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Metabolic integrations
504
BOOK REVIEWS
VOL. 14
(1954)
.4 hnormal and Pathological Plant Growth, Brookhaven Symposia in Biology No. 6. Office of Technical Services, Department of Commerce, Washington 1954, 303 pp., $ 2.1o. The staff of the Biology D e p a r t m e n t of the Brookhaven National L a b o r a t o r y deserve to be congratulated b o t h for the subject t h e y chose to discuss at ttle s y m p o s i u m held in A u g u s t r953 and for the volume in which the s y m p o s i m n is reported. One of their purposes was to d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t the subject a b o u n d s in fascinating p r o b l e m s t h a t can profitably be studied; this is so clearly achieved t h a t the organisers of the s y m p o s i u m will not be to blame should t h e y fail to achiew; their second purpose of attracting more workers to the subject. The fifteen papers printed in full are b y authoritative workers with varied experiences and techniques; m a n y are profusely illustrated and have sizeable bibliographies. The papers together not only s u m m a r i s e c u r r e n t knowledge on the causes and t y p e s of a b n o r m a l growth, b u t also provide a guide to the literature, particularly valuable for a subject t h a t has its original papers scattered over an extraordinarily wide range of journals. The printed discussion after each paper is mainly useful b y indicating w h a t points are controversial. It does not filI m a n y pages, b u t might with a d v a n t a g e have been more severely edited. 'l'o p r i n t question and answer when the answer is " I do not remember", is irritating r a t h e r t h a n helpful. Perhaps the greatest cause for congratulations, in days when the high cost of books t h r e a t e n s to prohibit book-owning, is t h a t so m u c h information should be offered so a t t r a c t i v e l y at such a m o d e s t price. F. C. BAWDEN (Harpenden)
Metabolic Integrations, by P. {;. WAYSON, 12 pp., W. Heifer & Soils Ltd, Cambridge, 1954. Price 4 sh. It is n o t a bad idea to assemble tbc main metabolic p a t h w a y s in eight c h a r t s for the s t u d e n t s ' benefit. There is only a danger, as has also been pointed o u t b y Prof. BALDWIN in his preface, t h a t in using this booklet a t e n d e n c y m a y arise a m o n g the s t u d e n t s to lose sight of the e x p e r i m e n t a l facts u p o n which these recapitulations are based. W h e n the teacher is aware of this, however, WATSON'S d i a g r a m s will be of great use to the s t u d e n t for obtaining a s u r v e y of metabolism. Unf o r t u n a t e l y the designs have n o t been corrected with sufficient care, so several errors and inaccuracies are still present. This is a d r a w b a c k for a book t h a t has primarily been w r i t t e n for students. H. G. K. WESTENBRINK (Utrecht)
Biochemistry and Physiology o/ Nutrition, edited by GEOFFREY BOURNE AND GEORGE K I D D E R ; Vol. I: xiii + 569 pp., price $13,oo; Vol. II: xi + 641 pp., price $15,oo; Academic Press Inc., New York, 1953.
W.
I n their Preface to this book ttle E d i t o r s write : " T h i s treatise was u n d e r t a k e n to gather t o g e t h e r in one work the m o s t salient segments of the v a s t a m o u n t of research dealing with the field of nutrition. I t was w r i t t e n by specialists and is directed to all workers dealing with p r o b l e m s of metabolism as well as the nutritionist, for the science of n u t r i t i o n has become to e n c o m p a s s metabolic reactions as well as r a w materials". I n the r e v i e w e r ' s opinion the editors have merged too great a field of science under the heading " N u t r i t i o n " . This is unpractical for scientific, didactical, and - - f r o m the b u y e r ' s point of v i e w - - p e c u n i a r y reasons. Several c h a p t e r s are of the level of a c o m m o n t e x t b o o k of biochemistry, others only give a very e l e m e n t a r y introduction to the science of nutrition, while still others are highly specialized and detailed. However, unequilibrated as this w o r k m a y be it contains several c h a p t e r s which are w o r t h y of the highest praise. As a c o u n t e r b a l a n c e to the reviewer's critical a t t i t u d e to the h y b r i d character of the book he would like to m e n t i o n in the first place excellent c h a p t e r s b y the Editors themselves, viz. " S t r u c t u r a l Changes in V i t a m i n Deficiency" b y BOURNE, and " T h e N u t r i t i o n of I n v e r t e b r a t e Animals" b y KIDDER. F u r t h e r the a t t e n t i o n of specialists is to be called in particular to the following chapters: " T h e Biosynthesis of P r o t e i n s " b y HENRY BORSOOK AND CLARA g. DEASY, " V i t a m i n s and H e m a t o p o i e s i s " b y T. H. JuKES, " V i t a m i n C" b y B. B. LLOYD AND H. M. SINCLAIR, " T h e R e s p i r a t o r y E n z y m e s " b y B. L. HORECKER AND A. KORNBERG, and " C o e n z y m e s " b y G. DAVID NOVELLI AND MORRIS SOODAK. H. G. K. WESTENBRINK (Utrecht)
BOOK REVIEWS
VOL. 14
(1954)
.4 hnormal and Pathological Plant Growth, Brookhaven Symposia in Biology No. 6. Office of Technical Services, Department of Commerce, Washington 1954, 303 pp., $ 2.1o. The staff of the Biology D e p a r t m e n t of the Brookhaven National L a b o r a t o r y deserve to be congratulated b o t h for the subject t h e y chose to discuss at ttle s y m p o s i u m held in A u g u s t r953 and for the volume in which the s y m p o s i m n is reported. One of their purposes was to d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t the subject a b o u n d s in fascinating p r o b l e m s t h a t can profitably be studied; this is so clearly achieved t h a t the organisers of the s y m p o s i u m will not be to blame should t h e y fail to achiew; their second purpose of attracting more workers to the subject. The fifteen papers printed in full are b y authoritative workers with varied experiences and techniques; m a n y are profusely illustrated and have sizeable bibliographies. The papers together not only s u m m a r i s e c u r r e n t knowledge on the causes and t y p e s of a b n o r m a l growth, b u t also provide a guide to the literature, particularly valuable for a subject t h a t has its original papers scattered over an extraordinarily wide range of journals. The printed discussion after each paper is mainly useful b y indicating w h a t points are controversial. It does not filI m a n y pages, b u t might with a d v a n t a g e have been more severely edited. 'l'o p r i n t question and answer when the answer is " I do not remember", is irritating r a t h e r t h a n helpful. Perhaps the greatest cause for congratulations, in days when the high cost of books t h r e a t e n s to prohibit book-owning, is t h a t so m u c h information should be offered so a t t r a c t i v e l y at such a m o d e s t price. F. C. BAWDEN (Harpenden)
Metabolic Integrations, by P. {;. WAYSON, 12 pp., W. Heifer & Soils Ltd, Cambridge, 1954. Price 4 sh. It is n o t a bad idea to assemble tbc main metabolic p a t h w a y s in eight c h a r t s for the s t u d e n t s ' benefit. There is only a danger, as has also been pointed o u t b y Prof. BALDWIN in his preface, t h a t in using this booklet a t e n d e n c y m a y arise a m o n g the s t u d e n t s to lose sight of the e x p e r i m e n t a l facts u p o n which these recapitulations are based. W h e n the teacher is aware of this, however, WATSON'S d i a g r a m s will be of great use to the s t u d e n t for obtaining a s u r v e y of metabolism. Unf o r t u n a t e l y the designs have n o t been corrected with sufficient care, so several errors and inaccuracies are still present. This is a d r a w b a c k for a book t h a t has primarily been w r i t t e n for students. H. G. K. WESTENBRINK (Utrecht)
Biochemistry and Physiology o/ Nutrition, edited by GEOFFREY BOURNE AND GEORGE K I D D E R ; Vol. I: xiii + 569 pp., price $13,oo; Vol. II: xi + 641 pp., price $15,oo; Academic Press Inc., New York, 1953.
W.
I n their Preface to this book ttle E d i t o r s write : " T h i s treatise was u n d e r t a k e n to gather t o g e t h e r in one work the m o s t salient segments of the v a s t a m o u n t of research dealing with the field of nutrition. I t was w r i t t e n by specialists and is directed to all workers dealing with p r o b l e m s of metabolism as well as the nutritionist, for the science of n u t r i t i o n has become to e n c o m p a s s metabolic reactions as well as r a w materials". I n the r e v i e w e r ' s opinion the editors have merged too great a field of science under the heading " N u t r i t i o n " . This is unpractical for scientific, didactical, and - - f r o m the b u y e r ' s point of v i e w - - p e c u n i a r y reasons. Several c h a p t e r s are of the level of a c o m m o n t e x t b o o k of biochemistry, others only give a very e l e m e n t a r y introduction to the science of nutrition, while still others are highly specialized and detailed. However, unequilibrated as this w o r k m a y be it contains several c h a p t e r s which are w o r t h y of the highest praise. As a c o u n t e r b a l a n c e to the reviewer's critical a t t i t u d e to the h y b r i d character of the book he would like to m e n t i o n in the first place excellent c h a p t e r s b y the Editors themselves, viz. " S t r u c t u r a l Changes in V i t a m i n Deficiency" b y BOURNE, and " T h e N u t r i t i o n of I n v e r t e b r a t e Animals" b y KIDDER. F u r t h e r the a t t e n t i o n of specialists is to be called in particular to the following chapters: " T h e Biosynthesis of P r o t e i n s " b y HENRY BORSOOK AND CLARA g. DEASY, " V i t a m i n s and H e m a t o p o i e s i s " b y T. H. JuKES, " V i t a m i n C" b y B. B. LLOYD AND H. M. SINCLAIR, " T h e R e s p i r a t o r y E n z y m e s " b y B. L. HORECKER AND A. KORNBERG, and " C o e n z y m e s " b y G. DAVID NOVELLI AND MORRIS SOODAK. H. G. K. WESTENBRINK (Utrecht)