280 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS homologs cosmetic chemists will look in vain for Carbopol--only products made by Rohm and Haas are listed. Very large number of figures (182) and tables (143) is a praiseworthy feature of the handbook, although occasionally, the same material is presented in the text and then in the tables. Figures 20-1 and 20-2 are superfluous, the same curves are also given in Figs. 20-3 and 20-4, respectively. A few tables with just two long columns (or rows) differing by a factor of 1000 look rather peculiar--this is the result of editor's crusading for expressing the viscosity in Pa-s rather than in commonly used cP (all three systems of units, SI, cgs and English, are interspersed throughout the book). In a handbook such transgres- sions do not seem to be too annoying similarly as with a need to look for a figure 8-9 pages away from the text where it is mentioned, they would be more objectionable in a monograph or textbook. Typographical errors are few, and can easily be corrected by an alert reader (e.g., Fig. 22.2 has mislabeled struc- tures of amylose and cellulose, equation on page 21-3 should read • • 1/[I]). Compared to its predecessor one misses here succinct summaries of consumption and price data too few chapters of the handbook have such information. A longer introduction would have allowed all the discussed materials to be seen in perspective. A summary of major markets for water-soluble products could have been included as it is, one has to search individual chapters for such comparisons. All these criticisms cannot change the main impression of the book, it is an excellent source of general information on water-soluble polymers, and many, including cosmetic chemists, will find it most valuable.--JAcK WITF. CZEK--Dia- mond Shamrock Research Center.

xxii JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Letters to the Editor and Preliminary Communications To encourage more active participation in the Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, we are initiating a new section entitled "Letters to the Editor," which will commence by the end of 1980. Comments on Journal articles are invited, as well as brief contributions on any aspect of cosmetic or related science that does not warrant the publication of a full-length paper in one of our regular categories (see J.S.C.C. Directions/or the Preparation o/Manuscripts). Letters may include figures and/or references, but we must emphasize brevity. Readers are also reminded of the Journal's other short category of contribution, the Preliminary Communication, which is intended to provide for rapid dissemination of novel concepts and new findings. Such articles may not exceed four printed pages (approx. 10 double-spaced typed pages) and should otherwise conform to Journal style. Preliminary Communications ar• subject to review, but the time for editorial action will not exceed three weeks and the manuscripts will be published ahead of those submitted for regular processing. Copies of Directions for the Preparation of Manuscripts are available from the Editor's office or from the office of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists. Leszek J. Wolfram Editor, J.S.C.C.