investigations of steric control involving car- The aim of the author has been to inter- seeds comprise a further
comprise a further important section of
banionoid intermediates (1955-1972). Char-
acteristically no mention is made by Cram of
the very serious illness which he suffered and
defeated in the early 1970s. Off to hospital
he went with large boxes of CPK models and
possibly a memory of the remark made by
Frederick Hawthorne in 1969 (p. 52). He
returned to his laboratory with a challenging
catalogue of macrocyclic compounds await-
ing total synthesis. His graduate students
were not interested so he persuaded his
postdoctoral fellows to make a truly remark-
able range of compounds which were clas-
sified as cryptands, hemispherands, corands,
podands, cryptaspherands, cavitands, career-
ands, etc. Thus the principles of host-guest
complexation, pre-organisation, and chiral
molecular recognition were established. This
remarkable story of molecular design led to
the invention of a whole range of new forms
of matter and the identification of new che-
mical phenomena. Donald Cram admits his
surprise at some of these discoveries, but his
most important revelation is bow his designs
masterminded his experimental discoveries.
Now Cram and others are engaged in the
logical design and the total synthesis of en-
zyme mimics - an appealing development
from Emil Fischer's lock-and-key analogy for
enzyme-substrate interaction.
W. D. Ollis
Polymer Solutions. By Hiroshi Fujita. Pp.
370. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 1990.
Paperback US $146.25, Dfl 285.00.
Certain publications stand out as landmarks
in the development of a subject. Flory's
Principles of Polymer Chemistry, published
in 1953, brought together much of the basic
theory and experimental information on the
topic of thermodynamics of polymer solu-
tions. In 1971 Yamakawa published his now
classic book on Modern Theory of Polymer
Solutions. Yamakawa summarized and dis-
cussed in a scholarly fashion most of the
important contributions made to polymer
solutions up to the end of the 1960s. Fujita's
Polymer Solutions I am sure will form
another landmark in the publications on
polymer solutions.
The book is divided into two parts; dilute
solution and concentrated solution. As the
author clearly acknowledges, the book is not
intended to be a detailed text or reference
book for specialists. It is, however, a most
readable collection of the ideas generated in
the area of polymer solutions over the period
since 1970 and as such is likely to be referred
to extensively by workers in this field. While
it is possible to criticise the text in that it does
omit areas of the literature and focuses on
certain persons' work at the expense of
others, it does cover most of the major topics
in this area in a well balanced and authorita-
tive manner. The first part is split into the
following chapters: some fundamentals, pa-
rameter theory, renormalisation group
theory, some recent topics, and stiff chains.
Part two: basic concepts, semidilute solution,
polymer self-diffusion, phase equilibria, and
some other topics.
98
pret and translate some of the sophisticated
concepts invoked by physicists into language
intelligible to the general polymer physical
chemist. This objective has been admirably
achieved and the book contains a good ba-
lance between theory and experiment. I can
strongly recommend this publication to all
those seriously interested in understanding
the properties of polymer solutions.
R. A. Pethrick
Bioactive Compounds From Plants. Ciba
Foundation Symposium 154. Pp. 242.
Wiley-lnterscience, Chichester. 1990.
£35.95.
People outside a small circle of plant
biochemists are beginning to realise what a
bewildering variety of chemical factories we
are surrounded by and what great benefits
can be derived from some of the chemicals.
A select band of 30 participants met in
Thailand to discuss plant constitutents hav-
ing biological activities outside the parent
plants. The fruits of this discussion have been
preserved for those of us not privileged to be
present in the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel,
Bangkok, in this most useful review volume.
The price for quite a modest book is equally
exotic, which means few individuals will buy
it for themselves but rely on libraries, or wait
for it to be remaindered (not very likely).
It includes 14 papers tracing the progress
from the original selection of the species for
study through to the finer details of chemical
analysis. There are even papers on culturing
and biotransforming plant tissues to suit our
pharmacological needs. In two papers some
thought is given to the other side of the coin,
the function of bioactive substances in the
parent plants themselves. With plant species
being lost at an alarming rate this is a well-
presented book, to make everyone think.
T. Reynolds
Plant Anatomy. 4th Edn, By A. Fahn. Pp.
588. Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1990.
Hardback £57.50, US $99.00; paperback
£24.95, US $49.95.
This updated version of the 1982 third edi-
tion provides 532 pages of detailed descrip-
tion and selected diagrams with light and
electron micrographs to illustrate the salient
features of cell, tissue, and organ structures.
Chapters on organelles and cellular com-
ponents provide comprehensive information
including details of wall structure in different
cell types. The meristems of lower and high-
er plants and the long chapter on epidermis
are valuable sections. Information on secre-
tory ducts, and especially laticifers, is some-
what constrained considering the detailed
information now available from research on
latex in rubber trees.
Cell organization and interrelationships
are considered in full for stem, leaf, and
root. The formation of secondary tissues
during the continued enlargement of the
plant body receives major coverage - 100
pages. The anatomy of flowers, fruits, and
121 pages.
This new volume is a major source of
reference for plant scientists in all fields. It is
easy to read though, sadly, certain light
micrographs (though not electron micro-
graphs) have suffered in reproduction, so do
not match or extend the understanding of the
•terzt.
The enlarged glossary of terms, the well
over 500 new literature citations, and the
ample, well compiled subject and author
indexes ensure that this Plant Anatomy con-
tinues to hold a secure place on our private
and institutional library shelves.
Daphne J. Osborne
Trophic Relationships in the Marine
Environment, Proceedings of the 24th
European Marine Symposium. Edited by
Margaret Barnes and R. N. Gibson. Pp.
650. Aberdeen University Press. 1990.
£65.00.
The European Marine Biology Symposia
founded in 1966 remain remarkable for their
high scientific standard and bonhomie. Selec-
tion, editing and publishing arrangements
are made by the host institution and, as with
this volume, normally are excellent. This
volume concerns what-eats-what and the
consequences thereof; there are seven sec-
tions - plankton, benthos, fish, top pre-
dators, food webs, experimental studies,
methods, and concluding remarks.
Three broad themes emerge. These are:
(a) the complexity of ecosystems and the
need to study the role of micro- and meio-
(or pico- and nano-) sized organisms in the
benthos and plankton; (b) that, even when
dealing with individual species, much remains
to be learnt about variability of diet, be-
haviour, and vulnerability to predation -
without such studies understanding of eco-
systems will remain incomplete; and (c) the
light which new or newly-applied techniques
such as fluorescent and biochemical markers
and radio-active tracers may be able to shed
On individual species' and ecosystems'
trophic relationships.
Although European in title, about a
quarter of the forty-four papers are of other
authorship but they integrate with and en-
hance the volume's value. Expensive?
Maybe, but at £1.50 per paper excellent
value for any practising marine biologist.
P. J. S. Boaden
The Scented Ape, The biology and
culture of human odour. By Michael
Stoddart. Pp. 286. Cambridge University
Press. 1990. Hardback £40.00 US $80.00;
paperback £14.95, US $24.95.
This book, with a delightful title, is a zoolog-
ist's view of Homo sapiens' body smells. The
viewpoints presented range over descriptive
anatomy, evolutionary biology, aesthetics,
and psychoanalysis, and are related to why
Homo sapiens, whom he considers to be the
most scented of the apes, has such a blunted
olfactory awareness of own body smell and,
unlike the rest of the animal kingdom, does