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Currents in biochemical research 1956
500
BOOK
REVIEWS
of chemical discussion because the structure, syntheses, and reactions of these compounds are widely known. In other chapters, e.g., the cardiac aglycones and their unusual carbohydrate moieties, a searching review of their chemistry had to be given in order to facilitate an understanding of the graded cardiotonic differences of the glycosides. The synthetic estrogens, two classes of synthetic analgesics, and cholinergic aromatic carbamates which are familiar only to specialists are also discussed broadly from a chemical viewpoint. Wherever possible, the authors have pointed out what conclusions one may draw from the progressive variation of pharmacological changes as structural features are altered. In the chapter on adrenergic blocking agents, a sequence of events is analyzed which illustrates the essential ingredients to successful research in medicinal chemistry. Had the original compounds in this series not been prepared and submitted, there would have been no biological evaluation, and without the keen observation of the pharmacologists, the totally unexpected blocking action of Dibenamine might have been missed. Each chapter explains the screening procedures by which the biological activities under consideration have been measured. These data are sufficiently detailed to enable a competent pharmacologist to set up similar tests without much additional work in the library. Several chapters carry a section on the clinical uses of the respective drugs which are satisfactory for the chemical reader, and an informative guide for the clinician. The feature of these books most likely to remain a unique contribution to medicinal chemistry and pharmacology are the hundreds of activity tables in which the authors have rendered a labor of love: all compounds in the field discussed are listed with all pertinent quantitative biological data, test methods, and references. No one should find it necessary to search the literature for additional data up to the close of the literature of these chapters. The editors of these volumes have rendered a highly commendable service. Not only did they rewrite and rearrange many of the tables for the sake of uniformity, but they also had to consult repeatedly with the publishers and members of the Division sponsoring this series as to how publication of these books could become financially possible. They deserve the gratitude of authors and readers alike. The two books are printed and bound attractively, and structural formulas are drawn beautifully. They will be a “must” on the shelf of every medicinal chemist and pharmacologist, and should be recommended to all medical scientists as an example of the exacting team work which has made possible the incredible advances of medicine in recent years. ALFRED BURGER, Charlottesville, Virginia
Currents in Biochemical Research 1960. Edited by DAVID E. GREEN, Institute for Enzyme Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Interscience Publishers, New York, N. Y., 1956. xvi + 697 pp. Price $10.00. The contributors to the 27 essays in this volume are: A. D. Hershey, J. A. Bassham, and M. Calvin; H. A. Barker, E. E. Snell, S. Spiegelman, and A. M. Campbell; Dewitt Stetten, Jr., G. Pincus, C. F. Cori, E. Racker, F. Lipmann, H. R. Mahler, H. Theorell, B. Chance, P. George, B. W. Low, and J. T. Edsall; F. Sanger, W. E. Cohn, H. Bloch, F. M. Huennekens, D. Shemin, G. R. Greenberg, R. A.
BOOK REVIEWS
501
Alberty, L. F. Leloir, M. F. Morales, and J. Botts; D. Nachmansohn and I. B. Wilson; D. M. Surgenor; and H. P. Rusch. The purpose of this volume, as set forth in the Preface, is to “make a decennial survey in most, although by no means all, important fields of biochemical research. . . . . The objectives of these essays have been to communicate to nonspecialists an over-all impression of the present status of the significant problems in each field, point up the broad strategy . . . and to speculate on the likely paths of future the research. . . . The essays were intended to bring light without overwhelming reader with tedious detail.” As might be expected of a volume created by numerous contributors, the objectives outlined have been attained with varying degrees of success in the different chapters. Some chapters, for example those by Cori and Lipmann, are stimulating projections of established knowledge to the coming era of biochemistry. A number of chapters are straightforward presentations of major accomplishments in certain areas of biochemistry during the past decade and make little or no attempt to speculate on the possible path toward the future. An unusual and highly readable chapter by G. Robert Greenberg describes the problems and dilemmas confronting the biochemist intent on elucidating the reaction sequence in a multienzyme reaction and outlines some approaches to their solutions which should be of considerable value to young investigators in this field. A few of the contributors, apparently handicapped by the availability of numerous reviews in their areas of interest, avoided the presentation of factual information and attempted broad generalizations, which in some intances are not entirely satisfactory. One of the most readable and provocative parts of this volume is the editor’s preface, in which he attempts an analysis of the present status of biochemistry and speculates on the most likely trends for future research, although many biochemists, including some contributors to this volume, would disagree with the editor’s inclination to consider some of the most fruitful areas of current biochemical research near exhaustion. Taken as a whole, like its predecessor in 1946, this volume is stimulating and contains many chapters of interest to students as well as specialists in all of the biological sciences. THOMAS P. SINGER, Detroit, Michigan
Perspectives in Organic Chemistry. Edited by Sir ALEXANDER TODD. (Dedicated to Sir Robert Robinson.) x + 527 pp. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, N. Y., 1956. Price $7.56. Contents: “The Nature of the Theory of Resonance” by Linus Pauling. “Reaction Mechanisms” by Paul D. Bartlett. “The Development of the Concept of Aromaticity” by Wilson Baker. “Stereochemistry” by D. H. R. Barton. “Bedeutung der vielgliedrigen Ringverbindungen fuer die theoretische organische Chemie” by V. Prelog. “Biosynthetic Theories in Organic Chemistry” by A. J. Birch. “Synthesis” by R. B. Woodward. “Neue Entwicklungen der metallorganischen Synthese” by Karl Ziegler. “Carbohydrates” by E. L. Hirst. “Nucleic Acids” by Sir Alexander Todd. “Bedeutung der theoretischen organischen Chemie fuer die Chemie der Terpenverbindungen” by L. Ruzicka. “Steroids” by C. W. Shoppee. “Alkaloids” by E. Schlittler. “Isotopes in Organic Chemistry” by J.
BOOK
REVIEWS
of chemical discussion because the structure, syntheses, and reactions of these compounds are widely known. In other chapters, e.g., the cardiac aglycones and their unusual carbohydrate moieties, a searching review of their chemistry had to be given in order to facilitate an understanding of the graded cardiotonic differences of the glycosides. The synthetic estrogens, two classes of synthetic analgesics, and cholinergic aromatic carbamates which are familiar only to specialists are also discussed broadly from a chemical viewpoint. Wherever possible, the authors have pointed out what conclusions one may draw from the progressive variation of pharmacological changes as structural features are altered. In the chapter on adrenergic blocking agents, a sequence of events is analyzed which illustrates the essential ingredients to successful research in medicinal chemistry. Had the original compounds in this series not been prepared and submitted, there would have been no biological evaluation, and without the keen observation of the pharmacologists, the totally unexpected blocking action of Dibenamine might have been missed. Each chapter explains the screening procedures by which the biological activities under consideration have been measured. These data are sufficiently detailed to enable a competent pharmacologist to set up similar tests without much additional work in the library. Several chapters carry a section on the clinical uses of the respective drugs which are satisfactory for the chemical reader, and an informative guide for the clinician. The feature of these books most likely to remain a unique contribution to medicinal chemistry and pharmacology are the hundreds of activity tables in which the authors have rendered a labor of love: all compounds in the field discussed are listed with all pertinent quantitative biological data, test methods, and references. No one should find it necessary to search the literature for additional data up to the close of the literature of these chapters. The editors of these volumes have rendered a highly commendable service. Not only did they rewrite and rearrange many of the tables for the sake of uniformity, but they also had to consult repeatedly with the publishers and members of the Division sponsoring this series as to how publication of these books could become financially possible. They deserve the gratitude of authors and readers alike. The two books are printed and bound attractively, and structural formulas are drawn beautifully. They will be a “must” on the shelf of every medicinal chemist and pharmacologist, and should be recommended to all medical scientists as an example of the exacting team work which has made possible the incredible advances of medicine in recent years. ALFRED BURGER, Charlottesville, Virginia
Currents in Biochemical Research 1960. Edited by DAVID E. GREEN, Institute for Enzyme Research, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. Interscience Publishers, New York, N. Y., 1956. xvi + 697 pp. Price $10.00. The contributors to the 27 essays in this volume are: A. D. Hershey, J. A. Bassham, and M. Calvin; H. A. Barker, E. E. Snell, S. Spiegelman, and A. M. Campbell; Dewitt Stetten, Jr., G. Pincus, C. F. Cori, E. Racker, F. Lipmann, H. R. Mahler, H. Theorell, B. Chance, P. George, B. W. Low, and J. T. Edsall; F. Sanger, W. E. Cohn, H. Bloch, F. M. Huennekens, D. Shemin, G. R. Greenberg, R. A.
BOOK REVIEWS
501
Alberty, L. F. Leloir, M. F. Morales, and J. Botts; D. Nachmansohn and I. B. Wilson; D. M. Surgenor; and H. P. Rusch. The purpose of this volume, as set forth in the Preface, is to “make a decennial survey in most, although by no means all, important fields of biochemical research. . . . . The objectives of these essays have been to communicate to nonspecialists an over-all impression of the present status of the significant problems in each field, point up the broad strategy . . . and to speculate on the likely paths of future the research. . . . The essays were intended to bring light without overwhelming reader with tedious detail.” As might be expected of a volume created by numerous contributors, the objectives outlined have been attained with varying degrees of success in the different chapters. Some chapters, for example those by Cori and Lipmann, are stimulating projections of established knowledge to the coming era of biochemistry. A number of chapters are straightforward presentations of major accomplishments in certain areas of biochemistry during the past decade and make little or no attempt to speculate on the possible path toward the future. An unusual and highly readable chapter by G. Robert Greenberg describes the problems and dilemmas confronting the biochemist intent on elucidating the reaction sequence in a multienzyme reaction and outlines some approaches to their solutions which should be of considerable value to young investigators in this field. A few of the contributors, apparently handicapped by the availability of numerous reviews in their areas of interest, avoided the presentation of factual information and attempted broad generalizations, which in some intances are not entirely satisfactory. One of the most readable and provocative parts of this volume is the editor’s preface, in which he attempts an analysis of the present status of biochemistry and speculates on the most likely trends for future research, although many biochemists, including some contributors to this volume, would disagree with the editor’s inclination to consider some of the most fruitful areas of current biochemical research near exhaustion. Taken as a whole, like its predecessor in 1946, this volume is stimulating and contains many chapters of interest to students as well as specialists in all of the biological sciences. THOMAS P. SINGER, Detroit, Michigan
Perspectives in Organic Chemistry. Edited by Sir ALEXANDER TODD. (Dedicated to Sir Robert Robinson.) x + 527 pp. Interscience Publishers, Inc., New York, N. Y., 1956. Price $7.56. Contents: “The Nature of the Theory of Resonance” by Linus Pauling. “Reaction Mechanisms” by Paul D. Bartlett. “The Development of the Concept of Aromaticity” by Wilson Baker. “Stereochemistry” by D. H. R. Barton. “Bedeutung der vielgliedrigen Ringverbindungen fuer die theoretische organische Chemie” by V. Prelog. “Biosynthetic Theories in Organic Chemistry” by A. J. Birch. “Synthesis” by R. B. Woodward. “Neue Entwicklungen der metallorganischen Synthese” by Karl Ziegler. “Carbohydrates” by E. L. Hirst. “Nucleic Acids” by Sir Alexander Todd. “Bedeutung der theoretischen organischen Chemie fuer die Chemie der Terpenverbindungen” by L. Ruzicka. “Steroids” by C. W. Shoppee. “Alkaloids” by E. Schlittler. “Isotopes in Organic Chemistry” by J.