chemical reaction included. I t is really too spectacular to omit.
Although the structure of the lecture is fairly formal, the speaker
Then, the activity in which a cork is propelled from a bottle in
whieh carbon dioxide is being generated is called Carhon Dioxide
Rocket Launch (#2, Vol. 1, p 9). The analogy is not correct. This is
a carbon dioxide cannon. Arocket moves by expelling material car-
ried in the racket; an example would be to fill a balloon with carb-
on dioxide, release the neck, and watch it fly about. Finally, and I
am really nit-picking, the prefatory material and appendices
ought to follow the same format in both volumes.
I have no hesitation in recommending this set to any elementary
or high school science teacher who wants to enliven the course
with instructive as well a s interesting activities. Even the college
teacher might profit from it.
R. F. Trimble
Southern Illinois University
Carbondale, IL62901
Concepts and Models of Inorganic Chemistry, Third
Edition
Bodie Douglas, Darl McDaniel, and John Alexander. Wiley: New
York, NY, 1994. xviii + 993 pp. Figs. and tables. 19.8 x 24.2 cm.
See https://pubs.acs.org/sharingguidelines for options on how to legitimately share published articles.
$75.95.
This edition continues the pattern of an excellent balance of
theorrtir and deseript~vrmatenal w t h a thuruug.h integration of
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thelatter i n ~ u t h e f o r n ~Thc
r . length of the hook mcansthat rithcr
a two-term course is required or the instructor must make a selec-
tion of topics for a one-semester course. The authors have been
sympathe~t~c tu thr lattrr possibility hy envcrmg topics in progres-
s i v r depth. 'lhus, the inrt~uctormay r h m e nut tu pursue, say all
chem~ralamlwatron* bf svmmetrv ~ C h a o i r r3,. ~ H u rit is llkelv
that once s'tarted, better &dents will press on using their awh
time. The material grabs you.) This edition has been reorganized
extensively into six parts: Basic Concepts, Bonding and Structure,
Chemical Reactions, Coordination Chemistry, Organametallic
Chemistry, and Selected Topics. General references and problems
follow each chapter. A third edition of the companion book Prob-
lems for Inorganic Chemistry is available. Those who valued the
clarity of the writing and the creativity of the presentation in pre-
vious editions will be even happier with this edition. Those who
missed the previous edition should consider using this one.
Dean F. Martin
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620
Reflections on Symmetry in Chemistry.. .and
Elsewhere
Edgar Heilbronner and Jack. D. Dunitz. VCH: New York, NY,
1993. 154 pp. Illustrations.
Along day over, you hurriedly finish off the last morsels of sup-
per and scurry out to the local a r t museum. Tonight, by special
invitation, a famous scientist will speak about symmetry in
chemistry and elsewhere. The hall brims with high expectations
fostered hv tremendous nreviews based on ~ r e v i o u seneaee-
ments. As the lights dim into the haze of post-prandial narcosis,
the entertainment begins.
The speaker, distinctly aware of the demographics of his audi-
ence yet unmistakably shackled to the tenets ofhis profession, be-
gins to slalom his way down the slopes of symmetry between art
and science. He leans dissymmetrically to the latter. The task, ad-
mittedly a precarious one, seduces him to gloss over some of his
expertise in order to deepen a connection "elsewhere." Rapidly,
however, he succumbs to his science and drops all but the literary
allusion to the arts. His mastery of the science is impressive.
Drifting mellifluously, you find yourself engulfed in a contiguous
array ofanecdotes and aphorisms. Some strike a familiar chard kg.,
the cigar game from Henry Dudney'shusements in Mathematics
and the tiling problem from Martin Gardener's Aha series), others
add insight (e.g., the discussion of the historical development of
structural chemistry and the motivation behind Alice), and still oth-
ers create intrigue with their indecipherability. As confident as you
are about precisely how each idiosyncratic story affects you, you
know equally well that this kaleidoscopic colloquium must generate
a distinctly different motif of daisies and daggers for your neighbor.
rambles in a '"nomesy" kind of common parlance. This casual style
causes only a few aberrations. A dide appears to show the principle
ofbalanced weights about aleverand fulcrum. There is a boarddeco-
rated with solid and dotted lines. Cutting along the solids gives three
pieces that hang in balance, cutting along the dotteds lets two pieces
fall to the ground. The speaker describes, "The b a r d is now sawn
along the dotted lines . . ." In a later slide the speaker refers to the
existence of two structures as meso and different, but the slide de-
picts the same structure twice in each of two different schematic
forms. To quantify symmetry the speaker declares that the '"greater
the number of symmetryoperations possessed by an object, the more
symmetrical it is," and '8eauty = symmetry x constant." This forces
you to question whether a hospital corridor is architecturally more
beautiful than a spiral staircase.
Minor glitches of speech can barely distract your attention from
the slides. Indeed, the exquisite quality ofthe speaker's slides makes
you a believer in the power of graphic arts. These pictures well ex-
ceed the proverbial 1000-wordallotment. Surely the bulk ofthe mes-
sage can be found in these wonderfully sumptuous images.
After the talk they are selling copies of the lecture, expanded
and fully illustrated in book form: Reflections on Symmetry in
Chemistry and . . . Elsewhere. The price causes you to consider
waiting for the video, but finally you opt for a copy. Who knows,
you might add some of this to tomorrow morning's lecture.
Back a t home, you leaf through the book while you prepare
your own lecture nates. The baok faithfully brings back the feel
of t h e seminar. The citations a r e scant, but no matter-your
shelves are replete with t h e scholarly books from which one
learns the fundamentals of symmetry. With some background
wark and same personal reflection you assemble a lecture of
substance that should inspire young and old alike. Before retir-
ing for the evening, you briefly contemplate where in the office
to keep this new library acquisition. But instead, you walk out
to the living room, slip the baok gently on t h e coffee table, snuff
the light, and go peacefully to bed,
Jay S. Siegel
University of California at San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093
Chemistry Imagined: Reflections on Science
RoaldHoffmann and Vivian Torrence. Smithsonian institution
Press: Washington, DC, and London, England, 1993. Figs.. dia-
grams. photographs, and 30 color plates. 168 pp. 20.0 x 25.2
cm $19.95.
- ~ .~~ ~~.~
In this uniaue amaleam of art. science. and literature. 1981 Nobel
laweate rhem~rtand preirnter of the PBS television couwr, "The
~~~~
World of Chemistry," Ruald Huffmann, and amst Vwxm Flang lhr-
rence hnw eollahoratrd to pmduer n cohcwnt srt ofimages 30 full-
page, full-color collages created during the period 1989-1991 by
Torrence) and matchingessays-factual or scientific, philosophical or
historical-x poems (Hoflinm's contributions range in length from
two to five pages and include 57 line drawings) evoked bv these im-
ages. Alth&& such a venture is unusual tad& the histo"ca1 prece-
dent for this activity can be found in Andrea Alciato's Emhlemata
Flumen Abundans, a collection of symbolic pictures and explications.
Published in Renaissance Italy (15.311, this Latin wark was followed
by hundreds of so-called "emblem bwks."
Evolving from Hoffmann and Torrenee's meeting i n 1986 a t the
Djerassi Foundation, "Chemistry Imagined" has as its subject "the
magic of chemistry-its historical roots, the richness of activities of
modem chemistry, the ways of knowing of this central science."
However, it is not only a trade book but also a traveling exhibition,
whieh, since its opening in November 1991 a t the Des Moines A r t
Center, has appeared a t the Purdue University Galleries, Indiana
University's Fine Arts Gallery, Augusta College, the New York
Academy of Sciences, the Douglas Drake Gallery, the Beckman
Center far the History of Chemistry, the National Academy of Sci-
ences, the National Institutes of Health, and Cornell University's
Herbert F. Johnson Museum ofArt.
Through its pairing of different media, the baok presents a n in-
sightful and innovative look a t the creativity of chemistrv and re-
v& that chemistry, like art, is a creative p ~ &a fact~ ~well
, known
to scientists but not sufficiently appreciated by the general public,
for whom the volume is intended. Collaee. the medium introduced in
the 1910's by Picasso and Braque and a&ted hy lbrrence, breaks up
Volume 71 Number 9 September 1994 A239