Fortune or Fallure: Missed Opportunities and Chance Discoveries in Sclence

Alexander Kohn. Basil Blackwell: Cam- bridge, MA, 1989. x + 199 pp. 14.8 X 22.7 cm. 9 Figs., 21 plates. $24.95.

Dr Kohn, a virologist and Professor Emeritus a t the Tel Aviv University Medi- cal School and Editor of the whimsical and humorous Journal of Irreprodueible Re- sults, examines the neglected role of chance in dozens of discoveries from the Middle Ages to the latest contemporary events. These accounts and anecdotes, both famil- iar and unfamiliar, are recounted with wit and insight and elucidate the still mysteri- ous process of scientific discovery.

The stories, ranging in length from a sen- tence or two to entire ehaoters in the eases . dpenirillin and insulin, arec hcwrn irom the iieldjol physlc~.chwnl~tr)~, p h a l m ~ ~ e u l i ~ h l chemistry, h~ochwnistry, astr<mcmv, nurle- ar science, microbiology, and medicine. Chemical discoveries include, inter nlio, Scheele's and Priestley's discovery of my- gen and Lavoisier's explanation of its true nature, Wiihler's urea synthesis, Perkin's discovery of mauve and aniline dyes, Pas- teur's resolution of sodium ammonium raee- mate, Domagk's use of the dye prontosil as a drug, vitamins B and C, elonidine, and Ho- kin's phosphoinositide (PI) response (called "Hokin's hokum" as late as 1970).

Kohn asks end answers numerous proh- ing questions such as: Why did Fleming fail to oerform the critical exoeriment on mice to demonstrate that penicillin would cure a streptococcal infection, an experiment per- formed only a decade later by Florey and Chain, who shared with him the 1945 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine? Why were Banting and Macleod awarded the same prize in 1923 for their discovery of insulin instead of any of their numerous predeces- sors? What are magainins? (Michael Zas- loffs new (1987) polypeptide antibiotics named after the Hebrew word mogen, meaning shield, as in mag& Douid). He also raises many questions crucial to our under- standing of scientific research, and in a pen- ultimate chapter he explores the nature of what constitutes a scientific fact and how humor and Edward de Bono's lateral think- ing can aid the creative development of new ideas. ~ ~~ ~ ~

In a personal epilogue Kohn relates some of his own "missed chances in my endeavour

to advance science". One-page tables of missed discoveries and of additional reading and name (6 pp) and subject (11 pp) indices conclude this engrossing, thoroughly docu- mented book, which I am pleased to recom- mend highly, despite its minor shortcoming of dozens of typographical errors and mis- spellings that could have been eliminated by more careful proofreading and attention to detail.

Georse 0. Kauffman - California State University. Fresno

Fresno, CA 93740

Emerglng Technologies In Hazardous W a d e Management 0. William Tedder and Frederick G. Poh land, Eds. American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1990. xii + 402 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $89.95.

Chemistry departments in these days of concern about the condition of planet Earth increasingly are called to participate in in- terdisciplinary courses dealing with envi- ronmental problems. The handling of haz- ardous wastes is the critical issue in this hook covering a four-day symposium in At- lanta in May 1989. The ACS Division of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry was the sponsor and engineers had the dominant voices, but chemists, biochemists, biolo- eists. and bacterialoeists all took active pans. There r.nj a nlix of pdit:cinns, g m - trnment regulnrurs. inrencncrj, and made- mirwms Eszentially all aspects of hnnnrduuc waste management were covered with em- phasis on the most promising new methods that are now under development. The pa- pers were peer reviewed. There are exten- sive bibliographies with most chapters.

Here is a bureeanine field in which there i, large yuMc intereit. 'rh~s book is ns ncar- Iv current as hwks can Ire and rhem~itry 13cult\. member* will bcnef~t trom hn! ~ n y :t as a convenient reference when preparing general lectures of topical nature or training majors for professional careers in this new sp&ialty.

Malcolm M. Renfrew University of ldaho Moscow. ID 83843

Indoor Alr Pollution Control Thad Godish. Lewis Publishers: Chelsea. MI, 1989, xii + 401 pp. Figs, tables. and photographs. 16 X 24.2 cm. $59.95.

Indoor air pollution has become a matter of public concern with active interest ex- tending well beyond cigarette smoke in res- r~uranta. Newpapars frequently mrry sto- r iw on nsbesr~~c, turmaldehyd~, radun, and "sick hulld~nrs". and ei tmns uith h e fedre may well ask-ch&nistry teachers for advice in judging the risks.

This book will be helpful to teachers in handlng such questions, and i t also will serve as a suitable text for courses dealing with thesespecific problemsin environmen- tal chemistry. The material has been tested in a course on indoor air quality manage- ment a t Ball State University where the au- thor is professor of natural resources.

Emphasis is on pollution in business and residential buildings with diagnostic proce- dures and mitigation practices. It accepts the regulations now in force with little ques- tioning aftheir merits in protecting thepub- lic. There is no differentiation in toxicity among the various forms of asbestos with their differing toxicities, and no apologies are offered far the costlv and ill-conceived ~~ ~~

scbrsros-removal projecrs that no>\ plague the natim. This is not n book with a mii- &nary h e w it sirnply tells things the \\a" they are and is a valuable reference.

Malcolm M. Renfrew University of Idaho MOSCOW. ID 83843

Volume 67 Number 9 September 1990 A241