book review: chemistry of organic fluorine compounds ii: a critical review. ed. m. hudlicky & a....

Pestic. Sci. 1998, 53, 263È265

Book Reviews

Chemistry of organic Ñuorine compounds II : A criticalreview. ed. M. Hudlicky & A. E. Pavlath, AmericanChemical Society, Washington DC, 1995, xxi] 1296pp., price US$169.95.ISBN 0-8412-2515-X

To anyone in the Ðeld the name Hudlicky is synony-mous with the bible of the organoÑuorine chemist, T heChemistry of Organic Fluorine Compounds, published in1972. That book contained over 900 pages, and coveredthe literature up to 1971. There was a second edition in1976, which was reprinted though not updated, in 1992.Now Milos Hudlicky has topped his Ðrst book, in col-laboration with Attila Pavlath, with a mammoth 1296-page successor. This book is an update, covering theliterature from 1972 to 1991.

Such a big e†ort needed help, and this time the bookis the product of 44 contributors, with Hudlicky andPavlath as the editors, and authors of three chapters.The range of topics is similar, starting with a very usefulchapter surveying the literature with references to over160 monographs and key references and reviews, fol-lowed by a short chapter surveying Ñuorinating agents.The body of the book is then taken up with two mainsections, each one split into short chapters written bythe various contributors. The Ðrst main section, onmethods of introducing Ñuorine into organic molecules,contains 11 chapters, with topics such as addition ofÑuorine, and electrophilic Ñuorination. The second mainsection, on reactions of organic Ñuorine compounds,contains 23 chapters on topics such as reduction, oxida-tion or arylation. There are then four shorter chapterson the properties, analysis and applications of Ñuori-nated compounds, and their use as reagents.

Since the original edition there has been a hugeincrease in literature on Ñuorine chemistry, and the newedition has taken this into account. For example thereactions of Ñuoro-organometallic derivatives, whichoccupied 54 pages in the Ðrst edition, have now expand-ed to 83 pages. Similarly, methods for introducing Ñuo-rine into molecules occupied 124 pages in the Ðrstedition, but take up 230 in the new edition. It is noteasy to assess how well such a large volume has dealtwith this increased literature, but the coverage of thechapters does seem to be very thorough, and they have

been written so that reference does not have to madeback to the Ðrst edition. Another di†erence is that theÐrst edition was titled as a laboratory manual, with 54pages detailing 205 experimental procedures. The newversion contains only 18 experimental procedures, ofnew reactions from the intervening period.

The book is copiously referenced, and a nice touch isthat at the bottom of each page is given the pagenumber locating the references on that page. However,a minor irritation with the layout is that the page head-ings refer to main sections, rather than individual chap-ters, making it difficult to locate a chapter by browsing.It is also a pity that the applications of Ñuorinated com-pounds are so cursorily dealt with in the Ðnal chapters.For example there is barely one page of text dealingwith agrochemicals, which is an area where Ñuorine hashad a great impact.

However, there is no doubt that this is an excellentbook, and that considering its length and coverage it isgood value for money. It will make a valuable additionto the bookshelves, though at $169 more probably tothose of the library rather than the individual.

P. J. Crowley

Pesticides in the hydrologic systemÈpesticides in theatmosphere : Distribution, trends and governing factors.Michael S. Majewski & Paul D. Capel, Ann ArborPress Inc., Chelsea, Michigan, 1995, 214 pp., priceUK£36.95ISBN 1-57504-004-2

This book is one from the series entitled “Pesticides inthe Hydrologic SystemÏ, a series which reviews andanalyses current knowledge and understanding of pesti-cides in the water resources of the United States.

This particular volume, entitled “Pesticides in theAtmosphereÏ, is a comprehensive review of most of theexisting literature covering the occurrence and distribu-tion of pesticides in the atmosphere of the US andadjoining Canadian Provinces. In undertaking thereview, the authors have been particularly successful inthe collation and subsequent analysis of the informationavailable from numerous studies across a wide range of

263Pestic. Sci. 0031-613X/98/$17.50 1998 SCI. Printed in Great Britain(