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Annual review of microbiology, vol. 33
Proceedingsof the Meetings of European Meat Research Workers, may not be readily available to the reader. In attempting to cover a wide area of study the author must inevitably disappoint specialists in certain of the topics discussedin that some aspects may have received minimal treatment or have been inadequately referenced. Nevertheless the book is an invaluable source of information not only for the students to whom it is directed but also for lecturers, research students, and the mature research worker who may wish to widen his horizons. J. T. Patterson Chemistry
and Physics
of Carbon,
Vols
14and15.EditedbyP. L. Walker,Jr.andP. A. Thrower. Pp. 320each. MarcelDekker, New York. Vol. 14, 19 78; Vol. 15, 19 79. Sfr.78 andSfr.82 respectively.
This series of review articles on the Chemistry and Physics of Carbon has now reached Volume 15, and still continues to serve a very useful purpose. The sustained effectivenessof the seriesstemsin part from the enormousfield to be illuminated. In the science of carbon, much progress has been achieved in recent years merely by subjecting existing technology of this unique element to modern precise scientific methods of investigation. But, in addition, exciting possibilities of new technological developments are being confirmed and strengthened by recent advancesin scientific knowledge. For example, Volume 15 extends an earlier review (in Volume 4) on Graphitisable Carbons, and on the so-called Mesophase. Volume 15 also contains chapters on Pyrocarbon Coating of Nuclear Particles, and on Acetylene Black. Volume 14 contains chapters on Electron Microscopy of Carbons, and on the formation of Filamentous Carbons and Carbon Blacks. The Editors are to be congratulated on their flair in selecting such a considerable diversity of themes and contributors. A comprehensive subject index for all fifteen volumes would greatly add to their usefulness. A. R. Ubbelohde
I could not think of any topics which were not touched on, but it is unfortunate that the only mention of Lagrange multipliers is in a problem in which the vital lambda is missing. I wonder why vectors are not used to tidy up the statistics since vectors are treated in two early chapters. The notation of sets isnowhere used, not even in the two chapters on probability and groups, although many students now use it at school. However a thousand compromises are neededin the writing of this type of book and I would be happy to seemy studentsusing it. D. T. Birtwistle Annual
Review
of Microbiology,
Vol.
33. Edited by M. P. Starr, J. L. lngraham S. Raffel. Pp. 707. AnnualReviewslnc., PaloAlto. 1979. $17.50
and
This volume is the latest addition to the Microbiological series published by Annual Reviews Inc., who are noted for production of reasonably priced volumes containing articles by eminent authorities in the particular discipline. The first article, following on Annual Reviews’ tradition, is an autobiographical one by R. E. Hungate describing ‘The Evolution of a Microbial Ecologist’. The succeeding articles range over the whole field of microbiology from fungal protoplasts (J. F. Preberdy) to concentration of viruses from water (C. Wallis, J. L. Melnick & C. P. Gerba). The breadth of interest covered is, as always, to give any microbiologist some articles which will be of particular interest to him, although he will browse with pleasure and profit through thoseon lessfamiliar topics. With microbiological safety increasingly becoming a matter of concern, all microbiologists will surely welcome the article by R. M. Pike on ‘Laboratory Associated Infections: Incidence, Fatalities, Causes and Prevention’. The article by R. M. Zinkernagel will also be greatly welcomed as an exposition of his remarkable ideas on the link between the incidence of certain diseases and the major transplantation antigens coded by the major histocompatibility gene complex. This volume fully maintains the reputation of the seriesand is recommendedto all microbiologists. D. H. Watson
Fundamentalsof Mathematicsand Statistics for Students of Chemistry and Allied Subjects by C. J. Brookes, I. G.
Placenta-A Neglected Experimental Animal. Editedby P. BeaconsfieldandC.
Betteley and S. M. Loxston Pp. xx + 496. Wiley, Chichester. 19 79. Hard cover f 17.50, Paperbackf6.95.
Villee. Pp. 435. Pergamon 1979. Hardcoverf25.00, fll.OO.
This is essentially a teaching text for undergraduate chemistry students and undoubtedly representsthe distillation of many years of teaching. I can seethat the difficulty in writing one book for this role lies in selecting material for omission rather than for inclusion. The authors try to cover the whole of mathematical methods, plus an introduction to point groups and a substantial amount of statistics including regression, design of experiments, analysis of variance: the pressure is therefore on space. Nevertheless, the temptation to omit intermediate steps has been resisted and equations are clearly displayed, taking up more room than is strictly necessary.
This book is the report of a symposium held at Bedford College, London, in October 1978. The provocative title conceals the fact that the subject matter ranges even more widely and does not concern the placenta alone. Thus there are contributions on the general control of metabolism in tissues, the control of cell replication, malignancy, the ageing cell and immunogerontology, in addition to papers upon the origin and formation of the placenta, placental function, and the immunology of the placenta and trophoblast. As is inevitable with such ‘instant’ texts, there is much variation between the individual contributions, there are large gaps, and there is repetition. It cannot
Press, Oxford. Flexicover
therefore, be recommendedto the student who wishes an overview of the subject. However, there is much that is useful and stimulating and there are extensive and up-to-date bibliographies. It should, therefore, be of value to those working in the field or on peripheral subjects. H. G. Britton Seeing,
Illusion,
Brain and Mind by John
P. Frisb y. Pp. viii + 160. Oxford Press, 1979. f 6.95.
University
This we&produced book appeared in time for Christmas. It provides a crash course in visual fun, and attempts to throw popular light on the latest discoveries of cortical physiology and cyto-architecture. The welcome provision of red-green specs enables us to experiment with random-dot stereograms which Professor Frisby studied at the feet of the master, Bela Julesz. What I fmd extra-ordinary about this astonishing probing technique is how little attention is being paid to the time it takescontrary to ‘real’ stereopsis-for the dotty percepts to be established: the reason is probably that, much like the anecdotal pearl dissolved in acid when distinguished from the fake, each test needsa new diagram. The writer’s enthusiasm allows one to overlook anatomical solecisms (e.g. figures 149, 150), but it is surprising to seeyet another illustration of the impossible 3-D triangle without Professor Frisby having appreciated that it can be realized stereoscopically, the usual Brunelleschian point of view being abandoned. Apart from such peccadillos the book provides a useful introduction to the contemporary statistical line on perception. The serious aspect of ‘explaining’ optical illusions is well covered: it remains to be seen how much water the explanations will be found to hold (e.g. when we have fully grasped primate retinal function). Like all eager scientists, some of us will be convinced fully when the explanations predict hitherto unobservedphenomena. R. A. Weale Deciding
about Energy
Policy.
for Science and Society Report. Council for Science and Society. Hardback f 5, Paperback f 2.
Council Pp. 127. 19 79.
The report achieves its stated objectives in offering a broad but nevertheless comprehensive non-technical outline of energy policy. The layout of the book provides a logically sequencedguided tour of the important areas in decision making. However, the number of chapters could perhaps be usefully condensed and the whole report would have been more readable without individual chapter numbering. Since the report is not intended as a policy document they seem unnecessary and the continuity of the reading suffers from their inclusion. In some sensethe book is very theoretical in that there is no acknowledgementthat both our decision makers and their tools are imperfect. These imperfections, which arise from divergences in interests between major bodies, both political and economic, could have been 129
and Physics
of Carbon,
Vols
14and15.EditedbyP. L. Walker,Jr.andP. A. Thrower. Pp. 320each. MarcelDekker, New York. Vol. 14, 19 78; Vol. 15, 19 79. Sfr.78 andSfr.82 respectively.
This series of review articles on the Chemistry and Physics of Carbon has now reached Volume 15, and still continues to serve a very useful purpose. The sustained effectivenessof the seriesstemsin part from the enormousfield to be illuminated. In the science of carbon, much progress has been achieved in recent years merely by subjecting existing technology of this unique element to modern precise scientific methods of investigation. But, in addition, exciting possibilities of new technological developments are being confirmed and strengthened by recent advancesin scientific knowledge. For example, Volume 15 extends an earlier review (in Volume 4) on Graphitisable Carbons, and on the so-called Mesophase. Volume 15 also contains chapters on Pyrocarbon Coating of Nuclear Particles, and on Acetylene Black. Volume 14 contains chapters on Electron Microscopy of Carbons, and on the formation of Filamentous Carbons and Carbon Blacks. The Editors are to be congratulated on their flair in selecting such a considerable diversity of themes and contributors. A comprehensive subject index for all fifteen volumes would greatly add to their usefulness. A. R. Ubbelohde
I could not think of any topics which were not touched on, but it is unfortunate that the only mention of Lagrange multipliers is in a problem in which the vital lambda is missing. I wonder why vectors are not used to tidy up the statistics since vectors are treated in two early chapters. The notation of sets isnowhere used, not even in the two chapters on probability and groups, although many students now use it at school. However a thousand compromises are neededin the writing of this type of book and I would be happy to seemy studentsusing it. D. T. Birtwistle Annual
Review
of Microbiology,
Vol.
33. Edited by M. P. Starr, J. L. lngraham S. Raffel. Pp. 707. AnnualReviewslnc., PaloAlto. 1979. $17.50
and
This volume is the latest addition to the Microbiological series published by Annual Reviews Inc., who are noted for production of reasonably priced volumes containing articles by eminent authorities in the particular discipline. The first article, following on Annual Reviews’ tradition, is an autobiographical one by R. E. Hungate describing ‘The Evolution of a Microbial Ecologist’. The succeeding articles range over the whole field of microbiology from fungal protoplasts (J. F. Preberdy) to concentration of viruses from water (C. Wallis, J. L. Melnick & C. P. Gerba). The breadth of interest covered is, as always, to give any microbiologist some articles which will be of particular interest to him, although he will browse with pleasure and profit through thoseon lessfamiliar topics. With microbiological safety increasingly becoming a matter of concern, all microbiologists will surely welcome the article by R. M. Pike on ‘Laboratory Associated Infections: Incidence, Fatalities, Causes and Prevention’. The article by R. M. Zinkernagel will also be greatly welcomed as an exposition of his remarkable ideas on the link between the incidence of certain diseases and the major transplantation antigens coded by the major histocompatibility gene complex. This volume fully maintains the reputation of the seriesand is recommendedto all microbiologists. D. H. Watson
Fundamentalsof Mathematicsand Statistics for Students of Chemistry and Allied Subjects by C. J. Brookes, I. G.
Placenta-A Neglected Experimental Animal. Editedby P. BeaconsfieldandC.
Betteley and S. M. Loxston Pp. xx + 496. Wiley, Chichester. 19 79. Hard cover f 17.50, Paperbackf6.95.
Villee. Pp. 435. Pergamon 1979. Hardcoverf25.00, fll.OO.
This is essentially a teaching text for undergraduate chemistry students and undoubtedly representsthe distillation of many years of teaching. I can seethat the difficulty in writing one book for this role lies in selecting material for omission rather than for inclusion. The authors try to cover the whole of mathematical methods, plus an introduction to point groups and a substantial amount of statistics including regression, design of experiments, analysis of variance: the pressure is therefore on space. Nevertheless, the temptation to omit intermediate steps has been resisted and equations are clearly displayed, taking up more room than is strictly necessary.
This book is the report of a symposium held at Bedford College, London, in October 1978. The provocative title conceals the fact that the subject matter ranges even more widely and does not concern the placenta alone. Thus there are contributions on the general control of metabolism in tissues, the control of cell replication, malignancy, the ageing cell and immunogerontology, in addition to papers upon the origin and formation of the placenta, placental function, and the immunology of the placenta and trophoblast. As is inevitable with such ‘instant’ texts, there is much variation between the individual contributions, there are large gaps, and there is repetition. It cannot
Press, Oxford. Flexicover
therefore, be recommendedto the student who wishes an overview of the subject. However, there is much that is useful and stimulating and there are extensive and up-to-date bibliographies. It should, therefore, be of value to those working in the field or on peripheral subjects. H. G. Britton Seeing,
Illusion,
Brain and Mind by John
P. Frisb y. Pp. viii + 160. Oxford Press, 1979. f 6.95.
University
This we&produced book appeared in time for Christmas. It provides a crash course in visual fun, and attempts to throw popular light on the latest discoveries of cortical physiology and cyto-architecture. The welcome provision of red-green specs enables us to experiment with random-dot stereograms which Professor Frisby studied at the feet of the master, Bela Julesz. What I fmd extra-ordinary about this astonishing probing technique is how little attention is being paid to the time it takescontrary to ‘real’ stereopsis-for the dotty percepts to be established: the reason is probably that, much like the anecdotal pearl dissolved in acid when distinguished from the fake, each test needsa new diagram. The writer’s enthusiasm allows one to overlook anatomical solecisms (e.g. figures 149, 150), but it is surprising to seeyet another illustration of the impossible 3-D triangle without Professor Frisby having appreciated that it can be realized stereoscopically, the usual Brunelleschian point of view being abandoned. Apart from such peccadillos the book provides a useful introduction to the contemporary statistical line on perception. The serious aspect of ‘explaining’ optical illusions is well covered: it remains to be seen how much water the explanations will be found to hold (e.g. when we have fully grasped primate retinal function). Like all eager scientists, some of us will be convinced fully when the explanations predict hitherto unobservedphenomena. R. A. Weale Deciding
about Energy
Policy.
for Science and Society Report. Council for Science and Society. Hardback f 5, Paperback f 2.
Council Pp. 127. 19 79.
The report achieves its stated objectives in offering a broad but nevertheless comprehensive non-technical outline of energy policy. The layout of the book provides a logically sequencedguided tour of the important areas in decision making. However, the number of chapters could perhaps be usefully condensed and the whole report would have been more readable without individual chapter numbering. Since the report is not intended as a policy document they seem unnecessary and the continuity of the reading suffers from their inclusion. In some sensethe book is very theoretical in that there is no acknowledgementthat both our decision makers and their tools are imperfect. These imperfections, which arise from divergences in interests between major bodies, both political and economic, could have been 129