370 BOOK REVIEWS

page 66 we read, "Biochemists apparently have the idea, though it is chiefly unconscious, that the chemical reactions of life are t ruly universal, and that metabolism is almost identical in all forms of l i fe." I t would come as a surprise to biochemists tha t this idea is unconscious. In the interest ing section on differentiation there is the implication throughout the discussion that differentiation of animal cells is irreversible. This is a doubtful implication and should be presented as such. Most of the changes needed in Dr. Kuyper 's book are, however, due to the extraordinary new de- velopments made since his manuscript went to press. Both students and investigators can learn much from this valuable book; i t deserves being kept up to date.

ALFRED E. MIRSKY, New York, New York

Adsorpt ion and Col lec t ive P a r a m a g n e t i s m . By PIERCE W. SELWOOD, Universi ty of California, Santa Barbara, California. Academic Press Inc., New York and London, 1962. x, 189 pp. Price $7.50.

I t is very useful to have in a single volume a record of Professor Selwood's progression of re- searches through many years in which he has studied the interaction of adsorbents and ad- sorbates by measurements of magnetization. The work has defined more precisely when chemisorp- tion, as opposed to physical adsorption, occurs. The several approaches using magnetic measure- ments serve to measure the change in the number of unpaired electrons in the adsorbent as chemi- sorption occurs. After a brief chapter outlining the experimental methods which have been used to detect chemisorption including isotope-ex- change reactions, electron diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, magnetic susceptibility, electron emission, field-emission microscopy, and x-ray K absorption edge spectrometry, he turns for the remainder of the book (160 pages) to a description of magnetic phenomena and the applications he has made of them to the problem. The final three chapters (pp. 130-181) discuss the evidence ob- tained for a var ie ty of gases on surfaces.

Selwood's final paragraphs in the book dealing with adsorption of the inert gases (and probably also of nitrogen) have a heightened significance in the light of the new work on compounds of the "noble" gases revealed during the last eight months.

HUOl~ TAYLOR, Princeton, New Jersey

T h e Bacter ia : A Treatise on Structure and Function. Vol . 3: Biosynthesis. Edi ted by I. C. GUNSALUS, Universi ty of Illinois; and ROGER Y.

STANIER, Universi ty of California, Berkeley. Aca- demic Press Inc., New York and London, 1962. xvi, 718 pp. Regular price $19.50; subscription price $17.50.

Volume 3 of The Bacteria concerns itself with biosynthesis; s tructure and metabolism having been treated in Vols. t and 2. Start ing logically from COs fixation and inorganic nitrogen assimila- tion, the volume proceeds through biosynthesis of amino acids, vitamins, coenzymes, purines, pyrimidines, polymeric homosaccharides, and homopolymeric peptides. Synthesis of structural and functional entities (cell walls, proteins, nu- cleic acids, and enzymes) is covered in the last four of the 12 chapters making up the volume. As in previous volumes of this compendium, each chapter is writ ten by an active worker in the field which, while it contributes competence, results in some rather odd changes of pace and differences in style. Most of the chapters have been writ ten so as to develop the subject area chronologically, and, on the whole, each chapter gives a fair over- view of the state of the art at the time manuscripts were submitted. The historical approach is ex- emplified in a most complete review of "Assimila- t ion of Carbon Dioxide by Heterotrophic Orga- nisms" (Chap. 2) by It . G. Wood and R. L. Stjernholm. Between the time manuscripts are delivered and the book appears in print there ap- parent ly is so long a period of delay it prompted Prof. E. F. Gale to remark, rather wistfully, at the beginning of his remarkably complete chapter on the synthesis of proteins and nucleic acids, "The material for this chapter was first collected, organized, and written up in March 1959. The considerable advances in the field since then have given this chapter an old-fashioned look . . . . " There may be no good way to avoid the difficulty; i t is eloquent test imony to the rapidi ty with which certain areas of investigation are expanding. I t does, however, suggest that printing technology is woefully slow.

Certainly the book is worth having access to, although the price will leave the reader surprised that i t is merely paper on which i t is printed.

R. E. KALLIO, Iowa City, Iowa

V i t a m i n s and H o r m o n e s : Advances in Re- search and Applications. Vol. 18. Edi ted by ROBERT S. HARRIS~ Massachusetts Inst i tute of Technology; and DWIGHT J. INGLE, Universi ty of Chicago. Academic Press Inc., New York and London, 1960. xiv, 615 pp. Price $15.00.

This 18th issue of Vitamins and Hormones lives up to the fine reputat ion and high standards which this particular series of review volumes has