Lancastrian chemist. The early years of Sir Edward Frankland

causesthem at times to diverge from the main theme. In the middle of the second chapter, dealing with simple and combined symmetries, one is suddenly presented with twelve pages dealing with the shape and symmetry of snowflakes! The book is copiously illustrated with elegant examples taken from nature, literature, art, architecture, and the everyday world as well as from chemistry. Each chapter, though clearly not exhaustive in its coverage, is well referenced. Mainly it is fairly light reading but the sections dealing with group theory and its application to molecular vibrations and electronic structure are not for the fainthearted. Improvements? I would have liked to have seen some stereoscopic drawings illustrating molecular symmetry, also more indication of the applications of symmetry in spectroscopy. The authors state that ‘ . although this book did not have to be written’ they ‘. felt the need to write it’. True, it did not have to be written but I think overall that the scientific literature is a little richer for their having done so. D. J. Williams

brief history of the developments in the components: i.e. magnetrons, wave guides, cavities, etc and complete systems; examples of the commercially successful food processing systems; and a final chapter on regulations for microwave processing in the USA. There is also an excellent bibliography and glossary. It is difficult to define the potential readership for this book since it falls between two stools. It contains too many details on the hardware and too few on the applications to be of use to food technologists, while a microwave engineer would require more technical information. One problem with the book, which is shared by any in a rapidly developing field, is that in some respects it is already out of date. It does not mention single mode microwave heating, fibre optic temperature measurement, or even the combination of microwave and convective heating in domestic ovens. A serious criticism of the book is that it presents a rather biased rosy view of microwave processing with all the advantages but few if any of-the problems being mentioned.

inadequate, primatologists are now more prepared to ask questions about the nonhuman mind. Unfortunately, the animals cannot tell us about their thoughts, or perhaps they can but we do not understand. Either way, progress is difficult and a researcher’s conclusions may say more about his own mental processes than those of his subjects Important clues can, however, be obtained by studying the animals in their natural environment, where the relevance of their social, manipulative, and cognitive skills is more apparent. This, and a variety of related subjects, are discussed in Volume 3. These useful volumes show all the signs of tight editorial control, so essential in a conference publication. The papers are short: each volume has an introduction, with further introductions provided for each section. The editors have tried hard to build three cohesive volumes from the separate contributions but, as is inevitable in the proceedings of a large conference, some unevenness in quality and coverage remains. J. M. Deag

S. J. James Quantitative Analysis using Chromatographic Techniques. Edited by E. Katz. Pp. 427. Wiley, Chichester, 1987. f37.50.

This book contains chapters on chromatographic principles, detection, and quantitative analysis using gas, liquid, and thinlayer chromatography, pharmaceutical analysis, automation, and physico-chemical aspects. Each chapter ends with a useful synopsis whose value is reduced by excessive italic highlighting. The difficulties of quantification are sometimes underestimated; the selection of an internal standard is actually much harder than described. The emphasis on resolution as the vital first step is commended; sophisticated algorithms are poor substitutes for good separations. Only analysis of pharmaceuticals receives any detailed attention; natural products are barely mentioned yet they have greater problems of completeness of extraction and of recoveries based upon ‘spiked’ samples. The final chapter does not seem to fit. Admittedly, a proper understanding of peak area and width is necessary but this is adequately covered in preceding chapters; it would have been better to have included more ‘applications’. Both the text and the references are up-to-date with a not overdetailed index and the book is probably of greater value to the analyst than to the chromatographer. Its reception is marred by poor print quality which appears to be the photocopied product of a dot matrix printer. A. Hobson-Frohock Microwave Processing and Engineering. By R. V. Decareau and R. A. Peterson. Pp. 224. VCH, Weinheim and Ellis Horwood, Chichester. 1987. DM 115.

Approximately 80% of this book is devoted to quite detailed -descriptions of the various components that make up a microwave processing system. The remainder provides a

Primate Evolution. Pp. 333. Primate Ontogeny, Cognition and Social Behaviour. Pp. 470. Primate Ecology and Conservation. Pp. 393. All Edited by J. C. Else and P. C. Lee. Cambridge University Press, 7986. All, hardcoverf27.50, Paperbackf 12.50.

These volumes are the place to browse for a taste of modern primatological research. They include over one hundred papers from the Tenth Congress of the International Primatological Society (Nairobi, Kenya, 1984). A major concern in paleontology is the dating of fossils and Volume 1 opens with this topic, reviewing the evidence for a variety of sites and species. Further papers are then directed towards specific evolutionary issues, such as the evolution of hominid hands, and a reappraisal of Kenyapithecus, a hominoid whose relationships have been debated ever since L. S. B. Leakey named it in 1962. It is now considered to predate the divergence which lead to the Great Apes and to Man. There is also an important series of papers on functional anatomy, concentrating on the skull. Pleas for conservation are now being supported by ecological studies and Volume 2 illustrates this approach. For example, major sections are concerned with diet and adaptations for feeding, how the animals budget their time, and the relationship between ecology and mating systems. Primatology conferences are generally held in Europe or N. America, where there are no wild species. The Nairobi conference therefore provided an opportunity to discuss habitat and species conservation in a continent where the competing social, economic, and political forces are very real. There are some useful paperson this topic. Prompted by the issue of animal welfare and by a belief that traditional methods are

James Lick’s Monument. The Saga of Captain Richard Floyd and the Building of theLickObservatory. ByHelen Wright. Pp. 231. Cambridge University Press, 1987. f25.00 ($32.50).

The American multi-millionaire JamesLick is now remembered, as he would have wished. for founding the Lick Observatory which, with its giant 36-inch (914 mm) refractor, was for a time the largest telescope in the world. Finally commissioned in 1888, it was a monument to late 19th century precision engineering and optical technology, and broke new ground as the first of the modern mountaintop observatories. The Observatory’s first director was Edward Holden, a competent astronomer with unfortunate delusions of grandeur. His false claims to have designed and had charge of the construction the Observatory are sometimes still believed, so it is a pleasure to welcome this excellent book which unequivocally puts the record straight. To achieve this, Helen Wright has consulted a host of original sources, and has thus managed to give us the whole saga of Richard Floyd, whose selfless endeavours turned James Lick’s dream into reality. As always, she tells her story well, the characters come to life, and the struggles of pioneering a vast new astronomical enterprise come over very well indeed. With its wealth of information, this should add materially to the literature about those great American telescopes which have so helped astronomical research. Colin Ronan Lancastrian Chemist. The Early Years of Sir Edward Frankland. By Co/in A. Russell. Pp. 187. Open University Press, Milton Keynes. 1986. f30.00.

Frankland, born in humble circumstances in 1825, died in 1899 as a leading figure of Victorian science. He founded organometal163

lit chemistry and ‘classical’ valency theory, and was an authority on river pollution and water supply. He held many important positions, including those of President of the Chemical Society and founder President of the Institute of Chemistry. And yet, compared with many Victorian scientists, he is little known today. Professor Russell began researching Frankland when he taught chemistry at Harris College, Preston Lancashire (now Polytechnic), about ten miles from Frankland’s birthplace, Garstang. The present volume could have been written only by someone with an intimate knowledge of north Lancashire. It reconstructs, in the context of local history, Frankland’s family background, childhood, schooldays, and years as a pharmacy apprentice. The ‘early years’ end with Frankland’s few months in London, at age 21, learning analytical chemistry. A subsequent volume will deal with his scientific career. Russell has drawn on Frankland’s privately published memoirs, extensive archives held by present members of the Frankland family (not previously accessible to scholars), and many local history sources. He has been able to illuminate considerably the ‘dark secret’ of Frankland’s illegitimate birth and the various influences which combined to produce a distinguished scientist from unpromising beginnings. It is a fascinating story. .I. Shorter Science and Civilisation in China. By Joseph Needham. Volume 5: Chemistry and Chemical Technology; Part 7: Military Technology; The Gunpowder Epic. Pp. xxxiii + 703. Cambridge University Press, 1987. f5o.ooo (sss.50).

Gunpowder is made from potassium nitrate, charcoal, and sulphur. This model study of the innovation and diffusion of a whole technological system shows how such an unlikely mixture came to be exploited. A ninth century alchemical curiosity found military use in lighting the burning oil known as ‘Greek Fire’. It was itself used as a weapon in bombs and in fire lances which were then adapted to emit missiles such as arrows aswell as flames. By tightly fitting the projectile to the barrel, the cannon was born, while exploiting the thrust of the fire lance led to the rocket. How these Chinese achievements came to Europe is painstakingly explored. On a yet broader canvas Needham also draws out the filaments of dependency that connected mediaeval gunpowder technology to the development of later steam and internal combustion engines, and of modern rocketry. These arguments are justified by what Needham himself calls a ‘museum of historical detail’ whose exhibits range from Marco Polo’s possible trip to China to the science fiction origins of 20th century rocketry. Despite its gruesome subject the sheer fun of visiting this superb ‘museum’ will surprise anyone who has not dared approach one of these imposing volumes. R. F. Bud

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Lister Ward. By Martin Goldman. Pp. 167. Adam Hilger, Bristol. 1987. f 12.50.

This book gives an account of life as a patient in the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh seen through the writings of a man and a woman who were patients of Lister, Professor of Clinical Surgery there. William Henley wrote in verse about what he underwent during the treatment of tuberculosis of the foot. Margaret Mathewson was a prolific correspondent who was treated for the results of tuberculosis of the chest. It is convenient to have extracts from these writings available in book form, but the author goes on to attempt to reduce Lister’s reputation in a variety of ways. He suggests, for example, that the carbolic-acid regime was rather less important than popular opinion made it, and he also suggeststhat Lister’s own standards of hygiene in the hospital context were rather poor. My own opinion is that the author is mistaken in what he suggests, because he has not taken proper account of the knowledge and standards which existed at the time Lister began his work. B. Bracegirdle

Horace Darwin’s Shop. A History of the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company 1879-1999. By M. J. G. Cattermole andA. F. Wolfe. Pp. 285. Adam Hilger, Bristol. 1987. f35.00.

A well-known phenomenon in the history of science is the invention of a new instrument opening up vast new areas of study, far beyond those anticipated by the original inventor. But it is not sufficient for a scholar to have a brilliant idea for a new instrument: that idea must be converted into hardware before it can prove its worth, and be commercially available before others can acquire and apply it in their own particular fields. The need in Cambridge in the 1880swas for someone who could build a new instrument on behalf of its inventor - who might himself be quite incapable of working metal. Horace Darwin (the youngest son of Charles Darwin) saw this need, filled it, and prospered. It was a time of rapid growth in technology, and Darwin’s willingness to innovate and manufacture - yet always within a framework of first-class craftsmanship - reaped its just reward when his shop grew into the highlyrespected Cambridge Instrument Company. This book chronicles the growth of the firm over the period 1848-1968. It is divided into two parts: Part I deals with the history of the Company; Part II concentrates upon particular instruments (like temperature recorders and galvanometers) with which its name and reputation were closely linked. It is a story which is closely tied to its period both socially and scientifically: modern scientists press buttons on anonymous oblong boxes whose workings they have no need or wish to understand, and craftsmanship in brass and mahogany has long since passed from the laboratory to the auction room. This book will certainly appeal to the

historian of technology, but is it too much to hope that some of the present generation of physics students will also wish to see how their science evolved not so very long ago? A. A. Mih

The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, Vol. 2,1997-194X Edited by Frederick BurkhardtandSydneySmith. Pp. 603. Cambridge University Press, 7987. f30.00

($37.50). At the beginning of this second volume, Charles Darwin has recently returned from the voyage on the Beagle; in the middle of the book he marries Emma Wedgwood; and by the end they have been living at Down House for 15 months. These were the years when, as his notebooks show, he came to his crucial conclusions about biological evolution, but there is no discussion of natural selection in the letters About half the 400 letters are to or from family or friends, the other half being largely concerned with scientific matters, such as the publications resulting from the voyage of the Beagle, Darwin’s correspondence as Secretary of the Geological Society, and general queries to naturalists. The mixture is quite appealing, and some of the lighthearted and charming letters between Charles and Emma are particularly attractive. In my review of the first volume, I commended the high standards of the transcription and editing, and the excellence of the published texts. These high standards are maintained in Volume 2 - indeed the annotations are more complete than in Volume 1. The peripherals are excellent too, particularly the biographical register, though there are a few trivial errors and omissions: for example, the ‘Table of relationship’ in the end-papers has been usefully revised, and the number of Charles’s aunts and uncles has been increased to four; perhaps a further increase to eight might be made in the next volume. At a time when science is under siege, it is heartening to see the handsome volumes of such a great scholarly edition beginning to extend along the bookshelf. My message to the editorial team is, ‘Congratulations, and please keep up the good work’. Desmond King-Hele The Age of Science. By David Knight. Pp. 25 7. Basil Blackwell, Oxford. 1986. f 77.50.

This work ought to be read by everybody with interests in the history of science. It synthesisesa generation of research that has hitherto been left in esoteric and inchoate form. One reason for the failure of professional historians of 19th century science to synthesise their developing understanding is the magnitude of their subject: contributions to individual disciplines numbered hundreds of thousands of articles and books. Dr Knight has coped by focusing on the style of science in Britain. International distinctions are caught by emphasising the respect for French and then German models held by scientists of the time. Other aspects of style are illustrated by reference to issues as diverse as debates