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plete in itself and each has been selected to demonstrate a particular principle. PLASTICS ENGINEERING HANDBOOK of the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc. Third edition, 565 pages, illustrations, 7 X 10 in. New York, Reinhold Publishing Corp., 1960. t'rice, $15.00. A completely revised, expanded and up-todate third edition of this handbook on plastics engineering is the most useful source of information ever nlade available to one industry. There is much new material on nomenclature, cellular plastics, decorating, welding and plastics as adhesives. The book describes every step in the manufacturing operation, and includes the experience and know-how of over 200 technicians and authorities. Fully illustrated with many photographs, tables and charts which provide data of innneasurable value to the plastics plant. RADIOISOTOPE TECHNIQUES, by Ralph T. Overman and Herbert M. Clark. 476 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9 in. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1960. Price,
$i0.00. This laboratory textbook deals with the principles and practice of handling and measurement techniques t h a t will enable the scientific investigator to use radioactive materials in his research progranl. A compilation of material on preparation of radioactive sources, laboratory characterization, standardization, and separation methods, as well as the practical aspects of radioiostope applications is included in this text. Its major purpose is to present the theory and principles underlying the techniques, along with the discussion of laboratory procedures. A set of typical problems is included as a teaching aid. THE CONCEPTS AND THEORIES OF MODERN PHYSICS, by J. B. Stallo, edited by P. W. Bridgman. 325 pages, 5} X 8¼ in. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1960. Price, $4.75. When this book on the fundamental concepts and general theories of late nineteenthcentury physics was first published in 1881, it was far ahead of its time. It was the first, and for long the only extensive American book
[J. F. I.
in the philosophy of science. In its French, German and British editions, it was one of very few texts in t h a t field to appear in Europe. The American public of the '80s and '90s was not ready for it, but abroad its significance was recognized. Possibly the author's major contribution is his anticipation of the special role of the law of the conservation of energy. The book can be regarded as an important landmark in American intellectual history. This republication, with an extensive introduction by P. W. Bridgman, is a welcome addition to history of science libraries.
CEMENTED CARBIDES, by Paul Schwarzkopf and Richard Kieffer. 349 pages, diagrams, 6 X 9} in. New York, The Macmilhm Company, 1960. Price, $15.00. Cemented carbides make inodern highspeed machining possible and find many other places where resistance against wear, corrosion and heat are important. The authors, recognizing a growing technical need for a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of cemeuted carbides, have drawn upon sources in the United States and in Western and Eastern Europe in preparing this work. The opelfing chapters furnish background information and describe the methods of producing carbides and other metallic refractories. The middle chapters describe the nmchanical and chemical properties of all the cemented carbides in commercial production and those being produced in experilnental quantities. A chapter on the new oxide and boride cutting materials is included. Final chapters concentrate on the many applications of the cemented carbides to the machine tool, mining, defense and other industries. CLASSICAL MATHEMATICS--A CONCISE HISTORY OP TIIE CLASSICAL ERA IN MATHEMATICS, by Joseph Ehrenfried Hofmann. 159 pages, 5 X 8 in. New York, Philosophical Library, Inc., 1959. Price, $4.75. The broadly panoramic story of mathematics covering the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries--the periods known as the high and late Baroque and the Age of Enlightenment, is herein presented in this book. The author relates the development of mathematics to the growth of intellectual principles.