]. Soc. Cosmetic Chemists, 15, 593-594 (1964) BOOK REVIEWS ItqDt7STRI^•. WAXES by H. Bennett, Chemical Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1963, in two volumes. Vol- ume I, Natural and Synthetic Waxes, 324 pages Volume II, Com- pounded Waxes and Technology, 289 pages. Both volumes indexed. Price $12 per volume. In Volume I, the author surveys the different types of natural and synthetic industrial waxes including their sources, preparation, properties and uses. Part I deals with the naturally occurring mineral, animal and vegetable waxes, while Part II is concerned with synthetic waxes. While the mineral waxes are dealt with in great detail (130 pages), fourteen vegetable waxes get only a 24-page treatment, and the ani- mal waxes are glossed over in only seven pages, with wool wax getting a coverage of five lines. In Volume II, the author describes specialized mixtures of waxes and resins and dwells briefly on the tests and tech- niques in the use and identification of waxes. Each volume has its own index and a listing of trade names. Admittedly these books give the reader a brief smattering of what waxes are, where they come from, and some general uses there is very little material on the chemistry or composition of the waxes. The sub- ject matter is presented primarily as a poorly organized collection of tables and charts, copied in the main from various suppliers' trade literature. Trade names are used liberally throughout and rightly so, but in many instances, they are not identified as to company source or composition. For example, tables 6:12 and 6:13, pages 189-191, Vol. I, list AdoIs, Unadols, Spermafols, Cosmols and Hydrofols, yet no- where are these products identified, nor are they listed in the index. Additionally, no identification or listing is made for Cerese Wax, Crown Wax, Benowax, Mycrox Wax, Paraflow, Alpco, Reso Wax, Wax 6-00, Albacer and Ceramid. In many other instances, data are pre- sented out of context. For example, table 7:15, page 207, Vol. I, dealing with polyoxyethylene ethers of fatty alcohols, appears in the chapter on fatty acid esters a table (not numbered) on the characteristics of fatty acids (page 228, Vol. I) ap- pears in the chapter on hydro- genated oils and halocarbon waxes are inserted in the chapter on ke- tones, amines and amides. The section dealing with the iden- tification of waxes is good, but much more space could have been profit- ably devoted to the meaning and methodology of such tests as tensile strength, penetration, waterproof- ness, shrinkage, surface tension, specific heat, melting point, con- gealing point, aniline point, NPA color, IPT penetration, etc., espe- cially since the author characterizes waxes by these properties in tables appearing throughout the books. Both volumes are printed on a very poor grade of paper in many cases, the graphs and diagrams and their accompanying legends are almost illegible, as for example, Fig. 2: 1, page 52, Vol. II. Many omissions, errors and in- 593

594 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS accuracies appear throughout both volumes. For example, the legend for the graph in Fig. 2:1, page 93, Vol. I, describes four solvent/wax mixtures, but only one curve is shown the abscissae in the graphs in Figs. 1:6 and 1:7, pages 25-26, Vol. II, are labeled "per cent paraffin" instead of "specific grav- ity " the peroxide value of Hartolan is listed as 2.$% on page 303 of Vol. I a reference to the cloud point of Solulan 25 (given as footnote 1 on page 302 of Vol. I) actually refers to iodine value data for hydro- genated lanolin spermaced is listed as an animal glyceride on page 164 of Vol. II, the graph in Fig. 1:11, page 29, Vol. II, bears no units or legend on either abscissae or ordi- nate and Solulan is listed as a product of the American Lanolin Company instead of the American Cholesterol Products, Inc. While some of the information in these volumes may be helpful to workers in the polish coatings and in. sulating material field, the re- mewer feels the books are of questionable value to the cos- metic chemist.--CHARLES Fox,War- ner-Lambert. COMMERCIAL METHODS OF ANALYSIS by Foster D. Snell and Frank M. Biffen. Chemical Publishing Com- pany, Inc., New York. Revised edition 1964. 731 pages. Price $12. Since the first edition of this vol- ume appeared in 1944, many changes have taken place in methods of analysis and the apparatus used. The authors have not tried to in- corporate the newer methods such as infrared analysis or gas chroma- tograph.y but have described the new eqmpment. So changes are few. Thus, the in- tent of the first volume to give simple standard methods to stu- dents interested in commercial anal- ysis and smaller manufacturers, without extensive laboratory facil- ities, has been again accomplished. Illustrations of apparatus and equipment have in general been brought up to date. However, several of the tables, such as syn- thetic resins, should have been revised. The volume remains ambitious in character, as evidenced by 39 chapters covering such topics as: pigments, oil and wax emulsions, solvents and thinners, water analy- sis, soap and soap products, saponi- ticable fats and' oils, waxy sub- stances. These chapters are es- pecially useful for brief descriptions of the more important methods of examination of these materials. Typography is good, and the use of cross references is excellent. On the whole, it is a volume of value as a quick reference guide and particularly useful as a text for new analysts.--WI•THROp E. L^•OE, Mass.achusetts College of Pharmacy.