BOOK REVIEWS 57 years ago, and, of course, antedates Professor Mathieson's new volrune, although both are from the same publishing stable. Practical advice notably includes preparation of samples, hints when working with different solvents, notes on the effects attributable to hydrogen bonding, sources of error and factors determining the quality of a spectrum, scale expansion, and some brief notes on quantitative analysis. The second --and perhaps the more exciting--part of the book consists of a remarkable series of 33 correlation tables for protons in specialised environments taken from recent scientific publications, together with a conventional list of proton coupling constants, and some more tentative correlations for the nuclei '9F, '3C and P. The authors have certainly succeeded in presenting a practical alternative to the superficial diagnosticism of introductory texts of comparable length. G.F. PHILLIPS BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING SCIENCE, Vol. 1. Editor: N. Blakebrough. Pp. xv q- 402 q- Ill. (1967). Academic Press, London/New York. 100s. $18.50 Biochemical engineering as a recognised subject is about ten years old and text- books covering this new discipline have appeared from time to time. This volume is the latest of the series and in many ways reflects the development of the subject: no longer can a single author be expected to master and present all aspects of biochemical engineering. Chapters by specialists dealing with defined areas contribute much to the standing of this volume. The authors have carefully worked within the framework of the title: emphasis is clearly on science involved in the various operations, but its place in industrial practice is stated. The first volume is strongly orientated towards fer- mentation technology, but the chapter titles of the second volume suggest other areas of the subject will be covered. In the first chapter, the late K. R. Butlin has given an introduction to industrial microbiology largely intended for engineers and pure scientists. This approach probably reflects the general need, and few practising biochemical engineers would wish to keep pace with complex and changing treatises on microbial classifications. A simple general appraisal of industrially important microorganisms is given. In the following chapter the editor has reviewed fermentation technology and in- dicates areas to be covered in detail in later chapters. S. K. Friedlander has presented a balanced chapter on aerosol filtration by fibrous filters. Mathematical descriptions are presented and their limitations are well indicated. The approach is one of chemical engineering, and well chosen illustrative calculations are included. R. K. Finn has covered the background of agitation and aeration in fermentation. The point that oxygen involvement in fermentations is not usually sufficiently studied is well made and he has pointed out lines of investigation. Possibly a better under- standing would improve yields and other features of many fermentations. P. H. Calderbank has tackled the important field of mass transfer in fermentation processes, and produced probably the best review yet to have appeared. Theory and practical relevance are well presented, and he has correlated data from other unit operations' studies and shown how these contribute valuable information. R. Leudeking has covered fermentation process kinetics and given background to current studies. A section on economic appraisal is included, and perhaps this could have been extended profitably. Application of thermodynamic principles is intro-

58 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS duced, and this approach is likely to have increased value as general studies progress. Continuous culture is surveyed. R. Hurt has considered recovery of fermentation products, an area which has usually been poorly dealt with in previous text books. Although somewhat constrained by the subject matter of other chapters he has largely restricted his coverage to penicillin and streptomycin. Widely used unit operations are adapted to the recovery of these antibiotics, but these examples certainly do not include all unit operations involved in the production of solvents, organic acids, enzymes, alcoholic beverages and domestic products, etc. Considering the economic importance of recovery methods (which he has scarcely mentioned) a much fuller treatment would have been more useful. W. C. Peck has reviewed finishing operations particularly from the equipment point of view, and the chapter is well illustrated with diagrams and photographs of plant items. Occasionally descriptions of pieces of machines are too esoteric for most readers and more discussion of theory would have strengthened a good chapter. J.W. Abson and K. H. Todhunter have discussed problems of effluent disposal, a field of ever increasing importance to manufacturers. After outlining the legal situation they review the many methods of effluent disposal especially with regard to the com- plex economic appraisal involved in selection of new effluent units. The following chapter by F. R. Wills develops the theory of unit operations employed in effluent disposal. This first volume is very well produced and most chapters include a fairly extensive list of background reading. It is likely that this book will be accepted as a general textbook for students and industrialists, particularly if Volume 2 attains the same general high standard. J. E. MUNDEN. SELECTED READINGS IN CHEMICAL KINETICS. Editors: M. H. Beck and K. J. Laidler. Pp. viii q- 175 q- Ill. (1967). Pergamon Press, Oxford. Hard cover: 30s. $5.50 Flexi-cover: 20s. $4.00. This rather slim volume is from the series, 'Selected Readings in Physical Chemis- try" under the auspices of the Commonwealth and International Library of Science, Technology, Engineering and Liberal Studies. It consists of excerpts, translated into English where necessary, from papers in the field of general and gas-phase kinetics, papers which have been important in the development of the subject and are now regarded as classical in that field--Harcourt and Esson, Arrhenius, Eyring, Linde- mann, Hinshelwood, Christiansen, etc. Each excerpt is accompanied by notes briefly indicating the background and importance of the paper together with biographical information about the authors. Although the preface states that the book is intended as a companion volume to Laidler's "Reaction Kinetics", Vols. I and II (Pergamon Press 1963), one cannot visualize the average undergraduate indulging himself to this extent. On the other hand, the editors have no doubt performed a service for the serious student of chemical kinetics in presenting in a compact form (and in English) material, some of which would only be available in the larger scientific libraries. The general reader will certainly find much of interest although some of the material (e.g. Rice and Ramsperger on unimolecular reactions at low pressures) will be hard going to the non-.•)ecia]•at. BRIAN COOK