COMBUSTION A N D F L A M E 24, 411 (1975) 411

BOOK REVIEW

Fuels and Combustion. By Samir Sarkar. unique insight into the problems of energy supply
Orient Longman, Rs. 45. in India. Furthermore, they contain valuable sta-
tistics on that country's reserves and production of
fuels. Later chapters deal with the release of energy
Comprehensive introductory textbooks on the
from fuels. The treatment of the stoichiometry,
subject of fuels have never been plentiful despite
thermodynamics and kinetics of the combustion
the lip service paid to the importance of energy
process lays the basis for effective fuel utilisation,
to living standards, especially in the industrialised
and leads suitably into a description of available
countries of the world. Professor Sarkar is thus
combustion equipment.
to be congratulated on his attempt to produce
A notable and perhaps surprising omission from
one such book, and it may perhaps be significant
the book is the subject of nuclear energy. The
that he hails from a developing country.
author provides only the most cursory treatment
It is unfortunate in that this text was written
of nuclear energy, with references to the subject
in 1972 and does not therefore reflect the impact
inadequate throughout and, in many instances,
of more recent events upon the international
woefully incomplete.
energy situation, nevertheless, Sarkar's develop-
As befits a textbook intended primarily for
ment of the subject is systematic and sensible.
use by students, there are numerous worked exam-
Following an introduction in which available
ples of, inter qlia, combustion calculations, together
sources of energy are reviewed, separate chapters
with problems to be attempted by the reader.
are devoted to discussions of the winning, prepara-
The overall impression is that the book will
tion and processing of solid, liquid and gaseous
supply a need in its country of origin, but that
fuels, respectively. To Western eyes, these sections
its presentation leaves almost everything to be
of the book may appear quaintly old-fashioned in
desired, especially as regards its durability.
part, when dealing at length with, for example,
the manufacture of wood charcoal and the pro-
duction of producer gas, but they do provide a J. E. GARSIDE