appear such phrases as "We find t h a t . . .
" to find rather frequent reference to articles
book reviews
by the very nature of the systems con-
sidered, the discussion is of limited scope.
As Platt has emphasized, these two sys-
tems provide us with no insight into the
two most important features of chemical
affinity: its saturation and its directional
character-for the Exclusion Principle has
not entered into the problem. The
systems are too simple to exhibit struc-
turally interestingfeatures.
Evidently it cannot be over-emphasiaed
that the proton is a, very speoid case in
chemistry. It is the only kernel with no
inner-shell electrons. Though stressed
by Werner (not mentioned by Pimentel
and Spratley) and Lewis (down-graded
by P and S), the importance of kernel-
(or atomic-) sizes (and shapes) in de-
termining the chemistries of the elements
receives no systemrstio treatment in this
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hook. The primitive graphic formulas
given for SO*, SO, and SO?, e.g., bear
little relation to known interatomic dis-
tances and provide the reader with no
clues as to the reasons for the non-exis-
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tence of FOa- and N04a-.
I was troubled, also, by the statement
that Plrtnck introduced the "particulate
model" of light (hestrenuously opposed, a t
first, this extension of his work by Ein:
stein); by the implication that the radius-
ratio rules fit well the observed crystal
structures of the alkali halides (approxi-
mately 40% of the alkali halides do not
obey the simple,~Goldsehmidtradius-ratio
rules); by the failure to mention hy-
drogen-bonding in gaseous hydrogen fluo-
ride in a discussion of dipole moments and
heats of vaporization; by the use of the
virial theorem (in a discussion of the ionic
model) for a system whose (inexact)
wavefonetion is not allowed to relax (and,
thereby, to alter its shape and, correspond-
ingly, the system's kinetic and potential
energies) with a change in inter-ionic
distance; and by the consistent plsce-
ment of hydrogen, the pebble upon
which this book is based, in Group I. It
might be argued that hydrogen belongs in
Group VII andlor Group IV, or in a.
Group by itself (vide supra). But in no
way does the chemistry of hydrogen, and
its bonding in compounds, correspond
closely (or, if closely, uniquely) to that of
the elements of Group I. Of d l the
elements in the Periodic Table, those in
Group I are least like hydrogen, except
for the charges on their kernels.
The hook is relatively free of typ*
graphical errors. Several c u p s are miss-
ing in Fig. 3-5, however, and several
nodal surfaces are missing in Fig. 4-19.
In Fig. 4-20 two of the orhitab are mis-
labelled.
A major difficulty with current intro-
ductions to the chemical bond that, by
dwelling on the hydrogen atom and the
hydrogen-molecule ion, exclude almost
everything that was learned about the
bond in chemistry prior to 1926 (and
include little that has been learned ahout
it in quantum mechanics since 1940), is
that, with young students, particularly,
one must resort frequently to authority.
Even in the better treatments, there is a.
high density of "telling." At each critical
juncture in Pimentel and Sprrttley, e.g.,
A490 / Journal of Chemical Education
and "Quantum mechanics tells us . . . "
Often, also, the word "explain" is used
where a more accurate word would he
"describe," or "rat,ionaliee."
What we have is a New Descriptive
Chemistry, only now, instead of having to
memorize facts that seem important (to
the teacher) hut that cannot, at the mo-
ment, he related to other facts, it is quan-
tum mechanical terminology, orbital d i e
grams, and other approximations that
must he memorized.
Within its chosen limits, however, this
is a superior hook. The authors express
the hope that teachers as well as students
may profit from reading it. I believe
they will. I did.
HENRY A. BENT
North Carolina State University
Raleigh
Transition-Metal Organornetallie
Chemistry: An Introduction
R. Bruce King, University of Georgia,
Athens. Academic Press, Inc., New
York, 1969. ix +
204 pp. Figs. and
tables. 15.5 X 23.5 cm. $11.50.
For over a hundred years the subject of
organometallic chemistry embraced only
the "representative" elements, or rather
those of the "representative" elements
which were metals. Perhaps that<is why
they were considered representative. The
transition metals insisted on acting in an
entirely different fashion toward alkylat-
ing and arylating agents, and were re-
duced rather than forming true organo-
metallic derivatives. The came ferro-
cene, and all that changed. Now we have
a full-fledged orgl~nometallicchemistry of
the transition metals with a host of new,
different, and occasioncllly useful com-
pounds. The structures of such com-
pounds and their chemical behavior (and
even the methods for their preparation)
are so distinctly different from the cor-
responding aspects of classical organo-
metallic compounds that the general area
of organometallics now is dividied neatly
down the middle, with an older, classical
half and a newer, transition-metal half.
This hook ~rovides a concise. rather
comprehensive, and up-to-date summary
of the newer half.
I t is an excellent book. I t is based on a
popular ACS short course, and hoth the
organization and the presentation reflect
the thorough going-over which comes from
organizing and delivering a set of lectures
repeatedly to diverse audiences. The
hook is decidely pragmatic in its approach
to the subject; it does not begin with ex-
tensive presentation of molecular-orbital
theory, hut rather presents the useful
aspects of the rare-gas-configoration gen-
eralization as a way of rationalizing the
vast majority of transition-metal organo-
metallic compounds. (Exceptions to the
rule are treated in due course, where they
occur.) Full use is made of modern
theory of chemical bonding, hut the author
wisely refrains from trying to teach that
as a separate subject before getting dqwn
to the main business of his hook. Al-
though this is a textbook and not a survey
of the literature, readers will he pleased
listed a t the ends of the chapters. Each
chapter also ha? a very helpful list of
supplementary sources for reading, in-
cluding many review articles. In keep-
ing with the character of the hook, there
are also exercises and questions at t,he
ends of the chapt.ers.
The first chapter takes up the general
principles of transition-metal organo-
metallic chemistry, treating such broad
areas as the metal carbonyls, the metal-
olefin complexes, other pi-bonded orgsnic
derivatives, and the sigmebbonded
compounds. Chapter 2 treats the orgsno-
metallic derivatives of the "early transi-
tion metals," by which is meant the transi-
tion metals of groups 111, IV, and V.
(This also includes derivatives of the rare-
earth metals.) Chapter 3 takes up
organometallic derivatives of chromium,
molybdenom, and tungsten, including the
pure carbonyls, the carhonyl halides, the
carbonyl anions, and the cyclopent,adienyl
metal carbonyls and such. Particul&rly
thorough treatment is given to the his-
torically-interesting derivatives of chro-
mium. Chapter 4 is concerned with the
organometallic compounds of manganese,
teehneeium, and rhenium, and Chapter
6 deals with such derivatives of iron,
ruthenium, and osmium. Naturally there
is s. great deal about the close reletives of
ferrocene. Chapter 6 trests derivatives
of cobalt, rhodium, and iridium, and
Chapter 7 trests the similar compounds of
nickel, pelladium, and platinum. There
is a very short treatment of the orgsno-
metallic compounds of copper, silver, and
gold, although no reference to their place
in the direct synthesis of orgsnosilicon
compounds. The reader was glad to see
twenty pages devoted to subject and
author indexes.
Qtdte likely the King hook will be
compared with "Introduction to Metal
Pi-Complex Chemistry," by Tsutsui
and others, which appeared recently. The
two books are actually very different in
character and approach. The King hook
is a compact textbook; the Tsutsui book
is a reference hook for inorganic chemistry
and contains many more literature refer-
ences. Each serves its purpose, of course;
the individual purchaser will know which
one he wants, and libraries would he well
advised to acquire hoth in order to serve
two different classes of reader. The field
is new enough and important enough to
warrant that.
E. G. Rocnow
Hamad University
Cambridge, Mass.
Organic Structure Dderrnination
Daniel J . Pasto, University of Notre
Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, and
Carl R. Johnson, Wayne State Univer-
slty, Detroit. Prentiee-Hall, Inc.,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jeney, 1969.
xiii f 513 pp. Figs. . and tables.
17 X 24 om. $11.95.
The cover jacket of this book claims
that the work "develops a completely
modern and totslly unified Spproach to
the determination of the structures of