Book reviews GRAPHIC HANDBOOK OF CHEMISTRY AND METAL- LURGY. P.Y. Loung. Pp. 79 q- I!!. (1965). Chemical Publishing Company, New York. $10.00. The elements as arranged in the periodic table are the fundamental building stones of the material world. Although the study of these elements usually belongs to chemistry, the resulting data are essential to every branch of natural science. These have been plotted into graphs ,and the book contains 100 graphs of which 60 are periodic binary alloying graphs. In order to compare one graph with another con- veniently split pages combined with a ring binder are used. The graphs of the portant chemical, physical, mechanical, and metallurgical properties of the elements are presented. This book should prove to be most useful to scientists and many others through placing these well-organized graphs of the periodic properties of the elements at their fingertips. A. H. ADVANCES IN BIOLOGY OF SKIN. Vol. VII CARCINO- GENESIS. Editors: W. Montagna and R. L. Dobson. Pp. xiii q- 358. q- Ii!. (1966). Pergamon Press, Oxford. 110s. This is the seventh volume in the excellently produced and authoritative series of "Advances in Biology of Skin". Each of these provides a truly solid founda- tion of up-to-date thinking on the fundamental problems of skin physiology, the latest addition being no exception. It reprints the proceedings of a Symposium organized by the University of Oregon Medical School in April 1965 and has a number of distinguished contributors who are dealing with their own special fields of interest in considerable detail and with a wealth of practical research experience. Bearing in mind the long-term frequent usage of cosmetics and toiletries, it behoves the cosmetic chemist to treat the subject of carcinogenesis with due respect even though there are no known cases of malignancy arising from the use of our products. It is therefore desirable at least to become acquainted with the principles of cell biology and to appreciate the possible implications of molecular biology. As far as carcinogenesis is concerned, one of the most puzzling issues is the problem of tissue homeostasis or, to put it crudely, what is the normal mechanism for controlling the size of any organ in the human body. Professor 13ullough and Dr. Edna Laurence have studied this problem for many years and have worked out a fascinating series of hypotheses which are summarized in Chapter 1. The kinetics of epidermal reaction to carcinogens and other skin irritants (O. H. Iversen) has obvious implications for the cosmetic scientist and so has Bingham and Horton's contribution dealing with experimental observations related to occupational 433

434 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS cancer. There are two invaluable chapters dealing with uv radiation in relation to carcinogenesis these would seem to be of special interest indicating, as they do, not the harm that cosmetics might theoretically produce, but an important sphere in which they might have a beneficial effect. There is inevitably a fairly large content of material in this book which would hardly be intelligible to the reader lacking a biological training, but nevertheless the subject-matter is on the whole dealt with lucidly it is certainly well-illustrated, well- documented and, in fact, technically impeccable in the publishing sense. I hope that it will be studied by cosmetic scientists with the avidity that it deserves. N.j. VAN ABBg EXTRA PHARMACOPOEIA MARTINDALE. 25th Edn. Editor: R. G. Todd. Pp. xxviii q- 1804 (1967). Pharmaceutical Press, London. 150s. "Martindale" has a special place in the hearts and minds of British chemists not only pharmacists have found it invaluable, but many, many others who occasion- ally find themselves dealing with a problem on the boundaries of pharmacy. Indeed, some of us have often been mildly amused to find that our non-pharmaceutical colleagues have mistakenly elevated "Martindale" to the dignity of the B.P. without any notion of the statutory differences. Now we have the first new edition since 1958 and a fairly radical change in style and make-up of the publication the editorial staff have obviously been re-thinking the entire concept and the reader is naturally inspired to examine the outcome critically. Briefly, the Extra Pharmacopoeia sets out to provide up-to-date information on all substances, official, unofficial, and proprietary, that are currently used in medicine and pharmacy. This is clearly a most formidable undertaking with the present growth-rate of the medicinal sciences. Much of the information is, of course, available elsewhere (in the BP and BPC, for example) but many readers seem to like the idea of a single ready-reference handbook. No such book can hope to remain up-to-date for long, but the basic principle seems to be unassailable. The main question is therefore how well it has been carried out. One obvious change in the new edition is with respect to overall size. Previous editions have adopted a small page-size, although the thickness of the volumes would hardly justify any suggestion that they were "pocketable". The 1967 Martindale is considerably larger in both respects. The merits or demerits of this change would not seem to be of great consequence what is perhaps of greater moment is whether the new rougher-textured paper will withstand wear-and-tear as well as its predecessor. A major change is the eclipse of Vol. II or, at least, of most of it. The great bulk of the analytical chemistry and biochemistry, etc. has totally disappeared. I imagine that most people who needed such information were in a position to consult textbooks on the specific subjects and, with the increasing complexity of all such technical fields, it would probably have been a hopeless task to continue the old arrangement. We therefore say goodbye to this nostalgically but without any tears. In a spirit of constructive criticism, I would nevertheless draw attention to various weaknesses:- 1. Location of individual drugs is no easier than hitherto (if anything a little worse