Book reviews FORMULA INDEX TO NMR LITERATURE DATA, Vol. 2. Editors: M. G. Howell, A. S. Kende and J. S. Webb. Pp. ix q- 51t3. {1[}86). Plenum Press, New York. $22.50. Computer based collections, such as Sadtier, expensively serve as reference display and master index for uv and ir spectroscopic data. In the explosively growing domain of nuclear spectra there are three or four embryonic collections but these are but a microcosm of the nmr data buried in the literature. This new series of in- dexes allows a formula-keyed search applicable to the majority of the original publications likely to contain nmr spectra or evidence. The first volume tabulated references to proton spectra of about 2500 compounds that had been reported in the literature prior to 1961 and also included data that had been catalogued by the Humble and MMM Companies. For the second volume, which can still only cover two years (1961-2), the three editors and 17 other contributors have meticulously searched through 27 major organic and physical chemical journals, five leading texts or reviews, and additionally have incorporated the first 121 compounds in the MCA nmr data list and those cited in volumes I & II of the Varian nmr catalogue. The search has revealed almost 6000 substances for which there has been published a full nmr curve, or a properly cali- brated segment, or at very least precise chemical shifts or spin-spin coupling values. In some instances more than one reference has been discovered: all are cited. The compounds are indexed according to increasing molecular formula but the sequence of elements is a novel alteration of the familiar Chemical Abstracts or Beilstein sequence the order given is--P, S, N, O, halogens, C, H, D and then alphabetical. This smart innovation ensures that phosphorus or sulphur bearing compounds will be found reasonably close together, whilst hydrocarbons, for example, form the last section of the book. Special arrangements are made for indexing salts (relation to the relevant acid, unless both ions are organic), for complexes (summation of organic components) and deuterium (separate D)--but other isotopes, though indicated, are not distinctively indexed. In a box beneath each formula in the sequence is a clear drawing of the structure, with any stereochemical indications, as given in the original paper: systematic checking by the editors would scarcely have been feasible. Where the structure was not known, the common technical name is cited. The index has for this reviewer already proved its usefulness in the ease of location of references to proton spectra of compounds of direct interest. Less success has been experienced in seeking spectra for functional groups in specific environments, e.g. by intuitively nominating analogous compounds, but it is perhaps unreasonable to expect the editors to have supplied a functional or environmental cross index for all the protons in the 5700-odd compounds listed! Volume 3 is awaited with considerable interest but judging from the proliferation of nmr instrumentation the index will become an annual. G. F. PHILLIPS. 265

266 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS PKOBLEMES CAPILLAIKES. E. $idi and C. Zviak. Pp. 506 + Ill. (1966). Gauthier-Villars, Paris. 160F. This is a book of the utmost importance to all engaged in the business of hair preparations, whether as research scientists, manufacturers or even in marketing. True, it is in French, which many British scientists would unfortunately think a bar, but the French is universally clear and straightforward and few should have difficulty if they are sufficiently determined. The book is not perfect, but any criticisms in this review must be taken in the context of the very high standards the book sets out to achieve. "Problemes Capillaires" appears under the joint names of Charles Zviak, vice- president of L'Oreal and currently president of the Soci6t6 Fran9aise de la Cosm6tol- ogle, and Dr. Edwin Sidi, head of the dermato-allergy department of the Rothschild Foundation in Paris, together with colleagues and associates. This is a promise of authority. L'Oreal are a commercially successful and scientifically up-to-date com- pany who are prepared to put their views on the table, not only the facts but the philosophy behind them. The clinical contributors are more traditional in approach. but unusually conscious of consumer reaction. First, one must give outstanding credit for the gallant attempt to create a balanced presentation covering the essentially cosmetic chemist approach and the clinical. This is highly desirable but not completely successful, since whilst the chemical contributions by the L'Oreal team are well knit together, the clinical team present somewhat individual papers whose cross-referencing to former contributions is inadequate and also contains much repetition. The keynote is set in the Introduction which stresses the need for collaboration between the many disciplines concerned and necessity for understanding a range of factors from psychological through biological and chemical to mechanical. The indivi- dual chapters, judged on their own, vary in their standard over a narrow range from good to excellent, and the tone is set by the "excellent" of the Hair Colourants chapter by Zviak. Much of the matter in this book will remain authoritative for a very long time. To say that this does not apply to hair colourants is to recognise the rapidly developing state of the art to which the L'Oreal authors have contributed so much. The carefully thought-out approach to this problem and the comprehensive nature of the organic chemical work reported are an indication of the thoroughness with which this field has been covered. In the bleaching field, immediate credit must be given for the scientific honesty displayed in treating this largely as a hair damage problem. Similarly in the colourant field, a view is formally taken that the process of choice is po]ymerisation in situ because of the virtue of penetration by small molecules. The reviewer would agree with the views expressed on the value of physical measure- ment, although perhaps not quite enough attention is paid to the problems of hair in bulk as opposed to the single hair. To turn from the meticulous chemical survey to the clinical chapters is at first a bit of a shock in that traditional treatments are given such weight. Formulae include not only coal tar and cade oil but also Evian water. Nevertheless, the survey of scalp disorders is comprehensive and, in the ground covered, highly contemporary. One is however a little shaken by references to "shampooing trop det6rsif," the meaning of which must be very doubtful. Proper attention is paid to problems of safety testing and a most balanced view