30 



implications for the problem of differentiation was not available. The present 

 concise monograph was written primarily for advanced undergraduate students. 

 The field is not treated exhaustively, but the various aspects of the problem are 

 illustrated with appropriate examples from a variety of organisms. Due attention 

 is given to modern biochemical work and the theoretical possibilities opened by 

 it. The book seems well suited for a rapid orientation in the field, and may 

 provide fruitful ideas to those interested in differentiation and somatic in- 

 heritance. 



After a brief introduction stating the problem, the first two chapters deal with 

 the somatic inheritance of mitochondria, chloroplasts, and centrioles. The next 

 chapter deals with episomes and episome-like bodies, and other similar cyto- 

 plasmic particles. Then follows a chapter treating enzyme-induction and other 

 aspects of cytoplasmic control of cell function. The final chapter deals with 

 nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions and problems of differentiation. It contains, 

 among other things, sections on enucleation and nuclear transplantation in 

 amoebae, algae and amphibia, and a brief section on maternal effects. 



The book is adequately illustrated. The bibliography is selective rather than 

 exhaustive, consisting mostly of very recent titles. The combined author and 

 subject index is rather short. 



23. LE DfiVELOPPEMENT DU VIVANT PAR LUI MfiME 



1963 



by P. Wintrebert Masson et Cie. 



455 pp., 68 figs. Paris 



(paper-bound) 



It is difficult to review this book briefly on account of the highly theoretical 

 and often speculative nature of its contents. We will therefore mainly restrict 

 ourselves to a brief analysis of the table of contents. 



The book opens with a theoretical introduction on "epigenesis" versus 

 "preformation". About half of the book is taken up by two extensive chapters 

 dealing with the author's own morphological and experimental studies and 

 interpretations concerning the development of Discoglossus pictus and Scyllio- 

 rhinus canicula. The remaining chapters are devoted to theoretical discussions 

 of development, to a discussion of contemporary theories and methods of causal 

 embryology, and to the application of the author's theories to other fields of 

 science and philosophy. 



The bibliography of the book is restricted to books, and to publications of the 

 author. Further very sparse references are given in footnotes throughout the 

 text. There is a short alphabetical index. All illustrations are taken from works 

 of the author. 



The book is written in a very subjective and often very polemical style. In his definitions, 

 interpretations and conclusions the author is in almost continuous conflict with nearly all con- 

 temporary writers on causal embryology, who are characterised throughout as "preformationists". 

 The author's definition of "epigenesis" is clearly correlated with his neo-Lamarckian view of 

 evolution and development, which, among other things, entails strong emphasis on the role of 

 the cytoplasm over that of the nuclear genes. 



