BOOK REVIEWS
Periodic Precipitation: A Microcomputer Analysis of
Transport and Reaction Processes in Diffusion Media,
with Software Development. By HEINZ K. HENISCH,
Pergamon Press, New York, 1991. 122 pages. $41.00.
The late Clifton Fadiman, much of whose career was
spent as a professional reviewer of books, once noted that
the ideal reviewer was a reader of maximal surprisability.
This excellent little book will surprise any reader, because
the author has distilled a very long love affair with crystal
formation into a concise collection of the essentials of the
art. What could have become a lengthy and tedious com-
pendium of uncritical reportage has instead taken the form
of a perceptive, one-sitting tour through the theory and
practice of what is known as periodic precipitation. Not
the least accomplishment of the author is his organization
and presentation in appendices of the microcomputer
software--right there, for fred--for all the configurations
in which periodic precipitation occurs.
The software is independent of specific systems. It is so
well developed, in fact, that it could easily be used as part
of a course in computing in chemistry, or indeed experi-
ments could be fashioned around it. The first (roughly)
half of the book is a lucid description of what periodic
precipitation is all about, with careful notice to the reader
An Introduction to Ultrathin Organic Films from Lang-
muir-Blodgett to Serf-Assembly. By ABRAHAMULMAN,
Academic Press, New York, 1991. xxiii + 442. $65.00.
The subject of ultrathin organic films has enjoyed an
explosive development in the past several years, as evi-
denced by the occurrence of the First through Fifth In-
ternational Conferences on Langmuir-Blodgett films in
the decade 1982-1991. This book is an excellent summary
of this work. The titles of the five parts--"Analytical
Tools," "Langmuir-Blodgett Films," "Self-Assembled
Monolayers," "Modeling of Monolayers," and "Appli-
cations of LB and SA Films"--give a good idea of the
book's character. Discussions in depth and full treatment
of experimental details are given. An indication of the
book's thoroughness is provided by the fact that over 1800
references are cited, including a number from 1990. There
is a good subject index, which covers 18 pages, but no
author index. The author, an active worker in the field,
has produced a book which will be of great help to others
involved in the area.
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Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 147, No. 1, November 1991
of the usual pitfalls lying in ambush for the beginner. For
example, Prof. Henisch reminds us all that the "diffusion
constant" is rarely such, but rather is most generally con-
centration and position dependent. Chapter 4, dealing with
precipitate growth and resolution, is for this reviewer the
clearest, simplest resolution of the phenomenology to be
found. Many seasoned experimenters throw their hands
up and quit after interpretation of the first Liesegang ring.
Very, very careful inspection of the format of the book
reveals that it probably was prepared by the author himself
as camera-ready copy of a very high type indeed. This is
today's trend, and is probably a good thing.
Review articles--which this book is not---can offer
hundreds of references in an ostensible effort to be "com-
plete." Prof. Henisch has included only two and one-half
pages of references; the interested reader can, as usual,
proceed from almost any recent one to collect hundreds
for use in research.
A few "typos" exist, trivial in nature and ignorable in
context.
D R . FRANK R. MEEKS
University of Cincinnati
A comparison of Ulman's book with Gareth Roberts'
"Langmuir-Blodgett Films" (Plenum Press, New York,
1990), which appeared about a year before Ulman's, is
inevitable. There are a number of differences. In the first
place, of course, Roberts does not include self-assembled
films in his coverage. Another difference is that Roberts'
book is an edited, multiauthor work, while Ulman is the
sole author. Roberts includes an emphasis on visible spec-
troscopy and films of biomolecules, while Ulman gives
deeper treatment of other analytical tools and includes, as
noted, a section on modeling. There are, however, simi-
larities as well. Both books contain a section on "Appli-
cations," and in both cases it constitutes ~ 15-20% of the
length of the book and includes upward of 400 references.
On balance, I am glad that I have both.
GEORGE L. GAINES, J R .
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY
0021-9797/91 $3.00
Copyright © 1991 by Academic Press, Inc.
All fights of reproduction in any form reserved.