technical information also could not be provided, as this would 

 have been at the expense of depth of treatment. 



There is little or no overlap among the chapters and adequate 

 cross-referencing, and the coverage is remarkably complete in 

 all chapters. The chapters in vol.1 are essentially descriptive 

 in content. In vol.2 problems of pattern formation loom large, 

 and several authors point out how well insect systems are suited 

 for such studies, both at the morphological and (potentially) 

 the biochemical level. 



As is unavoidable in a book such as this with a long "incuba- 

 tion time", not all chapters are equally up-to-date; some chap- 

 ters have addenda while others do not. The books are profusely 

 and beautifully illustrated. 



Monographs 



22 . 



G.GIUDICE. 1973. DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY OF THE SEA URCHIN EMBRYO 

 Academic Press, New York, etc. X,469 pp., 148 figs., 26 tabs., 

 subject index. $ 32.00 



Contents: I. Morphogenesis and related problems - 1. Experi- 

 mental embryology of the sea urchin; 2. Ultrastructure ; 3. 

 Cortical layer of the egg and physiology of fertilization; 4. 

 Some other physiological changes that occur at fertilization; 

 5. The mechanism of cleavage; 6. Cell dissociation and reag- 

 gregation; 7. Hybrids; II. Metabolism - 8. Energetic metabo- 

 lism; 9. Deoxyribonucleic acid; 10. Ribonucleic acid; 11. Pro- 

 teins; 12. Enzymatic activities 



This book is the first comprehensive review of sea urchin de- 

 velopment to appear since 1956. The author has himself worked 

 with sea urchin embryos for at least 15 years. He has judicially 

 selected from the huge literature that portion that has either 

 stood the test of time or holds promise for the future. This 

 work he evaluates carefully, pointing out uncertainties and ma- 

 jor unresolved problems. Just because it is more than a mere 

 compilation, the book will be invaluable as a source for both 

 research and teaching. 



The treatment of the classical experimental-morphological data 

 is concise, and most of the attention goes to the more recent 

 cell-biological and biochemical work. It is fortunate that Hor- 

 stadius has just published a book in which the former aspects 

 are treated much more extensively (see review no. 23); the two 

 books admirably complement each other. 



A special feature of the present book is the attention devoted 

 to details of biochemical methodology; this is of course essen- 

 tial to a correct interpretation of the numerous molecular-bio- 

 logical data. Here the reader benefits from the author's exten- 

 sive first-hand experience. 



The book is well produced and illustrated. The bibliography 

 has more than 1,600 entries and is updated to 1972 in an appen- 

 dix. The subject index is rather short, which somewhat reduces 

 the value of the book as a work of reference. 



195 



