944 
Book  Reviews. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
(     December,  1920. 
garding  the  general  physical  and  chemical  properties  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  class.  The  most  important  of  the  individual  substances 
belonging  to  a  class  are  described  briefly,  but  in  sufficient  detail  for 
most  readers. 
The  author  has  succeeded  in  compressing  a  great  deal  of  valuable 
information  into  a  relatively  small  space,  and  at  the  same  time  has 
clothed  it  in  language  that  is  very  readable  and  easily  understood. 
At  the  end  of  nearly  every  chapter  appears  a  bibliography  of  books 
treating  particularly  of  the  substances  discussed  in  the  chapter. 
The  typography  of  the  book  leaves  little  to  be  desired.  As  is  the 
case  with  most  new  books  there  are  in  it  a  few  errors,  none  of  them 
very  serious  and  probably  none  that  would  escape  detection  by  the 
careful  reader. 
The  volume  is  such  a  one  as  can  be  used  with  profit  b^^  the  be- 
ginner in  the  study  of  organic  chemistry,  as  well  as  by  the  more  ad- 
vanced student  who  wishes  to  review  the  subject  by  touching  chiefly 
its  "high  spots."  F.  P.  Stroup. 
Dr.  Frederick  C.  Weber's  Solution  of  the  Century  Old 
Problem:  "Is  there  a  Creative  Power  in  Disintegration 
IN  THE  Universe."  A  booklet  of  fifty-two  pages,  published 
by  Farley  &  Frederick  Publishing  Company,  Chicago,  111., 
December,  1920.    Price,  $1.00. 
The  author's  statement  of  the  question  which  he  is  endeavoring 
to  solve  is  ambiguous.  It  might  be  taken  to  mean,  Is  there  a 
Creative  Power  in  process  of  Disintegration  in  the  Universe?  How- 
ever, a  study  of  the  text  shows  that  he  really  had  in  mind  the  ques- 
tion somewhat  as  follows:  Is  there  a  Creative  Power  residing  in, 
or  evolved  from,  the  Disintegration  going  on  in  the  Universe? 
The  opening  paragraphs  afe  given  over  to  statements  of  axiomatic 
character,  which  the  average  reader  readily  concedes  to  be  true. 
Matter,  per  se,  is  indestructible.  Space  is  infinite.  "Gravity  is 
the  first  governing  law  of  infinite  space."  "The  second  in  importance 
of  the  governing  laws,  are  a  series  of  laws,  which  are  the  laws  govern- 
ing the  combination  of  the  elemental  atoms  into  chemical  mole- 
cules." 
These  latter  laws  the  author  formulates  essentially  as  follows: 
"Every  chemical  molecule  formed  requires  a  definite  amount  of 
energy  ....  for  its  formation."  "The  energy  required  for  the 
formation  ....  is  as  integral  a  component  of  the  molecule  ....  as 
