book reviews Editor: W. F. KIEFFER

College of Woosler

Wooster, Ohio

Biochemistry: A Brief Course

Abraham Mamr and Benjamin Harroul, both of City University of New York. W. B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, 1968. 445 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 24cm. $9.

One is pleasantly surprised an reading this lstest edition of a book which mrny in the field will recognize has been around through several prior versions. The letest edition appears to he a. completely new hook and cannot even he compared with the previous offerings by these authors. It seems geared to the changing audience for introduct,ory biochemistry and lacks much of the more descript,ive physiological chemist,ry oft,en found in larger works. This book appears admirably snited t,o t,he sophomore or jnnior with some back- ponnd in organic chemistry.

The aothors have present,ed intradrm- tory biochemistry in a sequence which fits uuefully following int,roductory or- ganic chemistry since it, allows an inst,rnc- tor a logical progression from purely organic chemistry t,o the chemistry of molecules of biological importance and finally to t,he chemistry of metabolic processes. An important step in this sequence is the introduction early (Chap- ter 1) in the book of the grass anatomy of a cell which is highly wefnl for students with a physical science background. All too often introductory biochemistry text h o o k neglect to focus the students at,ten- t,ion to t,he fact that the science has de- veloped as a result of man's attempt t,o nn- derst,and the mysteries of cellolar stnlc- t,we and fnnction. Mazur and Harrow have, however, started their book with a discussion of cellular organization which

should help orient the student with s. purely chemical background.

The hook moves on to the chemistry of proteins and emphasizes the properties of proteins which are pnrely a part of their being large molecules. The student is left with no doubt about the higher orders of structure of proteins although the dif- ference between secondary and tertiary structure of proteins is not clearly spelled out,. A logical follow up to the discnssion of protein structure is a discussion of biological catalysis which is treated a t s n adequately introductory level.

Following these chapters the hook moves on to a. discussion of the chemistry and structure of nucleie acids and this to- gether with the chapters on nuoleic acid metabolism and protein synthesis make an excellent unit. The student is exposed to enough basic nucleic acid chemistry he- fore the discussion of nucleic acid func- tion so that again he can gain an apprecia- tion of properties of nncleic acids which result from their size and particular stroc- t u r d features.

The chapter on hiological oxidation which incidently includes hiological energy generation and transfer, precedes the d e tailed discussion of carbohydrate chem- istry and metaholism. I t is logically pre- sented and gives a, good stepping off point for intermediary metabolism. It was the authors' choice to present met* halic regulatory mechanisms in the chapter dealing with lipid metabolism. I t is this reviewer's conviction that these important concepts should be included with the dis- cussion of the metabolic pathwsys more often considered as part of the energy process.

As is often the case with new hooks, this one is not free from error missed inproafing. Most of these will easily he caught by students, none in our use of the book have caused serious concern. All in all this

- Reviewed in this lssue

Abraham Mazur and Benjamin Harrow, Biochemistry: A Brief Course

Ernest Baldwin, Dynamic Aspects of Biochemistry

J. W. Richards, Interpretation of Technical Data

Ruth A. Walker and Helen Johnston, The Language of Chemistry. Reading, Writing, and Understanding Equations

Ocorqs W . IV~irzfart, Pyrotechnics I

version of the hook is a useful text for in- troductory biochemistry, partienlady for sludents with a physial science baek- eround.

ROBERTS A. SMITH University of Califomin

Los Angela

Dynamic Aspects of Biochemistry

Ernest Baldwin, University College in the University of London. 5t,h ed. University Printing House, Cambridge, October 1967. xiv + 466 pp. Figs. and tables. 16 X 23.5 cm. $9.50.

"Dynamic Aspects of Biochemistry" was first published twenty-one years ago. The latest edition, the fifth, is an ex- emplary t,ext-hook for the serious young student of biology who seeks a. concise treatment of the chemical basis for meta- bolic pathways.

As in the previous editions, the hook consists of two parts, Enzymes and Metah- olism. The first three chapters deal with the nature of enzymatic catalysis and biological energetics. The succeeding five chapters in this section treat the general types of enzymes, namely the hydralases, transferases, lyases and isamerases, oxi- dases, and dehydrogenase systems. I n this section, Professor Baldwin has used good judgment with the difficult matter of enzyme nomenclature, using acceptable trivial nomenclature along with synonyms when required.

As in the previous editions, the section on metabolism begins with a chapter on biochemical methodology. The sueceed- ing parts deal successively with the metnb- o h m of the amino acids, nucleatides, carbohydrates, and fats. Included in the second part of the hook also is a ompre- hensive discussion of the eitrate cycle with emphesis on its relevance to energy pro- duetion in aerobic systems. One major deletion in the current edition is the c h a p ter an Special Aspects of Nitrogen Metah- alism, which treated such metaholifes as quaternary nitrogencompounds, theimidsi zole bases, and taurine. Discussion of these compounds has been incorporated into the other chapters. Unfortunately, the lstest edition, like the Fourth, has no bibliography.

The major revisions in the letest edition are the treatment of onecarbon metab- olism, t,he nucleatides and nucleic acids, and lipid metabolism. One minor error in the discussions of tetrahydrafolate deriva- tives on page 109 is the assignment of the CH, of methyl-tetrshydrofolie acid to the number 10 N rather than to the number 5 N. There is also the incorrect implicatiqn that betaines can be derived in mammalian systems from glycine by successive meth- ylations of glycine. The new section on the relationshi~s between nucleic acids and protein synthesis, although only six pages

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548 / Journal o f Chemical Education

book reviews in length, is clearly presented and will he usefd to the beginning student wishing an orientation with the field. The summary of purine synthesis outlined in Fig. 55, p. 283, has several errors which might mis- lend the slodent. An one example, step (3) shows n reaction involving ATP, tetrahydrofolate, and formate, rrdher than ,5,lO-methenyl-tetrahydrofolate. Snch a farmulxtion might suggest that one enzyme system catdyaes two unrelated reactions. I t also would have been well to indicate the reversihility of several of t,he steps and to mentinn the significance of ATP being converted to AT)P and Pi in these synthetic reactions.

The last chnpier of thc hook, on the mc- tabolism of fats, is a good survey of both over-all metabolic pathways and mechrt- nismaof individual reactions. Regretfdly, Professor Bnldwin has chosen not to d i - cuss i.he hiosynthesis of cholesterol, I he de- lineation of which is one of the scientific trinmphs of our age. With his lalenl for summarizing complicated renction se- quences in a very h~cid style, i t ran be hoped that the s~ltlror will treat. this topic in his next edition.

The number of text-books in hiochemis- t,ry has increased a t the predicted rate dming the past decade, and many books in physiology and cell biology also have sec- t,ions which can be e d e d "biochemistry." The choice of such books for the beginning student must depend in large measure on

the personal prejudices and pedagogical methods of t,he teacher. Professor Bald- win's book st,ill ranks among the bet,ter introductory texts because of its overall evidence of scholarship.

W. R. FRISELL School qf Medicme

Uniuelsill, of Colorado Denver

The Language of Chemistry. Reading. Writing, and Understanding Equations

Ruth A . Walker and Helen Johnslon, both of Hunter College of the City University of New York. Prentice- Hall, Ine., Endewnod Cliffs, New Jersey, 1967.. x + 192 pp. Figs. and tables. 15 X 23 cm. Paperbormd. $2.95.

The "Language of Chemistry" is a monograph on t,he reading, writing, and understanding of the chemical eqmt,ion. I t cont,ains a. brief int,rodnct,ion to the naming of ions and compounds. The ideal of predicting the possible products of a reaction, i f such occur, is set up early in this work, and the balancing of such a chemical statement into whst is known as a chemical equation is soon imdertaken.

The gradient of difficnlty for the student. ascends thro~rghont the work. One is carried throogh the n s ~ ~ s l metathesis, nroton exhanee. and redox reactions in .. , most of their logicnlly organized stthdivi- sions and seqnences. Chemical eqnilib-

rinm and the corresponding driving force of a reaction appear. Sections are for- ther given to Lewis Acids and Bases and to the Ligand Field Theory. The chemis- try is generally, though not always, aqneous. The chemistry of organic com- pomds and Ligand Field Theory are given representative treatment.

The method imed for any pariic~dar topic is: first, to explain the chemical principles involved; second, to work out, illnstrative problems according to these prinriples: and third to provide a collec- tion of exercise;, whose answers are to be found in the appendix. At, times the eu- errises deal with several of the previous seclions. Theory often appears as x sel. of statements to he mderstood, such ns the theory of redox reactions.

The data. of this hook consist largely of tablea, such as Tahle 6-5, Standard Elec- trode Potentials in Acidic Aqueaos SOIL!- tians, abbreviated from Latimer to ahout, twenty-one items. There are some excur- sions into data, related to theory, such as in Tahle 7-1, the Periodicity of Pituling's Elect~.onegativities. Now and then ad- vice is given to consult t,he literatnre, for which citation is given.

Some instn~ct,ors might call this prob- lem book. Although i t contains almost one hundred and fifty of various subdivision and complexity, it. seems to go deeper into theory than the m n of the mill problem hook and, by the same token, to omit many of the fine points of problem teaching even within the scope of its snb- ject matter. The hook carries a modicum

A620 / Journal of Chemical Education