Book Review Comprehensive Biochemistry. Volume 26 УExtracellular and Supporting StructuresФ. Parts A and B. Edited by M. Florkin and E. H. Stotz

a clear and readily usable form through skillful use of a
system of tables and summaries. The tables, which are arranged according to groups of substances, provide information o n methods of preparation and - as far as is known yields; further, on physical properties and reactions, and in
many cases also references t o spectroscopic measurements,
physiological effects, and proposed or actual technical applications of the individual substances. Critical evaluation of
the subject matter is naturally left mainly to the reader himself - as is the case, for example, in “Beilstein”. For instance,
all the methods given for preparation of a substance in the
literature of the period reported are listed alongside one another, complete with the often varying values for physical
properties reported by the original authors. Since the work
is not intended as a text book for students, but as a comprehensive, noncritical source of information for the specialist,
this feature is certainly n o drawback.
W . P . Neumann [NB 742 IE]
Strahlenchemie. Grundlagen - Technik - Anwendung. (Radiation Chemistry. Principles - Techniques - Applications.)
Edited by K. KaindI and E. H . Graul. Dr. Alfred Hiithig
Verlag, Heidelberg 1967. 1st Edit., 645 pp., 236 figs., 95
tables, plastic cover, DM 92.-.
This book contains the contributions of seven well-known
authors and is arranged in 12 chapters. Particular attention
is given to the possibilities of quantitative treatment of radiation chemical processes, and the most important units and
conversion factors are therefore discussed extensively.
Another section shows the considerable progress that has
been made in the last 20 years in the development of nuclear
reactors, accelerators, and other sources of radiation. Only
chemical dosimetry has been considered o n the whole for the
quantitative determination of the energy absorbed by a
system that has been subjected to ionizing radiation.
The importance of radiation chemical reactions in water and
aqueous solutions is clearly indicated. The main emphasis in
the treatment of organic molecules has been placed o n the
polymerizations induced by irradiation - one of the main
fields of radiation chemical research and of technical utilization - and it is satisfying to see that the kinetics of the processes have not been neglected. I n addition, radiolysis of
organic reactor coolants has been considered. A later edition
should if possible indicate the possibilities of radiation
chemical synthesis of low-molecular organic products.
Radiolytic effects in frozen solutions, important for the
chemistry of radicals, are treated briefly. There are some
excellent chapters on the radiation chemistry of solids and
the influence of radiation on catalysts, outlining some possibilities of irradiated catalysts. The last chapter, written in
English, deals with radiation-induced reactions in gases. All
chapters have a n index to the literature, arranged in alphabetical order of the authors’ names.
In general, it can be said that the high standard of this work
does credit to the authors and editors. The book fills a gap
in a n important field that has been somewhat neglected in
Germany, and it can therefore be recommended to every
scientist and engineer interested in radiation chemistry.
H. Drawe
[NB 750 IE]
Comprehensive Biochemistry. Volume 26 : “Extracellular and
Supporting Structures”. Parts A and B. Edited by M.
Florkin and E. H. Stotz. Elsevier Publishing Company,
Amsterdam-London-New York 1968. Part A: xvi, 295 pp.,
many figures and tables, Dfl. 47.50; Parts B: xii, 297 pp.,
many figures and tables, Dfl. 47.50.
Volume 26 of “Comprehensive Biochemistry” (11 deals with
the molecular structure and the biochemical function of the
[l] Cf. Angew. Chem. 79, 627 (1967); Angew. Chem. internat.
Edit. 6, 646 (1967).
Angew. Chem. internat. Edit. / Vol. 7 (1968) / No. 11
extracellular supporting structures. Two of the planned total
of three subvolumes have so far been published. The first one
considers the substances and tissues occurring in microorganisms and plants, and the second one those found in
vertebrates. In spite of their briefness, the various sections
are treated thoroughly and are up to date. The complete
volume will contain almost 1000 pages. This fact is a n indication both of the great interest in this subject and of the
biologicaI importance of the cell-supporting structures, which
are of paramount importance for contact with the environment.
Isolation, chemical and physical characterization, biosynthesis, and physiological function are treated in the individual
sections, the literature up to 1966 having been reviewed in a n
excellent manner. The respective authors have either aimed
at providing a complete bibliography o r made a n excellent
choice of the most important publications. Once again it has
proved possible to engage authors of international standing.
A terse and exhaustive account of the polysaccharides, polyuronides, and lignin of plant cells is given by S. M. Siegel.
J. M. Ghuysen, J. L. Strominger, and D . J. Tipper display
their mastery in a skillfully written review of the cell-wall
structures of gram-positive bacteria; the same applies to
0. Liideritz, K. Jann, and R . Wheat, the authors of the extremely thorough, expert article o n the antigenes of gramnegative cells. The interesting topic of shell formation by
mussels, snails, and birds is summarized in a comparative
manner by K. M . Wilbur and K . Simkiss. A. J. Bailey provides
a detailed and scholarly guide through the broad and complex field of the collagens, and B. J . Barrett through that of
cartilaginous tissue. I n both these chapters the subject matter
is viewed from the most varied aspects, starting from the
structure and the biosynthesis and going through to aging,
so that a unique review has resulted that is certainly worthy
of the series. I n their section on silk and other spun fibers,
F. Lucas and K. M. Rudall consider all the available material
from a number of different points of view. Fittingly, there
follows a brief and yet exhaustive section on intracellular
fibrous proteins and keratinization (K. M. Rudall).
Together, the two subvolumes cover the fields considered in
a series of varied, competent, and contemporary articles.
M. Florkin and E. H. Stotz have once again succeeded in
bringing out a work that continues this remarkable monographic text- and hand-book in the expected manner. Without doubt these eminently successful volumes again deserve
the highest praise; they maintain the excellent quality of their
L. Jaenicke [NB 741a IE]
predecessors.
Comprehensive Biochemistry. Volume 27 : Photobiology,
Ionizing Radiations. Edited by M. Florkin and E. H . Stotz.
Elsevier Publishing Company, Amsterdam-London-New
York 1967. 1st Edit., xvi, 356 pp., 104 figures, 23 tables,
Dfl. 55.00 / 114 s.
This extensive handbook of biochemistry now enters the
realm of molecular biology proper with the fifth section,
which is to embrace eight volumes. The present volume 27
shows that radiation effects of the most wideIy varying kinds
are approachable from a biochemical angle and are no longer
the exclusive domain of radiologists and physiologists, and
analyzes the detection and biochemical and biophysical
applications of radiations of all kinds. The first seven chapters, which deal with photobiology as such, are certainly of
the standard expected of this competent work.
Photomechanical reactions of plants are described in the
contributions on phototropism (K. V. Thimann), photosynthesis (L. N . M. Duysens and J. Amesz), phytochrome and
photoperiodism (S. B. Hendricks and H . W . Siegelman); the
treatment of photosynthesis is, however, rather categorical,
this probably being attributable in part to a desire to avoid
duplication of material in earlier volumes, and hardly considers the outstanding work of H. T. Witt. On the other hand,
J . K. Serlow gives a detailed and most useful account of the
901