BOOK REVIEWS 463

The book is extremely well produced, with wide margins which contain many excellent diagrams. In particular there are
numerous structures which emphasize the three-dimensional nature of the subject. However, I did notice that one structure
of tin referred to in the formula index was actually a polymer of sulphur (S,). Bonding and mechanistic models are explained
clearly and co-ordination chemistry is well surveyed. Periodic trends rather than isolated treatments of elements are
emphasized, e.g., the inorganic chemistry of phosphorus is mentioned in various chapters, viz. those on the nitrogen and
oxygen groups, the structures of solids, molecular structure, Bronsted acids and bases, Lewis acids and bases, oxidation
and reduction, hydrogen and its compounds, main group organometallics, and d- and f-block organometallics. Also,
uranium is not mentioned in the general index but some uranium chemistry is scattered here and there in the text. The
terms “d-orbital splitting” and “crystal field theory” are also absent but “ligand field splitting” and “ligand field theory”
are present, along with “frontier orbital energy level” diagrams.
As a general introductory text with a structural bias it certainly succeeds in its interpretative approach.
P. J. Cox

Dictionary of Drugs-Chemical Data, Structures and Bibliographies: J. ELKS and G. R. GANELLIN (eds.), Chapman & Hall,
London, 1989. f675.

This 2-volume work provides a concise up-to-date reference source on structures, physical properties and pharmacological
properties of more than 6000 drugs of current interest. The compilation brings together essential data that are otherwise
difficult to retrieve, and together with additional references allows a rapid access to original data.
The main work is clearly presented in the style of the Dicfionary of Organic Compounds with extensive cross-referenced
indexing. The Structure Index, however, though providing a source of rapid scanning for structural recognition, is
confusingly condensed.
This will be a key source for scientists of many disciplines working with pharmaceuticals as well as for the industry itself.
The editors are to be commended on their labours, but not surprisingly for such a specialized publication the cost is high.
It will be of interest to see whether the high standard of these volumes is to be maintained in subsequent additions.

D. G. DURHAM