility." A large part of the plasticizer field is covered in an aerial survey fashion. The information which is covered ranges from Function of Plasticizers and Chemical Groups, Mechanism of Plasticization, Flexi- bility, Volatility, Fungal Suscepti- bility and Toxicity. This wide range of subjects in a short book makes possible only a short dis- cussion of each subject. However, a bibliography in which most of the references are to articles published before 1950 makes possible further study. The index labeled General Index cert. inly gives few detailed references. In general, the book is readable and gives a wealth of information in a short space. Since the space is limited, there is little opportunity for the development of the mathe- matical formulations which are used. The reader must accept these as given or refer to other sources for more information. This book is an excellent survey of the field and as such should be very useful to a person looking for general information on this sub- ject.--HE•¾ .|. Wt•G, Chesebrough-Pond's, Inc. 306